Intergrate your marketing and protect your brand
When approaching a new marketing campaign, it is vital to think holistically. A lot of my work involves online marketing, but I have to think much wider than this, I have to take into account any print marketing, logo design, PR – in effect I have, at all times, to stay on message.
As a marketer, I often have a company’s brand identity in my hands and this is something that I take very seriously. A brand is very difficult to build and very easy to destroy. A badly worded tweet can cost a brand dear, and because of the immediacy of online marketing, the message is often seen far and wide, very quickly. Bad marketing is often more viral than good marketing, but can cost a lot more.
Take a look at the recent ‘applegate’ affair for example. Apple have done a great job to protect their brand and turn it into one of the coolest companies on the planet. Ok, the iPhone had a bit of a design flaw, but it was perhaps Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ reaction which turned it into a media storm. His reaction to the antennae problems was ‘not a problem, hold it differently’. The message was spread on blogs, tweets and online posts within hours. The universal annoyance caused by this lost the company billions in reduced share price and forced them into a press conference where they had to admit that they were, after all, only human.
Be very careful with your brand. Be careful where you allow your brand to be used, and make sure that you tie everything together. If you are going to carry out some print advertising, make sure it uses the same message as your online stuff and vice versa. Make sure the offers match up, the wording is correct, images are appropriate. Have a set of brand guidelines that everyone working with your brand adheres to.
The best approach, and this is where a lot of companies go wrong, is to have a plan. This might sound basic, but you would be surprised how many companies are reactive rather than proactive. When starting a marketing campaign, sit down and plan a full years activity, taking account of seasonal messages and promotions, based on the research carried out. There may well be other opportunities arise during this time, and there is no reason not take advantage of them, as long as they fit in with the plan.
At all times, think about what you are doing and how it fits in with everything else, constantly communicate with all parties involved and make sure that, at all times, you protect your brand.
