The Power of Branding

Branding can be a powerful tool. Everyone wants their brand to be top of mind in the eye of their audience but how do you achieve that? 

We all know that to get your brand out into the world you need to promote it whether through advertising, social media or any other channels your audience frequents but then what? What is the goal of your advertising and promotion? Do you have a call to action? Are you purely generating awareness?

Often, we talk about clever marketing. Clever marketing isn’t just about having a great ad that people remember but it’s branding your product or service so that your audience or potential customer feels a connection with it. 

There are many brands that have created great ad campaigns that have been a topic of conversation at dinner parties but is that the true intent of these ads? Yes, you want people talking about your brand but once they’ve spoken about it, you want them to go out and buy it and you need to give them a reason to do so. You want to create a sense of emotion that makes a person want to go out and try your product or service.

Recently, I wrote a profile piece on St Andrews Golf Links in Scotland for a client. While researching, I came across their new TV ads based on their ‘Write Your Own History’ campaign and can I say I was impressed. Not a golfer myself, I was moved by these ads and felt they encapsulated the spirit of St Andrews based on what I learnt through my research. After viewing these ads, I felt that St Andrews was a place I’d like to visit. I probably won’t play golf there, but I definitely want to visit the place known as the Home of Golf.

In my opinion, if a brand’s advertising and marketing can stir an emotional connection in an audience that has little knowledge or dare, I say interest in their industry then they must be doing something right.

 Other examples of clever marketing include:

We Love Our Lamb – How many people were inspired to eat lamb on Australia day after watching a series of ads featuring well-known Aussies?

Tourism Australia – Aimed at an international audience, these ads make locals want to explore our own backyard.

Slip Slop Slap – While these Cancer Council ads have been around for years, the catchy slogan and the important message has effectively flowed from generation to generation.

 Of course, we can’t forget the catchy slogans synonymous with certain brands. What’s so great about these slogans is the brand name doesn’t need to be mentioned to know who we’re talking about!

 Just Do It – Nike

Because You’re Worth It - L’Oréal  

I’m Loving It – McDonalds

The Burgers are Better – Hungry Jacks

Is there an ad campaign that you felt created a sense of emotion or made you feel good? 

Here's the link to the St Andrews ads if you would like to take a look. https://www.standrews.com/wyoh

Clickbait. What is it?

How many times have you scrolled through your social media posts and come across a headline that sounds intriguing, if not possibly ridiculous? Chance are every time you visit your socials you will encounter one of these headlines and as ridiculous as the headline may sound, you will most likely click on it. 

Once you finish reading the article you may find it has nothing or very little to do with the headline you clicked on and in most cases you may think it’s the most silly or irrelevant story you have read. But you clicked on it and that’s what the poster wanted. That’s clickbait! 

Why is Clickbait used?

Clickbait is very common and used by brands to entice readers to click on the post and through to their website. You may come away thinking that was an interesting read or you may think it was a waste of time. Usually comments on the article will give an indication of what other readers thought. Over time you will come to recognise who the repeat offenders are and possibly just scroll past. 

 Needless to say, over the last few months, a lot of clickbait articles have centred around Covid-19. Articles related to this are nothing more than scare mongering and posters have been called out; not only for not disclosing all the facts but also for it not being relevant to Australian readers.

Do you encounter clickbait often? If so, what are some of the headlines or stories claiming to be about? Do you think clickbait is a fair way to entice audiences to read content?

Ultra Tune or Ultra Fail?

I recently saw the new ad for Ultra Tune. I must say I’m a little surprised there haven’t been enough complaints to have the ad taken off the air. If you haven’t seen the ad, it depicts two girls driving their car when they break down on train tracks. A train is coming and hits the car yet the girls walk away unscathed. 

The problem with the ad is that it negates everything we are constantly reminded about in the media about the dangers of stopping on train tracks while driving. I think this Ultra Tune ad is irresponsible and I’d be very surprised if there isn’t more of a fuss made about it. What message is it sending to young drivers?

I believe a brand has a responsibility to it's customers to advertise facts. The facts are: if you are stuck in your car on train tracks when a train is coming, you are not going to walk away looking glamourous and Ultra Tune most definitely won't make it in time to save you!

Ultra Tune has come under attack for another ad which objectifies women and allegedly misleads viewers into believing they can win a trip to Wimbledon (the tennis tournament, not the English town). It will interesting to see whether Ultra Tune pulls their ads voluntarily or wait to be told by the ACCC or the advertising standards board.

It makes me wonder, who is designing and executing Ultra Tune's ads?

Too Much Information?

There has been such an evolution when it comes to the creation of ads, especially in print. I was recently researching ads to see what was happening out in the market place and was amazed by the contrast between ads of various companies. Thinking about my own experience in advertising, I realised that the variation in advertising often comes down to the person signing off on the ad before it goes to market.

In my experience, there are two types of print advertising: informational and graphic. A lot of ads are high in written content often communicating all the attributes of a product or company in a single ad. The graphic ads usually have an amazing graphic that tells the story. These I find are the ads that usually stand out in my mind. There are so many avenues that consumers can explore to get more information on a product that it hardly seems worth writing an essay of copy for an ad that may gain 5 seconds of attention. 

Don’t get me wrong, copywriting is important but we just need to know where to draw the line. Consumers can often visit a website or call customer service for more information on a product that its often not necessary to add all that information in an ad. I believe that valuable time should be spent on developing a great tagline and graphic representation to tell the story. 

A great example of this is an ad I found for Burger King. Their ad was a whopper sitting in a too small Big Mac box with the tagline: ‘Silly Whopper, that’s a Big Mac box.’ It was simple but it got the message across in a few words. There was no need to explain the size comparison between the two burgers. The graphic and the simple tagline did it all.

Quite often its not just about whether to have all that information but whether there is space for it. A few years ago I worked on an ad for a product that came in 10 colours. While working with the graphic designers we decided that it made more sense to have a graphic of the product in each colour rather than have each colour listed in the ad. It made the ad more visually appealing as well as less text heavy. 

If you’re fortunate enough to work in an organisation that has in-house designers you often have the luxury of being able to come up with a couple of variations of an ad to see what is more visually appealing. 

So next time you're working on an ad ask yourself: 'Would I stop to look at this ad?'

Knowledge is Power!

People are often surprised when I come out with a tidbit of information that seems so obscure or unlike me. They give a strange look and ask how on earth I knew that. The age old saying ‘know a little about a lot rather that a lot about a little’ is so true. I swear by this saying, not just personally but also professionally. 

When you work in an organisation it is so important to know what your competitors are doing or what current trends are. Especially if you are in marketing. Can you imagine if all your competitors had a Facebook presence and you were still trying to figure out what Facebook was? That’s an extreme example but a valid one I think. 

It is so important to be on top of current trends. This is especially true if you run your own service based business. Just because you’ve held a client for 10 years doesn’t mean they won’t call you tomorrow and say they’re leaving you for the new agency down the street that’s more edgy and on top of current trends. 

It’s not just the mechanics of your business that you should be on top of, it’s all aspects of life. It seems impossible to know absolutely everything and you don’t have to! What I’m saying is if your client is in the electronics industry be aware of what their competitors are developing, where they’re advertising, what sponsorships they’re currently working on. If they’re in the fashion industry know which celebrities are wearing their competitors brand or if there are opportunities for your clients brand to be worn on a red carpet event. Most of the time reading mainstream media will keep you in the know so it’s not really a chore and doesn’t have to take up precious work time. You’ll be surprised what you may discover just by reading a weekly gossip mag!

Just remember: Knowledge is Power!

Does It Make What You’re Saying More Important?

Tautology is saying the same thing twice. We don’t often realise we are doing it but we commonly emphasise a word by adding another word with the same meaning either in front or after the word we are using. By eliminating tautology we can make our writing clear and concise.

Common examples are:

• Past history
• Completely finished
• False illusion
• New innovations
• 8am in the morning
• Foreign import
• True facts

What Constitutes A Good Ad?

When creating an advertisement there are a few aspects to consider to ensure the effectiveness of your ad. 

Some things to consider:

• Your creative approach is consistent with your brand’s advertising objective (product features, comparison of your products features with a competitor’s product features). Pricing is not always a good comparison
• The suitability of the ad to the target audience
• A strong message or concept (ensure the message is not overwhelmed by the creative execution)
• A call to action. How do customers contact you? Where can customers purchase your product?

Taking these things into account when developing your ad can contribute to the success of your campaign. If you don’t have copywriters in your business consider hiring an agency or contractor like Absolute Marketing Communications to not only write the copy but also give creative direction on your ad as it develops. This not only means you are getting quality content for your ad but an objective opinion on the effectiveness of your ad.