Tip No. 3: Brand Loyalty-the Pot of Gold

April 8, 2011

By Cheryl Hayman, Hayman Strategy

In order to create brand loyalty, a brand or business must break consumer habits, help them acquire new habits and reinforce those habits by reminding consumers of the value of their purchase and encourage them to continue purchasing those products or services in the future.

The image surrounding a company’s brand is the principal source of its competitive advantage and is therefore a valuable strategic asset.

Loyalty marketing is specifically aimed at building a strong continuing commitment to your brand, rather than just brand awareness. It suggests rather more influence and involvement from a consumer.

There are 6 components which I recently came across and which I think have enormous and wide reaching applicability.

  1. Fame
  2. Leadership
  3. Emotional Affinity
  4. Rational Affinity
  5. Difference
  6. Price

If you can garner “fame” then you are the most popular and most salient brand in the marketplace, but this is unlikely to happen immediately unless you truly pioneer an untapped area. Beware however, that even if you are “first in,” don’t assume fame will follow. You still need to demonstrate all the remaining loyalty-building components above.

 

Leadership is awarded to your brand if it sets trends and is able to grow in popularity. If you become the brand other brands try to emulate, or if you are the ‘port of call’ for the media or whoever your relevant advocacy groups are, then you have the leadership quality required to enforce lo

yalty.

Emotional Affinity is exuded through your warmth of character, your tone, the image you project and personality. It provides your brand with engagement at a ‘heart’ level with your consumers and works to lock them into their association with the brand.

You also need a Rational Affinity: the ‘head.’ The balance between how much ‘heart’ and how much ‘head’ depends on your brand, your industry or marketplace, and the tangible and practical attributes you have on offer.

Your point of difference must be linked to a direct benefit that meets the “what’s in it FOR ME” criteria that underlines all strong brand loyalty relationships. It may work on an emotional or a rational level, although it is ALWAYS important to ensure that there is a rational benefit of some sort that is defining and differentiating for your brand.

Price is self-evident, although it is usually more about Value. If you can develop and cement the previous characteristics into your brand then you will have strong loyalty and as long as the price is appropriate and relevant for the marketplace, this should not be the most important attribute for your brand.

Recently I heard an interesting expression: “Losers make decisions; Winners make commitments”… we can all think of brands that meet these criteria, consider them against your own brand and decide now whether your brand make that winning commitment and succeed.

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Cheryl Hayman | Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman – Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman owns and manages a strategic marketing and business consultancy, Hayman Strategy, providing a broad range of business and marketing solutions to corporations.

Prior to establishing her own business, Cheryl had over 20 years experience as a senior marketing executive in multi-national organisations spanning Australia, NZ and the UK.

Cheryl undertakes a number of non-executive Board roles and sits on several Advisory Boards including the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.

Cheryl is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, holding a CPM.
Cheryl personally undertakes continuous professional development within her various business roles, as well as attending external courses.

Phone: 0408 200 545 or 02 9555 5776
Website: www.haymanstrategy.com
Email: cheryl@haymanstrategy.com
Twitter: @cherylhayman
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cheryl.hayman
LinkedIn: See Cheryl’s Public Profile
Member Profile: See Cheryl’s Member Profile

Tip No. 2: Out-Step the Competition

March 16, 2011

By Cheryl Hayman, Hayman Strategy

I spent today with a young woman who is building a new Service business from scratch. It is a unique idea and while she has already successfully built the first platform for the business, she has, like all passionate and extraordinary entrepreneurs, phase two evolving for launch.

She was looking for advice about how to best hit the market hardest and fastest and get a “step up” ahead of the reliable list of competitors who will be quick in their attempts to follow.
The ensuing discussion outlined a few pointers that are worth sharing especially for those working with a service brand or business. The first part means thinking about your business from their point of view.

1. Develop a list of criteria that defines the most “valuable” objectives that your offer can meet. Think about things such as:

  • Does it meet a strategic acquisition need?
  • Does it effectively build loyalty of existing customers?
  • Does it provide your customers a means for better reaching their end users?
  • Is it merely an awareness building tool?

2. Match this criteria list to a well-thought out list of potential customers. Consider:

  • What might they be looking for – their goals?
  • If they are not the end user, then who they are targeting as their end users?
  • What other products and services do they utilize, and how is your offer different/better in meeting their goals?
  • Is there an appropriate way to hit the market geographically and tie up crucial market sectors quickly? Which customers meet this definition?
  • Are you working with the “thought leaders” or “big guys”? Those that will make your proposition the most sticky? Will it entice other, smaller businesses to join your brand and reject those that enter the market 2nd or 3rd?

3. Consider age-defining characteristics as well as specific user traits and behaviours for your customers.

4. Remember to ensure you can actually deliver against any expectations these customers will have.

5. Use the best resources at your disposal to quickly blanket these customers and “sell” them on your business, illustrating to them how it meets their objectives.

6. You may need a specialized sales resource or a team of trained professionals but TRAINING is key. Knowing your service is obvious but knowing and understanding the customers’ markets and needs is crucial and this is what will set your brand apart. The relationship has to built on trust and understanding, this is key so make this step really count.

Like all good consumer marketing strategies, it comes back, yet again to the customer and defining your business through their eyes first!
If you have done all the thinking up front, and used relevant and compelling criteria to define the ‘best fit’ customers, you have the first step. When you then approach these customers with knowledge and expertise and empathy you will most likely be able to elicit their commitment to your business ahead of the pack.

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Cheryl Hayman | Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman – Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman owns and manages a strategic marketing and business consultancy, Hayman Strategy, providing a broad range of business and marketing solutions to corporations.

Prior to establishing her own business, Cheryl had over 20 years experience as a senior marketing executive in multi-national organisations spanning Australia, NZ and the UK.

Cheryl undertakes a number of non-executive Board roles and sits on several Advisory Boards including the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.

Cheryl is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, holding a CPM.
Cheryl personally undertakes continuous professional development within her various business roles, as well as attending external courses.

Phone: 0408 200 545 or 02 9555 5776
Website: www.haymanstrategy.com
Email: cheryl@haymanstrategy.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cherylhayman
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cheryl.hayman
LinkedIn: See Cheryl’s Public Profile
Member Profile: See Cheryl’s Member Profile

 

Tip No. 1: Remember ‘AIDA’

February 11, 2011

By Cheryl Hayman, Hayman Strategy

For my 2011 blogs I thought I’d run a series called Tips of the Trade.

This first tip is for those people thinking about their next piece of advertising or similar marketing collateral. This might take the form of a print ad, a radio spot, some local press, a newsletter, or even the front of your new brochure.

AIDA stands for- Attention. Interest. Desire. Action.

The Attention part is the banner or headline that makes an impressive benefit promise.

Interest builds information in an interesting way, usually meaning that this must relate closely to the way that the reader thinks about the issues concerned.

If you seek a response you must move then to create Desire, which relates benefits to the reader so that they will want them.

Finally you must prompt an Action, which may be to call a telephone number or to complete and send of a reply coupon. Advertising that does not prompt action is a wasted opportunity.

Your main message must be the most prominent.

Do not be tempted to devote 50% of the space to a striking picture or a quote from Shakespeare. The biggest part of the advert must be your main benefit statement. This is the part that entices the reader to read on.

Offer a single impressive benefit, quickly and simply. Research proves that where responses are required, the best adverts are those which offer an impressive, relevant benefit to the reader.

Think about the vocabulary and language you use; know your target audience: a simple test is to avoid any words or grammar that would not be found in the newspaper that the target group would read.

Your message must be quick and easy to absorb.

Be new and original with your offer and set yourself apart from your competitors. Emphasise your point of difference. This means you must know who these competitors are, and objectively analyse their techniques and offers to set your brand or business apart from them.

If you think about these things the next time you’re drafting copy then you will end up with a special piece of marketing material that will make you proud and, more importantly, provide some traction for your business.

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Cheryl Hayman | Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman - Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman owns and manages a strategic marketing and business consultancy, Hayman Strategy, providing a broad range of business and marketing solutions to corporations.

Prior to establishing her own business, Cheryl had over 20 years experience as a senior marketing executive in multi-national organisations spanning Australia, NZ and the UK.

Cheryl undertakes a number of non-executive Board roles and sits on several Advisory Boards including the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.

Cheryl is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, holding a CPM.
Cheryl personally undertakes continuous professional development within her various business roles, as well as attending external courses.

Phone: 0408 200 545 or 02 9555 5776
Website: www.haymanstrategy.com
Email: cheryl@haymanstrategy.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cherylhayman
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cheryl.hayman
LinkedIn:
Member Profile: See Cheryl’s Member Profile

Passion for the Experience

September 24, 2010

By Cheryl Hayman, Hayman Strategy

Off soon to a Club Med I was reflecting on why Club Med had been such a successful brand for so long, and what sets it apart. It occurred to me that Club Med has the right mix of experience for its customers and has evolved with time to profitably meet the changing needs of those customer’s.

So, what precisely does it have? What makes a brand like Club Med so successful and what can we learn for every brand?

Club Med has

  • a specific and replicable set of values and processes brought to life wherever a customer goes. This is much like McDonald’s where people have  reliable and constant knowledge in a brand’s product that is trustworthy worldwide;
  • employees who ‘walk the talk’ and deliver the ultimate experience their customer’s seek; and
  • the ability to suggest and solicit loyalty and return purchases by always delivering the promise.

Similarly this week in Professional Marketing Magazine I read about the success of Berkelouw Books, a family owned business spanning six generations. Built by Solomon Berkelouw from Rotterdam he had a passion for books and a focus on his customers experience from the start. Unfortunately his bookselling career came to a sudden and unfortunate end. On a late winter’s afternoon, with snow falling thickly all around, Solomon attempted to cross an icy plank that connected a customer’s ship to the wharf. Halfway up, he lost his footing and fell into the freezing water. Before anyone could fetch help he drowned, his jute-bag full of books sinking with him to the bottom of the icy harbour.

Today Berkelouw Books is Australia’s largest rare and antiquarian, secondhand, and new bookseller and they have evolved to me even more. They talk of experience, presenting wine bars, cafe lounges, and other in-store experiences including selling other, related items such as candles to fulfil their customer’s needs and provide the ultimate fulfilling experience.

They  reflect on themselves as follows;  ”Books are our passion as well as our business and it is always a pleasure to meet customers who share our love of books. Come in, meet with friends, soak up the atmosphere, and spend as much time as you like browsing through the collection. Thus the romance of books is engendered. Thus too, the association of books and Berkelouw continues. An old and fruitful tree of Rotterdam, Holland, now firmly planted in the soil of Australia.”  The feeling of pride and emotion is evident.

Bain & Company reveal just how commonly companies misread the market. They surveyed 362 firms and found that 80 percent believed they delivered a “superior experience” to their customers. But when they asked customers about their own perceptions, they found that they rated only 8 percent of companies as truly delivering a superior experience.

So what sets the elite 8 percent apart? They take a distinctively broad view of the customer experience. Unlike most companies, which reflexively turn to product or service design to improve customer satisfaction, the leaders pursue three imperatives simultaneously:

  1. They design the right offers and experiences for the right customers.
  2. They deliver these propositions by focusing the entire company on them with an emphasis on cross-functional collaboration.
  3. They develop their capabilities to please customers again and again—by such means as revamping the planning process, training people in how to create new customer propositions, and establishing direct accountability for the customer experience.

These are great planks for all marketing folk to consider for their brands. What are you doing today for your customers, because as ever, it’s all about the customer and their experience of you. As the saying goes, brands are built in the minds of the customer.


MORE GREAT POSTS BY CHERYL HAYMAN


Cheryl Hayman | Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman - Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman owns and manages a strategic marketing and business consultancy, Hayman Strategy, providing a broad range of business and marketing solutions to corporations.

Prior to establishing her own business, Cheryl had over 20 years experience as a senior marketing executive in multi-national organisations spanning Australia, NZ and the UK.

Cheryl undertakes a number of non-executive Board roles and sits on several Advisory Boards including the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.

Cheryl is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, holding a CPM.
Cheryl personally undertakes continuous professional development within her various business roles, as well as attending external courses.

Phone: 0408 200 545 or 02 9555 5776
Website: www.haymanstrategy.com
Email: cheryl@haymanstrategy.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cherylhayman
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cheryl.hayman
LinkedIn:
Member Profile: See Cheryl’s Member Profile

My Favourite Brand

August 9, 2010

By Cheryl Hayman, Hayman Strategy

After many days of thinking; chewing it over; working it out with my hubby and kids; analysing the family’s favourites and their suggestions and views; reviewing my shelves (being a bit food-centric I determined to get past a few “famous” but obvious food brands); then sifting this way and that; I have finally decided that my favourite brand is Lexus.

Being a true marketer at heart and a great early adopter of new brands, products and packaging formats, I wanted to find that ‘certain brand’ that I’d loved for some time.

In the end, I realised that I had been weighing up a number of brand criteria in order to make my final judgment.

My brand had to deliver against the following:

1. A clear differentiated positioning
2. Truly lives up to its positioning in every way
3. Its positioning remains a competitive edge
4. The product delivers 100%
5. Every brand execution- either real or communicated – is flawlessly executed
6. The brand’s personality delivers something special and compelling to me
7. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought

So, Toyota’s Lexus brand won the day for me. My five-year relationship with Lexus has never been anything but loving.

And why? Well, there has never been any question that the customer is the centre of the Lexus brand’s world. Every aspect of the brand – product, service, communication – stays true to a positioning that delivers an unsurpassed standard of ‘indulgent care’ to me.

No other luxury car brand provides the level of service or the quality of included features and standards, in my eyes, to its customers. Lexus doesn’t stop with the big things, but makes the little things count. Whether it’s the Lexus Encore programme and its associated partnerships, or the lady who answers the phone when you book your service, every single interaction with the Lexus brand engages and refreshingly delivers against the brand proposition.

So in the end, maybe it is that it always delivers. In all ways, that sets it apart. Maybe it’s a highly charged emotional attachment on my part, or maybe (happily) it’s both. Many brands in many categories could certainly learn some lessons from the simplicity of Lexus’ clear positioning and make a concerted effort to deliver more than 100% at every chance in the way that this brand has always done for me.

MORE GREAT POSTS BY CHERYL HAYMAN


Cheryl Hayman | Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman - Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman owns and manages a strategic marketing and business consultancy, Hayman Strategy, providing a broad range of business and marketing solutions to corporations.

Prior to establishing her own business, Cheryl had over 20 years experience as a senior marketing executive in multi-national organisations spanning Australia, NZ and the UK.

Cheryl undertakes a number of non-executive Board roles and sits on several Advisory Boards including the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.

Cheryl is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, holding a CPM.
Cheryl personally undertakes continuous professional development within her various business roles, as well as attending external courses.

Phone: 0408 200 545 or 02 9555 5776
Website: www.haymanstrategy.com
Email: cheryl@haymanstrategy.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cherylhayman
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cheryl.hayman
LinkedIn:
Member Profile: See Cheryl’s Member Profile

Tips for Marketing to Small Business Owners

July 9, 2010

By Cheryl Hayman, Hayman Strategy

The ‘one size fits all’ method doesn’t work when it comes to connecting with small business owners.

Many of us within the ABN need to attract and engage with other small businesses and their owners. Marketing to such a unique audience requires some diverse thinking and a reduction in the grandeur of the usual marketing formats we discuss (especially for those of us who herald from bigger corporations and brands).

Small business owners are busy. They wear many hats and are often generalists in many areas.

Areas on which to focus that help small business owners notice you have to do with:

Tips for Marketing to Small Business Owners | Cheryl Hayman, Hayman Strategy1) How your service helps the business owner stand out, in other words promotion
- do you have a means by which they can grow their customer base and their profits?

2) How your service helps the business owner find new customers -  what do you offer that adds value to them and provides a resource or skill they don’t have internally?

Understanding that a large percentage of small businesses with less than five employees don’t have a website, you have to think about how to best reach these business owners as well. While they may not have a website, they do subscribe to industry trade journals, meet with peers and use online services to stay competitive. Even though they might not be on the bleeding edge of technology adoption (as they are busy running their company), small businesses definitely look to find new ways of reaching customers.

Introducing your products and services through targeted ad placement is one approach for connecting with this group. Another approach is providing useful information that helps a small business owner stay competitive. Become a champion of this group by providing resources and participating in the conversation where small business owners are.

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Cheryl Hayman | Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman - Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman owns and manages a strategic marketing and business consultancy, Hayman Strategy, providing a broad range of business and marketing solutions to corporations.

Prior to establishing her own business, Cheryl had over 20 years experience as a senior marketing executive in multi-national organisations spanning Australia, NZ and the UK.

Cheryl undertakes a number of non-executive Board roles and sits on several Advisory Boards including the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.

Cheryl is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, holding a CPM.
Cheryl personally undertakes continuous professional development within her various business roles, as well as attending external courses.

Phone: 0408 200 545 or 02 9555 5776
Website: www.haymanstrategy.com
Email: cheryl@haymanstrategy.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cherylhayman
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cheryl.hayman
LinkedIn: See Cheryl’s Public Profile
Member Profile: See Cheryl’s Member Profile

Romancing the Services Industry – can you relate?

June 15, 2010

By Cheryl Hayman, Hayman Strategy

This week in Marketing Magazine they stated that “marketing the services industry is akin to a budding romance”. I loved this analogy and it really got me thinking about a lot of us in our own businesses and the challenges of generating interest in what we market.

It IS less flamboyant and visually creative than other industries with fancy products and lots of visible bells and whistles to flog.

It’s not easy to be cheeky a la beer ads, or sexy a la chocolates, or even enticing a la cars, but yet there are many great attributes we can talk about, albeit the tone may have to be different for most of our services. It’s about finding the appropriate hand holding techniques and forging a sustainable bond that can be built ever stronger in time.

Our ongoing customer relationships may take some time. We may have to ‘romance’ our potential customers and keep the “passion” going with existing customers. It isn’t just the shipping of a box or the taking home of the package. It’s about a lengthy relationship and collaborative engagement, much more than a one-night stand.

Service marketing is a journey. Every interaction has to be considered as a key contributor to the ongoing partnership. It’s very one-on-one in its nature. The key factors are nurturing, retention and ultimately mutual growth.

You have to fight the good fight, there’s still massive competition, but once the bond is forged the rewards should be bigger and more satisfying, and loyalty more assured than can be assumed in consumer goods marketing nowadays.

The need to evolve, devise and develop new offers is still there though; you can’t sit back and assume they will remain faithful if you fail to keep up with contemporary needs and marketplace changes driven by your customer’s needs. This principle is the same whatever you are marketing.

The process from piquing a buyer’s interest through to engagement and the ultimate buying decision is a major challenge because you may have a lot of complex information to impart.

Prioritise the most important messages, tailor the way in which you say them, and then place them where your buyer’s will come across them and have the time to determine their relevance to their needs.

If you follow the idea of building this budding romance and using the most compelling and relevant hooks, you will find like-minded partners who want to share a “lifetime” with you!

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Cheryl Hayman | Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman - Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman owns and manages a strategic marketing and business consultancy, Hayman Strategy, providing a broad range of business and marketing solutions to corporations.

Prior to establishing her own business, Cheryl had over 20 years experience as a senior marketing executive in multi-national organisations spanning Australia, NZ and the UK.

Cheryl undertakes a number of non-executive Board roles and sits on several Advisory Boards including the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.

Cheryl is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, holding a CPM.
Cheryl personally undertakes continuous professional development within her various business roles, as well as attending external courses.

Phone: 0408 200 545 or 02 9555 5776
Website: www.haymanstrategy.com
Email: cheryl@haymanstrategy.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cherylhayman
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cheryl.hayman
LinkedIn: See Cheryl’s Public Profile
Member Profile: See Cheryl’s Member Profile

The Power of Segmentation – have you considered it lately?

May 14, 2010

By Cheryl Hayman, Hayman Strategy

I am often asked for some simple, basic rationale for using market segmentation. Why is it useful, what will I gain, what types of segmentation are there?

Market segmentation offers the following potential benefits to a business:

Better matching of customer needs:

Customer needs differ. Creating separate products for each segment makes sense

Enhanced profits for business:

Customers have different disposable incomes and vary in how sensitive they are to price. By segmenting markets, businesses can raise average prices and subsequently enhance profits

Better opportunities for growth:

Market segmentation can build sales. For example, customers can be encouraged to “trade-up” after being sold an introductory, lower-priced product

Retain more customers:

By marketing products that appeal to customers at different stages of their life (“life-cycle”), a business can retain customers who might otherwise switch to competing products and brands.

Target marketing communications:

Businesses need to deliver their marketing message to a relevant customer audience. By segmenting markets, the target customer can be reached more often and at lower cost

Gain share of the market segment:

Through careful segmentation and targeting, businesses can often achieve competitive production and marketing costs and become the preferred choice of customers and distributors
In most markets there is one dominant (mass) segment and several smaller (niche) segments…

For example, in the confectionery market, a dominant segment would be the plain chocolate bar. Over 90% of the sales in this segment are made by three dominant producers – Cadbury’s, Nestle and Mars.  However, there are many small, specialist niche segments (e.g. luxury, organic or fair-trade chocolate).

Often for small business owners we are targeting the niche or smaller segments.

Niche marketing can be defined as:

Where a business targets a smaller segment of a larger market, where customers have specific needs and wants.

Targeting a product or service at a niche segment has several advantages for a business (particularly a small business):

  • Less competition – the firm is a “big fish in a small pond”
  • Clear focus – target particular customers (often easier to find and reach too)
  • Builds up specialist skill and knowledge = market expertise
  • Can often charge a higher price – customers are prepared to pay for expertise
  • Profit margins often higher
  • Customers tend to be more loyal

Consider the segment you are trying to engage or attract, is it small or mass? Have you defined the segment in the most effective and appropriate manner?


Cheryl Hayman | Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman - Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman owns and manages a strategic marketing and business consultancy, Hayman Strategy, providing a broad range of business and marketing solutions to corporations.

Prior to establishing her own business, Cheryl had over 20 years experience as a senior marketing executive in multi-national organisations spanning Australia, NZ and the UK.

Cheryl undertakes a number of non-executive Board roles and sits on several Advisory Boards including the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.

Cheryl is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, holding a CPM.
Cheryl personally undertakes continuous professional development within her various business roles, as well as attending external courses.

Phone: 0408 200 545 or 02 9555 5776
Website: www.haymanstrategy.com
Email: cheryl@haymanstrategy.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cherylhayman
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cheryl.hayman
LinkedIn: See Cheryl’s Public Profile
Member Profile: See Cheryl’s Member Profile

I’m often asked: “What’s the best way to develop a name for my brand”?

April 15, 2010

By Cheryl Hayman, Hayman Strategy

If you follow the classic routes then several options are available:

Types of brand names

Acronym: A name made of initials such as UPS or IBM
Descriptive: Names that describe a product benefit or function like Whole Foods or Airbus
Alliteration and rhyme: Names that are fun to say and stick in the mind like Reese’s Pieces or Dunkin’ Donuts
Evocative: Names that evoke a relevant vivid image like Amazon or Crest
Neologisms: Completely made-up words like Wii or Kodak
Foreign word: Adoption of a word from another language like Volvo or Samsung
Founders’ names: Using the names of real people like Hewlett-Packard or Disney
Geography: Many brands are named for regions and landmarks like Gulf Air and Fuji Film
Personification: Many brands take their names from myth like Nike or from the minds of ad executives

Perhaps some of these ideas will spurn your next brand discussion.

Of course these are only relevant if inventing a brand from scratch, or innovating into a truly new area.

However if you have an existing brand or  business ‘mark’, and are planning to expand into new products or services then you have to consider the relevance of using  your existing brand.

In this case available options include considering the use of a New Brand, a Brand Extension or a Sub-Brand.

New Brand

A new brand is a self-evident concept and should be considered when the existing brand cannot possibly work on your new products. This would be the case if (a) new product is in an entirely different market space; (b) new product is in the same market space but being differentiated on pricing or other service components and you want to avoid a direct comparison; (c) you do not want end customers to know the product is from the same supplier/manufacturer as the existing brand.

Brand Extension

Brand Extension works if your current brand can easily stretch into the new category or market space that you are planning to enter. You just have to ensure there is no confusion with existing products and both the new and existing products add value to each other by utilising the same name.

Sub-Brand

Finally for a sub-brand, you are using the “mother” brand name that is in existence and giving it an extra “child”. Famous brands such as Continental, Virgin and Masterfoods do this all the time because the mother brand (or masterbrand) has existing category creds that work to deposit positive associations onto the new lines that they introduce.

Whichever way you go, think about it carefully, ask your customers and consider the implications of every option. Great brand decisions will stick!


Cheryl Hayman | Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman - Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman owns and manages a strategic marketing and business consultancy, Hayman Strategy, providing a broad range of business and marketing solutions to corporations.

Prior to establishing her own business, Cheryl had over 20 years experience as a senior marketing executive in multi-national organisations spanning Australia, NZ and the UK.

Cheryl undertakes a number of non-executive Board roles and sits on several Advisory Boards including the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.

Cheryl is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, holding a CPM.
Cheryl personally undertakes continuous professional development within her various business roles, as well as attending external courses.

Phone: 0408 200 545 or 02 9555 5776
Website: www.haymanstrategy.com
Email: cheryl@haymanstrategy.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cherylhayman
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cheryl.hayman
LinkedIn:
Member Profile: See Cheryl’s Member Profile

The Power of Symbols for your Brand

March 10, 2010

By Cheryl Hayman, Hayman Strategy

How often do we sit and think about how symbols, pictures and taglines affect our brand? Conversely how aware are we of the effect on us of our favourite brands’ symbols and other visual identity references?

Are you a visual person, and does it matter?

From teenagers wearing Gap and Nike brand logos to adults driving BMWs, we are drawn to incorporate brands into lives. We all draw our personality and self-image from products such as cars, homes, clothing and even recreational activities, and products always have brand logos or symbols of some kind that represent them.

By accident or Design?


Nike probably got the best deal amongst all companies when Caroline Davidson designed its logo for just $35 in 1971. The main part of the logo hasn’t really changed with time. However it was 7 years before they realized that the text and the swoosh were overlapping each other.

As the brand gained recognition, the company name was dropped from the logo, which made it more simplistic and memorable. The company has different variations of this logo for its various departments like Skate, Soccer etc.

Creating a Visual Signature

One of the first steps in creating an identity for an organisation is the development of an effective logo. An appealing logo makes your business special and memorable in the eyes of your clients or customers.

Each element adds unique characteristics to a logo.

It is important to remember that your logo is not your brand. It is just one part of the entire brand implementation process.

Keep it simple.

An appealing logo makes your business special and memorable in the eyes of your clients or customers.

The simpler a logo is the more it is, the more cost effective it is to reproduce. Your logo needs to remain consistent in color, font and proportion where ever it is used.

A brand comprises many elements. These include its name, positioning (reason for being), trademark/trade dress (symbols, colors, typestyle, package configuration), and brand communications. These brand elements, when successfully developed and managed, create a strong identity for a company. Over time, this creates strong brand authority.


Cheryl Hayman | Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman - Hayman Strategy

Cheryl Hayman owns and manages a strategic marketing and business consultancy, Hayman Strategy, providing a broad range of business and marketing solutions to corporations.

Prior to establishing her own business, Cheryl had over 20 years experience as a senior marketing executive in multi-national organisations spanning Australia, NZ and the UK.

Cheryl undertakes a number of non-executive Board roles and sits on several Advisory Boards including the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.

Cheryl is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, holding a CPM.
Cheryl personally undertakes continuous professional development within her various business roles, as well as attending external courses.

Phone: 0408 200 545 or 02 9555 5776
Website: www.haymanstrategy.com
Email: cheryl@haymanstrategy.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/cherylhayman
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cheryl.hayman
LinkedIn: See Cheryl’s Public Profile
Member Profile: See Cheryl’s Member Profile

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