Effective brand. Brand promotion. Basic steps for brand promotion

In the conditions of the current market situation, the promotion of a new trade name and the formation of a positive attitude towards it by a potential client audience is an equally significant element of the company's successful operation, as well as a properly developed marketing strategy aimed at introducing a new product to the market.

At the same time, advertising companies do not always play a major role. Quite often, the client audience of a manufacturing company is formed and retained due to a special attitude towards it, the establishment of a two-way dialogue. At the same time, consumers have the opportunity to obtain all the necessary information about the company itself.

Basic steps for brand promotion

To draw up an action plan aimed at promoting a new brand should be at the very beginning of the process of its development.

The program to promote the new brand is quite extensive. There are the following stages of brand promotion:

1. Research

At this stage, various information is collected, which will serve as the basis for the following activities. A so-called situational analysis is carried out, which includes:

• assessment of the new brand and the situation that has developed around it (consumer attitude, popularity, etc.);
• determination of the competitive advantages of the promoted product;
• analysis of the competitive environment;
• goal setting, etc.

This information will become the basic basis for developing the brand promotion concept.

1. Setting goals and objectives

The information obtained during the first stage is taken as the basis for developing goals. Now it is necessary to give the correct formulation of the goals and objectives of promotion. It is most expedient to develop tasks for a specific target audience. In this case, there may be several groups.

The most common goals for promoting a new name are:

• increasing brand awareness;
• formation of a positive image, associative perception as reliable;
• conquering a competitive audience;

The result of correctly built marketing communications is the establishment of cooperation with partner companies, the loyalty of a potential consumer audience increases, and sales volumes grow.

1. Definition of consumer audience

The main goal of the events being developed is to provide the necessary impact on the potential audience. For the greatest effectiveness, it is divided into groups, where personal work is already carried out.

Of greater interest in building marketing communication links are the following categories:

• company employees;
• partner firms, supplier firms, dealers;
• buyers, customers and others.

Separately, for each group, an individual plan of ongoing activities is developed, taking into account the specifics and personal characteristics of the target audience.

1. The choice of marketing tools used to influence the client audience.

As a rule, this is:

• service centers providing comprehensive support;
• design;
• building relationships with investors, etc.

1. Development of a promotion strategy

After the necessary information has been collected, the potential audience has been identified, the moment comes when you can begin to develop a promotion strategy.

Here, the main factors affecting the whole complex are:

• market type;
• Who is the strategy aimed at?
• the stage the brand is in.

1. The choice of means by which it is planned to convey the selected marketing activities to consumers.

Here you choose how the new product name will be positioned.

1. Budget

Budgeting is underway.

1. Bringing strategy to life

This step is completely devoted to the implementation of the developed plan aimed at popularizing the new brand.

1. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the work performed

The final stage, when a deep analysis of the result is carried out, an assessment of the effectiveness of the work carried out and the quality of achieving the selected goals is assessed.

Brand positioning

Promotion of a new brand on the market impossible without its positioning. And this process begins with the choice of a name. Large companies, when deciding to launch products on international markets, must conduct an in-depth study of the chosen name in order to avoid unpleasant coincidences or associations. In addition to the semantic load, the sound of the word is also analyzed.

Branding is most applicable to consumer products. Its main concept lies in the following steps:

• promotion;
• approximation;
• pushing.

Traditionally used for this brand promotion channels:

• promotions;
• sampling;
• merchandising;
• dealer networks.

A person uninitiated in the nuances of branding may get the impression that branding and high-tech products are incompatible, because the methods used in the process do not correspond to this type of product. But in the modern world, goods change too quickly, and ignorance of the advantages of products with a new name translates branding into the status of the most demanded processes in this product category.

When choosing a marketing strategy, it should be remembered that the introduction of a corporate brand is different from pairing a new product name in the consumer market.

A corporate brand is somewhat different from classic product brands. The brand of the company is not a banal logo, but a beautifully designed and designed website. It is rather a set of impressions that the name of the company evokes and, accordingly, the attitude of the entire interested category of people towards it. That's why corporate brand promotion requires an individual approach in each specific case.

Branding Strategies

The two most commonly used brand promotion strategies are:

• Push (push);
• Pull (pull).

The choice depends on the result obtained after the analytical review of the market.

The Push strategy is used in the PR of a new brand of enterprises specializing in industrial goods. Whereas Pull is most suitable for consumer markets. This is a favorite strategy of resellers who, as it were, "pull" the product to potential buyers.

It should be remembered that these strategic methods cannot be opposed to each other, since they are complementary and the combination of both approaches will give the greatest effect on brand promotion.

If you choose Pull-strategy, then you need to conduct a thorough analytical study of the market situation. It is necessary to determine the main needs of the potential target group so that the newly introduced product is in high demand. The main item of expenditure includes the costs associated with conducting in-depth marketing analysis.

This variant of the strategy is characterized by pushing the brand through various marketing tools. Money is mainly invested in advertising companies.

The main concept of promoting a new brand

In today's society, which is simply overloaded with information, the popularization of a new brand is simply impossible without a properly developed strategy. The range of goods presented on today's market is very wide, so the PR options for a new name differ from each other.

Integrated promotion

The appearance on the market of a new product name always receives a response, and a certain attitude is formed towards it. But it doesn't always work as expected. The reason for this is quite simple - the buyer, due to certain circumstances, did not get the opportunity to form the right impression about the product. Therefore, a potential buyer needs to be helped to appreciate its advantages. It is in this situation that a comprehensive strategy is applied.

Correct positioning of a new name is possible only after a brand audit, that is, an assessment of its position relative to competitive products from this category and direct perception of the product by the consumer.

The audit should be repeated periodically, as the market situation may change and the brand's success may decrease.

There are two types of audit:

• interior;
• external.

Development of a brand promotion strategy admissible only after a full audit.

Internal Audit

This process includes the following items:

• what is the vision, leading strategies and mission of the company, as well as the role of the brand in the business;
• determination of weak and strong qualities not only of a new product, but also of the company as a whole;
• analysis of marketing activities.

External audit

The following events take place here:

• the market environment is analyzed;
• a study of market development trends is carried out;
• analyzes the overall perception of the brand by the consumer;
• an analytical assessment of competing companies is carried out, advantages and disadvantages are evaluated.

Marketing strategy

An important stage in the positioning of a new brand is the moment of formation of its perception. To do this, the applied strategies must be accompanied by a clearly and competently developed plan. It should be remembered that popularizing a brand is not just showing beautiful pictures on a blue screen or a lot of banners with its image hung around the city. This is a daily process that needs clear analytical calculations and adjustment of actions.

An important component in this process is the promotion of a new product in the world wide web, the potential of which simply has no limits. There are quite a few proven methods:

• promotion through social resources;
• search engines;
• contextual advertising and others.

With the network version of promotion, it has some differences.

Brand promotion methods

Brand promotion methods may be different, but it should always be borne in mind that the formation of loyalty to a new brand includes many nuances.

First of all, it is worth considering the portrait of a potential consumer. The general view of the competitive environment, as well as the specific features of the industry, should not be overlooked. A well-designed and executed promotion helps build brand awareness.

In addition, the new trade name should be positively perceived by the potential consumer audience by ear. Therefore, once created a positive image should be maintained constantly, regardless of the stage of its existence.

Brand promotion technologies

The smallest list of technologies used in brand promotion includes many different ways. It could be:

• creation of a dealer network;
• advertising;
• organization of centers where you can get all the necessary information;
• conducting presentations or promotions;
• print ads and more.

Brand promotion in this way is a rather costly option that requires significant cash injections. At the same time, it is far from certain that these investments will justify themselves. Of course, the trademark will become recognizable, but this does not guarantee that sales will grow.

There are quite a few less expensive but more effective ways to promote a new brand. And this is the use of print advertising. This option has been used in the process of promoting and popularizing the “newcomer” for a very long time. Only the technique of execution changes, as well as the speed with which products are produced. In this age of advanced technology, applying props, logos or slogans takes a matter of minutes. In this case, absolutely any surface can be used.

It can be:

• advertising banners of any size, demonstrating brand symbols;
• small leaflets;
• colorful booklet;
• plastic bags with brand logos printed on the surface.

All this works great, effectively and unobtrusively introducing consumers to the new brand.

provocative marketing

An inexhaustible storehouse of incredible ideas, as well as many additional ways to promote a brand - provocative marketing. What does he represent?

Imagine a situation where the main area in front of the main office turns into a company logo painted in bright colors. Or the whole friendly team of the company arranges incredible competitions on the main avenue of the city. These are prime examples of provocative marketing. Which ones to use, read the article at the link.

All the given examples of events will not just be remembered by people. They will shock and amaze them, which means they will be discussed. Your sign will be seen, remembered, and talked about. But that's exactly what we were aiming for.

Social technologies

If the company is not ready for such radical actions and the promotion is planned to be implemented in softer ways, then it is worth looking towards social technologies.

Building a strategy to promote a new trademark is a very delicate matter. At the same time, the psychological characteristics of the potential consumer audience should be taken into account. And here such a social technology as the "principle of participation" perfectly manifests itself.

What it is?

Human psychology is arranged in such a way that on a subconscious level, he seeks to belong or simply be involved with any category of people. It can be wealthy and successful, independent, fashionable, athletic and others. This is what is the basis of this principle.

As an example, consider the Marlboro brand. The visual symbols and main elements of this trademark reproduce a single image of an independent man. And a person who smokes a Marlboro cigarette subconsciously associates himself with him, feeling his success, masculinity and independence.

Sociological research confirms the fact that men do not choose cigarettes of a certain brand because they prefer this particular brand. Here the subconscious association plays a role, causing emotional and psychological dependence. This means that the product promotion strategy was built and developed very accurately.

Subconscious influence, of course, gives a magnificent effect. But for the sake of this, one should not completely abandon such an option of popularization as mass advertising. In addition, the advertising techniques available in the modern world guarantee total fame.

A banner, running lines, animated cartoon characters, videos, Internet resources where you can get all the necessary information, an interactive presentation - this attracts the attention of an Internet user. And all this is provided by online advertising. Every day, the number of inhabitants of the virtual world is growing inexorably, and with it, the likely audience of consumers of the newly minted trade brand is also increasing.

Brand extension

But often, despite all the efforts made, it is not possible to promote the trademark. In this case, the expansion of delirium comes to the rescue. What is behind this term? Everything is quite simple.

There are brands that have become famous thanks to a single product. Other companies, when starting to promote their brand, start with an expanded range of products, and, as a rule, this move achieves its goal.

Quite often, in order for the brand to become popular, several names should be added. Probably, it is this little thing that is not enough for the full promotion of the brand.

Geographic Stretch

There is simply no list of brilliant ideas, as well as solutions to all problems. Therefore, each specific situation requires an individual approach. And each has its own solution.

It may happen that a new trademark will not be to the taste of the inhabitants of one city, but will be well promoted in a completely different region. For example, a new sunscreen is unlikely to be in demand beyond the Arctic Circle, but in the Crimea, where maximum protection from the sun is required, it will certainly find its consumer audience.

Therefore, stretching the geography of brand promotion is used quite often. And not only as a way to expand already, but also to capture potentially new sales areas.

Direct communication with buyers

Popularization of a new product name in the modern world is simply impossible without direct contact with the buyers of the product. There are a lot of options for creating links of this type, but the basic one is network marketing. It has been successfully used by Western companies for a very long time.

The technology of this marketing move is that only the consumer can most objectively report the pros and cons of the product. As a rule, the shortcomings are sorted out almost on the shelves.

Contact numbers placed on product packages, a business card, a private conversation with a consumer, questionnaires for brand users are excellent opportunities for obtaining the necessary information. Let not too personal, but giving the opportunity to work out all the missed moments.

This information becomes the basis in the process of developing an updated PR strategy for a new trademark, or making the necessary changes to the main structure.

Marketing tools

To start the process of promoting a new product name, you should carefully consider the development of a plan of strategic measures that can take into account its features, the properties of its potential audience, its preferences and other nuances. But the development of strategic planning involves the use of many types of marketing tool. These branding tools are very effective. It is with them that we now meet.

• television;
• radio advertising;
• advertising in print media;
• outdoor;
• located on vehicles;
• indoor

This advertising technology is a set of marketing activities aimed at a more specific impact than direct advertising. BTL makes it possible to convey an advertising message to an individual consumer.

• promotion of sales through sales representatives;
• activation of consumer sales;
• direct marketing;
• exhibitions as a display opportunity;
• specialized events;
• trade marketing.

Thanks to such a narrow focus of BTL, advertising is becoming more and more popular. Proper use of this marketing tool can significantly reduce the costs required for promotion. In addition, the end consumer receives full information about the promoted product.

Internet Marketing

Brand promotion in the market using this tool is a modern and most effective version of promotion in the existing world. It makes it possible to apply the most common methods of promotion on the World Wide Web. These include:

• search engine optimization;
• all types of advertising technologies that can be found on the Internet;
• SMM and viral marketing;
• traffic acquisition;
• newsletters that are thematic in nature.

This method provides simply huge opportunities for brand promotion. Moreover, many companies may allow only this channel to be used as a marketing tool in the brand promotion process.

Investment SEO (ISEO)

Investment SEO, as a marketing tool for brand promotion, is a completely new way of promoting through the Internet. The basis of this method is to attract a resource base acting in tandem with various SEO tools. A well-built strategy will help not only accelerate the commercial growth of the brand, but also ensure its further development.

Investment SEO is a chain of various activities aimed at increasing the awareness of a new brand. It is not an artificial attraction of traffic that is practiced here, but the work of a person to promote the brand in the search results of the main Yandex and Google systems.

In the modern world, promotion through social networks is becoming more and more popular. Most Internet users are exclusively in social networks, where they lead a fairly active virtual life, so it is almost impossible to get this audience through search engines.

If you make a list of the most popular social Internet resources, then the list of leaders will be headed by:

This should include such social services as social bookmarking and subscription services, in particular, Subscribe.ru, Google +1.

There are many effective ways. This:

1. Creation of a thematic group. For these purposes, the leaders from the above list are excellent.
2. Crossposting. This service allows you to add news from the company's website to various blogging services: Mail.Ru, Ya.ru, Livejournal, LiveInternet and others.
3. Sending news to Twitter.
4. Working with the Subscribe.ru service, where it is also possible to create thematic groups, as well as individual mailing lists.
5. Adding news to social bookmarks.

Together, all these rather tricky actions provide additional traffic to the company's website. They warm up the interest of potential customers in the advertised product or service, and also contribute to brand recognition.

The promotion strategy is developed for a certain period of time. At the same time, specific goals and objectives are set. But the market situation is quite volatile, so the process needs constant monitoring. It is carried out by constantly analyzing the current market situation, as well as other marketing research. Alina Orlova / article author

I like to learn everything new, interesting and unusual. And also - wrap yourself in a warm blanket, take hot cocoa and tell you about the latest in the financial market, hot stories from the offices of bank consultants and other interesting things.

In the process of developing and implementing a branding strategy, it becomes necessary to evaluate its effectiveness. Today, the problem lies in the fact that only a few enterprises in practice use branding performance indicators (Table 2.3)

In a general sense, efficiency is the ratio of performance to costs. In marketing theory, economic and communicative efficiency are distinguished.

Determining cost-effectiveness is relatively easy due to the availability and accuracy of data. It is due to the basis on financial indicators that the calculation of economic efficiency is a priority for financiers. In marketing, it is possible to estimate the costs of marketing activities, but it is practically impossible to estimate its economic effect, due to the influence of many factors.

Table 2.3. Common branding performance metrics

Communication effectiveness can be defined as the indicators of how an informational message reaches the audience for which it is intended and how they perceive this message.

This information can be obtained through research and surveys of the target audience, while interpreting the data and identifying the reliability of the information received.

So, efficiency characterizes the ratio of the effect obtained with the costs of achieving it and is “a kind of price or payment for achieving this result. Accordingly, in order to establish an indicator of the effectiveness of branding, it is necessary to determine the costs of it and the effect obtained.

In general, branding involves the creation and development of a brand, which sets the main task of developing and conveying the brand image to consumers as correctly as possible. Perceiving this image, "the consumer must quickly and correctly identify the brand and restore through knowledge, experience or associations those meaningful features of the brand that make up its identity."

If the monitoring revealed a gap between the planned and perceived image of the brand, then it must be eliminated through the use of marketing tools.

So branding costs are a set of costs for creating a brand, its development and promotion. When calculating costs, the following conditions must be taken into account:

The period for which expenses are calculated;

Structural components of costs in valuation;

Discount rates when adding up costs.

The resulting branding effect can be described as the achieved degree of correspondence between the brand identity, in which the company invests, and the brand image, which is formed at the level of consumer perception.

Any effect shows the degree of achievement of one or another given result, in the evaluation of which the actual or expected indicators are compared with a pre-adopted goal (planned indicators). If the result is not achieved at all, then the efficiency loses its positive economic value. All effects in branding can be divided into perceptual, behavioral and economic effects, with the first two groups of effects presented both from the standpoint of the consumer and from the standpoint of internal branding. Economic (financial and market) effects are associated with an increase in sales volumes or a brand's market share, an increase in brand equity.

Thus, the effectiveness of branding is the ratio of investment in the brand and the resulting degree of conformity of the brand identity with the brand image. Evaluation of the effectiveness of branding due to its multidimensional nature and the complex nature of costs should be carried out on the basis of an analysis of the main effects, the groups of which are highlighted above.

The first two groups represent models that directly assess the effectiveness of branding. And the rest evaluate marketing efficiency, effectiveness, productivity, profitability, within the framework of these models, methods for calculating important indicators were proposed and the relationship between the results of marketing activities and financial indicators was worked out.

The first direction in the formation of methods for evaluating the effectiveness of branding is represented by models focused on the analysis of the assets of the components of the brand's capital. The main models within this direction are presented in the works of D. Aaker, L. Cernatoni, F.J. Le Pla. D. Aaker's "Top Ten" Brand Equity.

D. Aaker emphasizes that although effective branding starts with good calculations, one should not rely only on financial criteria (sales volumes, cost structure, markups, brand return on investment). The problem is that these criteria, according to D. Aaker, "tend to be short-term, so only those investment proposals that give an immediate financial result become attractive." However, it is necessary to develop a reliable and sufficiently accurate system of financial metrics for brand strength that would complement the criteria for assessing brand equity assets (we are talking about the four main assets of brand equity: brand awareness, brand associations, its perceived quality and commitment to it). The measurement of these indicators is based primarily on consumer research. Thus, in D. Aaker's model, we are talking about some integral assessment of the strength of the brand, including both financial market and consumer indicators.

When selecting the necessary evaluation indicators, four key criteria were taken as a basis, according to which the indicators should:

1) reflect the object of measurement (i.e. brand equity);

2) reflect the structural elements that really control the market;

3) be sensitive to change (reflect a change in brand equity);

4) be designed to be applicable to brands, product categories and markets.

D. Aaker introduces the “top ten indicators” for assessing brand equity (Fig. 1). It should be noted that this "ten" does not necessarily represent the optimal set for all possible situations, in addition, according to the author, it requires modification to be tied to a specific situation and the task being performed.

Rice. 2.5. The Top Ten of Brand Equity

The first four groups of indicators are consumer assessments of brand capital assets obtained as a result of research, the fifth group is a reflection of the situation on the market. At the same time, according to D. Aaker, brand loyalty remains the key parameter of brand capital. The main advantages of the model under consideration are the consideration of indicators of market behavior. At the same time, this approach does not imply a comprehensive analysis of the relationships between the set of indicators presented in the model and does not solve the problem of obtaining an integral assessment of the effectiveness of branding activities.

Map of "health" of the brand L. ChernatoniL. Cernatoni in his works emphasizes the importance of a holistic approach to evaluating the effectiveness of branding. He conducted a study that demonstrated the need to use a whole range of criteria for assessing the success of a brand, and these should be criteria both based on business indicators and obtained by evaluating consumer opinions /

Later, this approach was developed in the development of a matrix consisting of two columns (internal and external brand assessment) and five rows (brand vision, organizational culture, brand objectives, brand essence, implementation and sourcing for the brand).

On fig. Figure 2.6 presents five categories representing the "building blocks" (successive stages) of creating and developing a brand. Within each of them, questions were formulated to determine the effectiveness of branding at specific stages of construction. The answers to these questions are scored on a scale of 0 to 5. For each of the categories, an integral score is calculated (arithmetic mean of the scores from the total number of questions within a certain category).

The model developed by L. Chernatoni will allow to obtain integral indicators that are convenient to operate from the standpoint of brand management, and are quite clear. In addition, the undoubted advantage of his model is the attention not only to the external assessment of the brand, but also to the internal one - taking into account the strength of the brand from the point of view of the company's personnel is no less important than the results of the assessment by consumer metrics. At the same time, in our opinion, too much attention is paid to internal evaluation: the number of indicators focused on revealing the attitude of staff towards the brand is almost twice as large as the number of consumer metrics in the model. Another disadvantage is the lack of direct financial indicators, the main focus is on brand valuation at the expense of its capital indicators. It should be noted that L. Cernatoni's approach is based on a three-dimensional model of brand equity (Fig. 2.6), borrowed from the works of P. Feldvik.

Rice. 2.6. Evaluation of branding effectiveness at various stages of brand building

Brand attributes, representing brand equity assets, determine its strength, which in turn affects its ultimate value. P. Feldvik formulated a set of provisions regarding the assessment of brand effectiveness, in particular, he identified the main indicators traditionally assessed by managers or brand owners:

Current performance: combinations of market share and price, modeling techniques to separate underlying consumer demand from external factors;

Diagnostics of existing trends and "early warning systems":

measurement of consumer attitudes, awareness and purchasing behavior (reflect commercial effectiveness);

The ability of the brand to deliver future long-term profitability to the company (“It would be nice if there were a performance indicator that rewards brand managers for maintaining brand viability, and not just maximizing its market share or current annual profits. However, no such indicator has yet been found, and it is not known whether it can exist at all).

The overall performance that can be measured for a brand in order to buy, sell or evaluate it, and use the resulting data for future strategic planning.

Figure 2.7. Feldwick's three-pronged model of brand equity

In the work of F.J. Le Pla and L. Parker noted that annual benchmarking is one of the most important tools, while emphasizing the need to conduct a parallel check of brand value for customers and employees.

Model F.J. Le Pla and L. Parker involves the selection of a set of benchmarks and annual comparison with them. The measurements suggested by the authors include:

A study of induced and spontaneous awareness of a brand and its specific elements, including individual characteristics and associated visual associations;

Customer scoring of brand equity - at company level, by market segment and based on customer experience;

Analysis of the willingness of customers to pay a higher price for a product or service in general and the amount of a possible margin;

Determination of the number of competitive product or service choices that a customer will explore in search of a replacement for an existing branded product or to acquire a new branded product or service.

It is necessary to compare these indicators not only with the results of previous years, but also with those of competitors. The authors also draw attention to the mandatory assessment of the return on investment in the brand.

Among the main advantages of the model, one should point out the serious attention to the research process, including personal telephone interviews, focus groups, customer panels and quantitative surveys. In addition, the model involves an assessment of the return on investment, although, in our opinion, the proposed method is not sufficiently clear and transparent.

The second group of approaches to evaluating the effectiveness of branding is focused on the analysis of indicators by groups of metrics. This is a fairly well-studied area, but the most interesting in our analysis are the approaches of S. Davis and M. Dunn and T. Munoz and S. Kumar.

The model of S. Davis and M. Dunn suggests that in order to assess the role of the brand in achieving the strategic and tactical goals of the company, it is necessary to develop indicators (metrics) of branding effectiveness - “measurable parameters for evaluating the effectiveness of brand-oriented company actions, i.e. a company that, when making strategic decisions, adheres to the rule of conformity of such decisions with the existing or desired brand policy.

To develop branding performance indicators, S. Davis and M. Dunn suggest using the concept of contact branding. The content of this concept is revealed in the fact that by identifying and controlling the points of contact between the brand and the consumer, it is possible to assess the effectiveness of brand management. At the same time, touch points are understood as all those ways, using which “existing and potential consumers come into contact with the brand and which can or are already used to influence current or future decisions related to the brand”.

To assess the effectiveness of branding, it is necessary to analyze the formation of consumer experience in three groups of contact points between the consumer and the brand: the first group of contact points is aimed at attracting new consumers and forms knowledge about the brand before making a purchase; the second is formed during the purchase and is aimed at creating a positive consumer contact with the brand; the third group - contact after the purchase, it is aimed at maintaining a favorable image among consumers who have made a purchase of a branded product, and at achieving a high level of satisfaction from the purchase made by them. At the same time, the division of contact points into these three groups is rather arbitrary, since the same points can be in more than one group at the same time and affect both potential and real buyers.

As a result, the effectiveness of contact branding lies in the fact that the consumer receives a positive impression at all levels of contact with the brand. A negative customer experience at one of the touchpoint levels will lead to ineffective branding overall.

There are two types of metrics that should be considered in a company - tactical and strategic (Figure 2.8). Tactical metrics provide diagnostics of branding performance in terms of shaping the shopper experience at brand touchpoints and “help evaluate ongoing activities that are relevant to existing or potential customers within one of the three brand touchpoint quadrants.” Strategic metrics, in turn, provide a diagnosis of brand impact on business performance and “help assess the impact… of brand building activities on the overall performance of the brand, and thus of the company as a whole.”

The choice of certain metrics for evaluating the effectiveness of branding depends on specific goals, without a clear understanding of which the company will constantly experience difficulties in determining which of the metrics is really important for it.

The main advantage of this model is the use of contact branding principles, i.e. taking into account the relational nature of the brand when forming a set of metrics. At the same time, the model lacks financial and market metrics; it allows you to evaluate only the direct results of brand communications without a direct connection with financial results.

Rice. 2.8. Tactical and strategic branding metrics

Approach by T. Munoz and S. Kumar

T. Munoz and Sh. Kumar propose to build a branding assessment system based on three groups of metrics (perception metrics, behavioral and financial metrics), which make it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of branding. At the same time, the company itself determines which metrics will be included in these groups.

Perception metrics determine the degree of consumer awareness of the brand, their understanding of the advantages and benefits of acquiring it, the possibility of including it in the selection kit, i.e. evaluate the behavior of consumers before they make a purchase of a branded product. Behavioral and performance metrics reflect aspects of consumer behavior primarily after making a purchase, manifested in brand preference, repeat purchases, loyalty formation and willingness to recommend a favorite brand to others.

Financial metrics (financial metrics) reflect the return on investment in the brand, the financial assessment of the growth of brand capital in connection with successful branding activities.

These types of metrics make it possible to fully assess the effectiveness of branding (Table 2.4). All of these indicators are interrelated and interdependent. Improving the target indicators of one of the groups of metrics contributes to the growth of the performance of the indicators of the other group of metrics.

The advantage of the proposed approach is the accounting of financial indicators. The main drawback of the proposed model is that it does not include a sufficient set of market indicators (for example, brand distribution indicators), focusing mainly on consumer and financial metrics.

The third group of models is an assessment based on a balanced scorecard (BSC) developed by R. Kaplan and D. Norton. The basic premise of the BSC is that a complete picture of an enterprise's performance cannot be obtained from any single key indicator. In this regard, there is a need for a balanced model that includes a number of external and internal indicators, focused on the relevant success factors and demonstrating causal relationships between short-term and long-term tasks, as well as between the planned result and factors that directly affect the effectiveness of its activities.

The performance management system consists of goals, key indicators and strategic activities. A key performance indicator (KPI) is a characteristic or parameter that measures the achievement of a goal.

Table 2.4. Key Metrics for Branding Evaluation by T. Munoz and Sh Kumar

Using the principles of the BSC allows you to integrate the marketing and branding evaluation system into the overall performance evaluation system within the organization. However, the main disadvantage of such models is their extreme cumbersomeness, complexity of application in practice and the possibility of using only if the BSC is implemented in all functional units. In addition, within the framework of such models, branding and its results are considered only as one of the indicators of marketing effectiveness, i.e. branding remains a tactical tool. According to the approach to evaluating the effectiveness of marketing R. Kaplan and D. Norton, the introduction of an assessment of marketing effectiveness using the BSC approach makes sense only if this system is implemented at higher levels (i.e., the condition for an overall assessment of the organization's activities on the principles of the BSC must be met), which is a key limitation of the implementation of the approach at the marketing evaluation level.

When developing such a system, it is important to control the coincidence of the goals of the BSC at the marketing level with the goals at higher levels of evaluation.

At the marketing scorecard level, the key perspectives will be Customer Relations, Marketing Performance, Marketing Activities, and Information and Innovation. In the process of implementing the marketing BSC for each of the prospects, a number of indicators (individual for each organization) are developed, which will later be used as KPIs to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing activities. The formation of the list of indicators should take place on the basis of the sequential implementation of eight steps, and A. Preisner gives not only a description of these steps, but also the recommended time for their implementation.

In accordance with the proposed algorithm, the process of developing and implementing a system of marketing indicators takes at least six months, and the success of the system for a company can be determined no earlier than in two years. Such a time limit is critical in today's economic environment - in a dynamic, ever-changing environment. At the same time, the introduction of the BSC in a company is an extremely time-consuming process, and the proposed approach to evaluating the effectiveness of marketing (and branding) is directly related to the need to use this system at all levels of the organization's management.

Nevertheless, the model proposed by A. Preisner is effective in terms of reflecting the interdependence of indicators of different levels: causality is the main principle of building a balanced scorecard, i.e. it is important not only to form a set of certain KPIs, but also to establish clear relationships between them.

The fourth group of models for evaluating the effectiveness of branding includes approaches related to economic and econometric calculations. These models represent, to a greater extent, sets of indicators or recommendations for choosing a specific KPI with a complex calculation methodology.

R. Best argues that in order to objectively assess the effectiveness of a company, it is necessary to use financial indicators as an internal indicator and marketing indicators as an external indicator - only in this situation the evaluation system will be balanced.

He distinguishes three main groups of indicators of marketing effectiveness:

1. Indicators of market efficiency - assessment of external market conditions and market attractiveness (growth rates, market share, market and industry attractiveness, market demand potential).

2. Indicators of competitive efficiency - the competitiveness of the company's products (competitiveness of price, quality of products and services, brand, cost level).

3. Customer performance indicators - the effectiveness of cooperation with consumers (assessment of satisfaction, retention, loyalty, customer awareness and perceived customer value).

All indicators identified by the author are divided into categories: "internal - external" and "current - final". Internal indicators reflect the situation within the company, external - the situation in the market; current indicators are the leading indicators of the effectiveness of financial activity, the final ones reflect the financial result.

In addition to marketing efficiency indicators, R. Best singles out marketing profitability indicators and proposes formulas for their calculation.

M. Sherrington's model involves assessing the effectiveness of branding based on brand share in the market through KPI and complex multi-factor econometric models that allow assessing the influence of factors on the KPI level. However, already here a system error creeps into the model:

M. Sherrington emphasizes the need to highlight the dominant KPI, arguing that this is "an excellent way to focus a business on the right nature of growth and check whether growth goals are being achieved." On the one hand, it is necessary to simplify the system of indicators for practical use. On the other hand, there are certain limits to simplification, and it is unreasonable to reduce such a complex and multifaceted construct as a brand to one dominant indicator. At the same time, such an approach requires constant monitoring of the strength and viability of the brand and additional verification of the sufficiency of the chosen dominant KPI, which may not simplify, but, on the contrary, complicate the assessment system as a whole.

Thus, each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages. The majority is characterized by the premise that it is necessary to use consumer and financial market metrics to obtain an adequate estimate. The authors share this position, but believe that none of the existing assessment models fully covers all the necessary indicators. At present, there is a need for an integral model for evaluating the effectiveness of branding, which would allow taking into account, on the one hand, consumer and financial metrics, and on the other hand, external and internal effects of branding.

What is branding and what are its functions? How is a successful brand developed and promoted online? How to create a company logo using modern technologies?

Hello, friends. In touch Alexander Berezhnov, entrepreneur, marketer and permanent author of the HiterBober.ru website.

In this article, we will talk about creating a brand online. Every day more and more companies advertise on the Internet, improve their sites, and some projects generally exist only on the World Wide Web and earn money by selling advertising or providing services. The development of a brand book is an important step in positioning and further promoting your company, both on the supermarket shelves and in the fight for online sales.

In a separate section of the article, I will also tell you how we created our own brand on the Internet - our site HiterBober.ru, where we started and what "chips" and techniques we use today for effective promotion and "self-PR".

1. What is a brand and branding - their impact on the development of online and offline business

The modern consumer market is inextricably linked with advertising and marketing technologies. A successful brand speaks for itself - it sells a product before customers see it.

Today it is difficult to find a civilized person who would not name a dozen successful world brands and well-known trademarks of his country.

Everyone is familiar with such “offline brands” as BMW, McDomalds, Lukoil, Mars, Gazprom, Beeline, SONY, Coca-Cola, Nike, Armani and others.

However, in recent decades there have been biggest online brands:

I am sure that you have used at least half of them at least once in your life.

Moreover, active buyers (users) can always say why one brand is better than another and what unique qualities the products from this or that manufacturer have.

In large companies, branding is given maximum attention: entire departments are engaged in the creation, promotion and positioning of brands and company logos.

If you want to succeed in your business, then developing a strong and memorable brand is essential. A successful brand is the first and most effective way to increase sales and an integral part of the brand.

The brand includes:

• logo;
• corporate design (style);
• consumer perception of the product;
• emotional characteristics of a product or service;
• tagline.

A brand is not just a sonorous name, but also the benefits (benefits) that a consumer receives when he purchases a product of a certain brand. This is a kind of guarantee of quality and confidence of the buyer that he will not be deceived.

When creating a successful business, you need to strive to ensure that the quality of the product meets or exceeds the expectations of the target audience. People should get exactly what they pay for and expect.

A brand is always more than a logo or an eye-catching symbol. This is a product or a whole company with a positive credit of trust and a high level of support from the consumer audience.

The attitude of the target group of buyers affects the image of the product and even its properties, but the product itself is always primary. If you don’t have a quality product, even the most ingenious branding will not help you stay in the consumer market.

2. Stages of effective online branding implementation

Any modern business is represented on the Internet. Moreover, some commercial projects work exclusively within the global network.

For this reason, building brands online is a particularly relevant issue in the current market conditions.

If you intend to sell your product online, you need a recognizable brand. And every brand or newly created business needs its own website through which its products or services will be sold. To do this, I advise you to use the Wix online website builder and create a website on it.

In my opinion, this is the most convenient and promising website builder on the web with millions of users around the world.

The latest digital and information technologies provided by the Wix developers will help you effortlessly create your own online project even for those users who have no idea about programming or working with graphic editors.

Now let's move on to creating brands. Like any responsible task, this process is carried out in stages.

Stage 1. Setting goals and planning

The main value of any business is determined by its benefit to others and, as a result, the commercial effectiveness of the project.

If your product is useful to the consumer, his image will be positive, which will inevitably affect the promotion of the brand itself. And then a positive brand will itself influence the mind and perception of the buyer.

At the initial stage, it is necessary to set branding goals, develop a company vision and create a strategic plan. It is also necessary to determine the target audience and understand what the channels of communication with consumers will be.

At this stage, the following are also determined:

• brand mission;
• brand life cycle (how long is the active period of the product or service calculated);
• place of the brand in the structure of the company;
• budget.

Perfect branding doesn't have to mean costly. The main thing is a qualitative research of the audience and a creative approach.

Stage 2. Market research and competitive analysis

Analysis of the market and competitive environment is the most important stage of effective branding. Research is a competent analysis of the general situation on the market regarding the products of your segment. This also includes the definition of price parameters and market research.

It is also necessary to understand how long the brand will be able to maintain its presence in the market, whether it is characterized by dependence on the season, what are the regional characteristics of the consumer audience.

An important point is the analysis of competitors. It is a big mistake to think that you will be accepted in the market with open arms. It is a misconception to treat competitors condescendingly and underestimate them.

Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of competing companies is an art. Experts say that no one will conduct a full-fledged competitive analysis better than the business owner himself.

Stage 3. Development of the name and corporate identity

Entire volumes have been written about choosing a catchy and strong name for companies or commercial products. Within the framework of this article, we will indicate the main features of an effective name.

Here they are:

• conciseness (the shorter the name, the easier it is to remember);
• phonetic euphony;
• meaningfulness (even an incomprehensible name should have a hidden meaning);
• uniqueness.

Ideally, if the name is directly related to the activities of your company. A unique brand should be registered with a patent organization (in the Russian Federation it is Rospatent). Legal protection is the basis for the successful development of the brand in the future.

Please note that the brand is registered in the form of a trademark ™ , can only be owned by a legal entity.

A euphonious and successful name is only half the battle. Now you need to create a unique design and visual style of the brand - this task can be entrusted to an experienced designer or use modern technologies - the already mentioned Wix constructor.

Using the Wix website builder, we easily sketched out the site of a possible consulting agency HiterBober.ru

Here's what his hat looks like (screenshot):

Let's be honest, this is a powerful tool for those who do not own various technologies at all, such as html, css and want to create a professional website in an hour and a half.

When you get to the site builder, you are prompted to select the type of site you plan to create:

It's nice that the developers are so attentive to the needs of the user.

What we personally liked when working with this constructor is the flexibility of each element.

For example, if this is a picture, then dozens of its types and color schemes will help create a certain mood for the site, depending on the type of activity that you are engaged in.

The same can be said about fonts when using Wix - everything here is like in the well-known Word editor - size, color, text, alignment and other familiar parameters are adjusted.

Now one-page or landing page has become a very popular type of site. No problem – this website builder allows you to create a professional landing page with effects and unique “juicy” pictures.

Once the site theme itself is ready, you can publish it on the Internet as a full-fledged site with the click of a button.

All you have to do is launch traffic to the created page and get customers.

Therefore, friends, when creating a brand online, if you do not want to "bother" with complex technologies, program codes and design, we sincerely recommend Wix as a professional tool.

We can say that Wicks is your free webmaster who realizes any of your wishes, turning website creation into a simple and exciting experience.

Stage 4. Brand positioning on the Internet and its promotion

Positioning is the selection of a unique position for the brand in the mind of the consumer. Ideally, a product, service or company should occupy a free niche in the perception of the buyer and be associated with unique benefits.

A professional approach prescribes the development of a "brand book" - a manual that clearly states how the brand is used, what its mission and main idea are.

For promotion, a media plan is being developed and an advertising campaign is being prepared. It depends on competent advertising whether a new message reaches the target audience or gets stuck somewhere halfway to it.

Stage 5. Evaluation of effectiveness

Performance review is a set of activities that allow you to evaluate an existing brand after it has been “launched to the masses”.

Monitoring is carried out either in the form of a selective survey of the audience, or through a professional audit of the company's activities.

In simple terms, a brand can be considered effective if, after its creation and promotion, the profits of a company or organization have increased markedly.

But here it is worthwhile to understand how much sales volume has grown thanks to a successful brand (logo).

In the table below, I clearly presented the stages and steps of developing an attractive brand, including online:

3. Five properties of a strong online brand

Branding carried out in accordance with all the rules will definitely give a positive result: your product (website) will become recognizable, a positive image of the offer will form in the mind of the consumer.

What are the characteristics of a strong brand? These same properties apply to branding in general, whether it's an online project or an offline business.

We list them in order of importance.

Property 1. Honesty

A company that is honest with the consumer is more likely to build a positive brand image. A real brand never deceives the audience or flirts with it.

If a company shows underestimated or overestimated expectations through its logo (slogan), this directly affects the level of sales. Therefore, it is necessary to strive for the maximum correspondence between the proposal and the expectations of consumers.

Property 2. Recognizability

Recognition is simplicity and accessibility. These qualities help the brand to be realized in all other directions.

To make a brand recognizable, you need to focus on the psychology of consumers and rely, first of all, on the benefits that the product gives to the client.

An example of the competent use of this property is an advertisement for a well-known shampoo, which is firmly positioned in the mind of the buyer as a remedy for dandruff No. 1.

Property 3. Uniqueness

A brand that is unlike other brands experiences minimal negative impact from competitors.

It is necessary to ensure that your product is unique and inimitable in the consumer market, both in terms of functionality and in terms of the emotions that it evokes.

Property 4. Integrity

Integrity is brand recognition at all levels of communication with the audience. This is the result of carefully done work of designers and marketers.

Integrity means that all costs invested in the product are 100% working for its positive image. If the brand is underdeveloped at some point, its promotion will resemble a "deaf phone" - you speak, but the audience does not hear you.

Property 5. Maximum audience reach

It is obvious that the brand that everyone hears and sees brings the maximum profit. Try to promote your brand in all ways that are available to you.

There are dozens of ways to promote a product on the Internet, and every year new effective methods appear. Use them before others, and your “message” will reach every potential consumer.

4. Case "HiterBober.ru" - how we created a popular online brand from scratch

Friends, a little practical story for marketers and people just interested in how we created our popular online brand.

About 4 years ago, with my friend and business partner Vitaliy, we created a personal blog - "Heater Beaver".

Name

When choosing a name, we wrote down 74 options on a piece of paper. Each of them had to meet several fundamental criteria.

Here they are - the parameters for selecting the brand name of our site:

1. Memorability. The name should "crash" into memory and stay in it for a long time.
2. Rhyming. Based on the first criterion, in my experience, I will say that rhyming brands and names are better remembered.
3. Intrigue. A person, having heard the intriguing name of the site, already wants to go to it. After all, it’s interesting what the “Cunning Beaver” prepared for him there;)
4. Simplicity. The title should be simple. We immediately dismissed options like Infobizconsult.ru, BusinessMasterGuru.ru, and the like.
5. Free and relevant domain name. I also wanted the spelling of the domain in Latin to be 100% identical to the Russian brand name..

Positioning

Based on the name, we position our site as a project for start-up entrepreneurs and people with an active lifestyle. The very brand of our site on the Internet is associated with a cunning and intelligent animal that will teach something new and non-standard.

Besides, financially wealthy and entrepreneurial people often call beavers, we also took this moment into account when creating the brand.

In general, in order to fully form the correct positioning of a brand or offer, it is necessary to answer several questions.

Let's answer these 7 questions from the point of view of positioning the brand of the HiterBober.ru website

1. Who? HeatherBober.ru
2. Which? A unique site providing expert content from small business practitioners.
3. For whom? For start-up entrepreneurs, active businessmen and people with an active lifestyle.
4. What is the need? Up-to-date information on ways of doing business and making money online and in real life.
5. Against who? Unlike competitors and similar sites, we write for ordinary people, without abstruse schemes and complex terms.
6. What is the difference? All expert advice, instructions and suggestions have been tested in practice PERSONALLY by the authors of the articles.
7. Thus? You get ready-made step-by-step practical technologies for starting a business and making money with the personal support of the authors of the project.

Branding

As you can see, we have several “branding points” and branding elements on the site. Thanks to these techniques, we are often quoted, the site is bookmarked, and advertising is placed on it.

What elements (components) are used on the site as "brand":

• corporate colors (yellow, dark blue);
• logo (located in the header and footer (footer) of the site;
• branding of images on the site;
• mention in the greeting of the site the name "HiterBober.ru"

A few words about the site logo. As you can see, our Beaver is kind, one of his hands is in an open position, as if calling to “stay” (stay) on the site and study the project materials.

Promotion

1. Search promotion. It is carried out due to a specially developed technology for writing and optimizing site materials. You can read about this in our separate article on compiling.
2. "Word of mouth" and direct visits from bookmarks. It uses promotion to the account of the elements of "viral marketing", the basis for which is the intrigue and humor inherent in the name of the site.

Let's summarize the section.

This is how we created, and after several weeks of effort, developed our Beaver. Now we have not only online branding, but also other paraphernalia.

Attributes of the HiterBober.ru brand:

When they ask us what you do and we answer that we run our own popular site with such and such a name, people immediately get a smile.

The most important thing is that the name is remembered and you want to visit the site at least out of curiosity.

And in the next section, I will touch on the rules for developing a logo, since in the past I worked as a designer for several years and created not a single logo for different customers.

By developing a unique brand name, you have shown the world who you are and what you want. Now you need to add a unique sign or spelling to the product (company name) to stand out from others.

An effective logo always has some inner message, if you like - contains a short success story. The symbol should have an emotional component and a unique style.

As a rule, vector graphics editors are most often used for logo design: Adobe Issustrator and Corel Draw are the market leaders.

Less commonly, Photoshop is also used for this purpose, but since this program is mainly designed to work with raster graphics, professionals for drawing logos almost never use it to solve such a problem.

Now, online programs and various services are used to develop logos.

If you are not very familiar with professional designer tools, then in this case you can use simpler solutions.

For example, the popular website building platform Wix has a logo creation feature. Using the capabilities of this constructor, you can easily figure it out for a virtual environment and be able to do it yourself.

As you can see, modern technologies allow everyone who wants to become a creator and artist. It's simple, affordable and very effective.

A few design tips for creating logos:

• a good logo should look equally expressive on the packaging, on the magazine page, and on the computer screen;
• a quality symbol conveys to the client the atmosphere of the product and emphasizes its advantages;
• a spectacular logo always works for the general idea of ​​the company;
• pay special attention to color - it should correspond to the spirit of your company and affect the emotions of the consumer;
• from time to time the logo needs to be finalized in accordance with current trends in marketing;
• don't get hung up on the design: the main thing is not the picture itself, but its inner message.

The perfect logo works for the brand for years and always matches the target audience. A well-crafted symbol of a product or company, in which material and creative resources are invested, will help save on advertising and other costs in the future.

6. Conclusion

Let's sum it up, friends. Branding is a vast and highly promising area of ​​effort to effectively position your company both offline and online.

Building a positive brand image is a long and painstaking process. However, successful branding always pays for itself, and many times over.

Brand value is a very important element that can provide a company with long-term profit growth and a stable position in the market (in its industry). Branding is becoming a real weapon in the competition.

I wish you success in creating the development of your brands and ask you to rate the article.

A modern store is not just a territory where a person makes purchases, but also a place where he gets new experience and sensations. In order for the customer to experience positive emotions at all stages of the purchase, the stores must have a special atmosphere that creates a positive attitude. It can be ensured by trade branding - a set of measures aimed at creating an original concept and comfortable conditions for buying.

You will learn:

• What is trade branding.
• What are the goals of trade branding?
• When to do branding.
• What tools does branding use?
• What are the steps involved in creating your own brand?
• What mistakes should not be made when conducting trade branding.

Trade branding, or retail branding, is, first of all, a unique, powerful idea that allows a retail chain, store or a certain product to stand out from competitors. At the same time, trade branding does not require large investments, and its benefits for business are significant and beyond doubt.

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We interviewed businessmen and found out what modern tactics help to increase the average check and the frequency of purchases of regular customers. We have published tips and practical cases in the article.

Also in the article you will find three tools to determine the needs of customers and increase the average check. With these methods, employees always fulfill the plan for upselling.

What is trade branding

Competition between organizations for the attention and finances of buyers in almost all areas is high. Sometimes one and the same product is presented on the market with dozens of items. Creating, launching and promoting products requires a complex, thoughtful approach to branding. Brand development is one of the key stages for a company that wants to trade consistently and profitably on the market in the future.

In the domestic economy, the concepts of “brand” and “trademark” are most often used, but with the advent of these values ​​from Western economic literature, we began to interpret these identical definitions in different ways, confusing legally different “trademark” and “trademark” .

Let us immediately clarify that “trademark” and “brand” in the West mean the same thing, while in our country the concept of a trademark most often means a trademark.

The American school of marketing defines the word brand in this way: a naming, word, meaning, finished design, symbol, or a combination of all of the above, which together forms a product (service) recognizable on the market offered by an individual seller or their group. A prerequisite for success and a brand goal in itself is to provide customers with an intuitive opportunity, thanks to a recognizable symbol, to distinguish a product from those presented by competitors.

The concept of "trademark" carries the same meaning. We can say that a brand is a brand that is consistently recognizable by customers.

The purpose of branding is the development of a design, name, slogan - a whole range of solutions aimed at creating a trademark that the consumer associates with a qualitative set of characteristics and attributes of the company. A properly developed brand allows the product to be easily recognizable in the market and evoke positive associations among buyers. Also, the main task of the brand is to serve as a kind of marker that distinguishes the product from other competitors on the market. Additionally, product branding is indirectly aimed at retaining customers, their long-term attachment.

Why Trade Branding is Necessary

Among the variety of different products in the same category, buyers most often look for the only brand that they once liked. Consider, by what criteria we choose "our" product.

1. Price. Undoubtedly, for most, the main reason for choosing a product is its cost. The person who came to the store usually already limited himself in advance to the price framework in which he makes the choice of goods.
2. Quality, composition of the product. Comparing products of the same price category, we prefer the highest quality ones. For example, the main criterion for choosing food products is their composition - a minimum of artificial components, a maximum of benefit.
3. brand awareness. Surely, when we come to the store, we will intuitively look for products of either a brand that has already been tested before, or those that we have heard positive feedback from our friends about. If we do not find any product names known to us at all, then most likely we will choose the brand that we have heard at least some information about, even if it was a very long time ago. We almost always make a choice in favor of a brand we know.
4. Appearance, design. When choosing a product, we certainly pay attention to its appearance. It is by the design of the packaging that we often judge the quality of the product. If a manufacturer, for example, declares his product as environmentally friendly and natural, then the design must comply with these statements. Already at the first stage of acquaintance with the product, we must understand its properties and characteristics.

Product branding and its success in the market are directly related. How does a brand influence sales?

• Price. With its design and pricing policy, the brand is remembered by the buyer as a product from a certain price category, and the next time a person may not even look at the cost, focusing on the design and knowing that this is a product from the price category that suits him.
• Quality. Having once bought a product that satisfied us with its quality, we remember its design. Next time, for example, from dozens of types of shampoo presented in the window, we most likely will not hesitate to take the brand that suits us in terms of quality.
• Fame. This is often used by large concerns that produce cosmetics and household chemicals. Despite the wide range of names and designs of each individual product group, they are all connected by one easily remembered and recognizable brand. "Chamomile shampoo" and "sea buckthorn soap" in such corporations always carry a single recognizable brand. Having bought a good soap that has a famous brand on its packaging, we most likely will not hesitate to buy a shampoo if we see the same sign on its bottle.
• Appearance, packaging design. Most buyers perceive products by their packaging. If a product has a competent, interesting and bright design, if it evokes certain emotions in a person, then this is a great incentive to make a purchase. Psychologically, the client first of all evaluates the appearance of the product, and only by it begins to judge its quality characteristics, which means that the correct packaging design is the key to successful product sales.

No matter how pragmatic a person is in his purchases, he still, when choosing an already familiar product or buying something new “for a trial”, always focuses on its brand, design, and recommendations from friends. We are under the influence of trade branding all the time, it just happens in different forms and with different levels of impact on the final purchase decision. The world around us is a world of brands, trademarks, recognizable and little known, already forgotten or just conquering markets.

Expert opinion

The brand must sell

Ilya Balakhnin,

CEO and Managing Partner of Paper Planes Consulting Agency

When developing a brand, it must be remembered that its main goal is to increase sales. At the same time, the brand should be visually beautiful and easily recognizable. But it’s still not worth betting only on appearance: first of all, the brand must sell.

Three fundamental components are taken into account in its formation:

1. Resonance. The brand must have a resonant effect. The buyer, having familiarized himself with the new brand through booklets, advertising companies, having received information on the site, must understand exactly what kind of product or service is offered to him, what categories of consumers need them and how they can be used. In short, the brand should give the buyer an understanding of why he needs this product and how it will help him in life and work.
2. Differentiation. From advertising it should be clear how the brand of the company differs from the offers of competitors. The consumer needs to show what characteristics and quality the product has in relation to the products of competitors. In this case, the brand can be formed through a unique selling proposition that makes it profitable to purchase this particular product.
3. Faith. The brand must earn the trust of the buyer. The manufacturer needs to clearly understand how the customer will make his choice. It is necessary not only to approve some theses about the product, but also to be able to prove to the buyer that this product has exactly the properties that were announced.

If the client replies that he does not need it, then the resonance is not created. It is necessary to think over how best to tell and demonstrate to the client the benefits of the product (service), its positive characteristics that the buyer needs.

If the client declares that, in his opinion, the price is too high, then differentiation is not fully implemented. The buyer does not understand why he should pay more if competitors have a lower price and the product has the same characteristics as yours. This means that you have not shown and proved to the client that your product is better, more useful, of higher quality than that of competitors, and even overpaying for it will make sense for the buyer.

If the potential customer replies that he is not yet ready to purchase your product, then you have missed the faith segment: the buyer does not believe that your product will be useful to him and will be better than that of competitors. Doubting customers need to be convinced by examples that your product really deserves their trust.

What are the goals of trade branding?

Social studies have established that Europeans, once choosing a certain brand, remain faithful to it for a long time. The purpose of trade branding is to build consumer confidence in the brand, and for this it is necessary to constantly interest buyers, maintaining the quality of a product or service at a good level.

Branding is a complex and time-consuming procedure, which is based on the creation and implementation of a positioning concept. In the process of trade branding, the name, design, image, symbolism and ideology of the future brand are developed. It is also necessary to think over ideas for further advertising campaigns that allow creating a holistic image of the brand, making the brand memorable and loved by consumers.

When is trade branding necessary and feasible?

Brand development is necessary when a new product or service enters the market and provided that competitors are already present. Branding in this case is used to emphasize the advantageous, but not obvious, features of a product or service.

For example, your company enters the regional packaged tea market. If you are the only one offering customers special, rare varieties of tea, then it does not make sense to invest a lot of money and spend time on trade branding.

If you enter the market with ordinary tea bags, even if they differ in composition (for example, without the use of artificial flavors), then brand development is vital for your product - not every buyer will read the composition of your tea, and its peculiarity will remain unrecognized. As a result, the client will take from the counter the tea of ​​the brand that he met earlier. It is in such cases that the development of a trade brand that can distinguish your products from competitors should help.

8 Tools Trade Branding Uses

Retail outlets that do not pay attention to branding, as a rule, lose out in the competition. The store, with the help of marketing tools, must provide a beautiful presentation not only of the range of goods presented in the windows, but also of its own brand.

Tool 1. Create a new logo or redesign an existing one.

When developing a logo for a retail network, it is necessary to take into account its corporate identity. Fonts and design should be understandable to the buyer. The brand itself is obliged to intuitively tell customers about the distribution network and the products that are presented in it. When developing a logo, it is very important to understand who it is intended for, what social groups will make up the bulk of buyers.

Tool 2. Corporate identity development.

Corporate identity contains the design of graphic and text elements, the combination of which is subject to certain rules. It is designed to help customers navigate and choose a product among competitive brands.

Corporate identity design includes the following elements:

• trademark;
• logo;
• color palette;
• own font;
• branded packaging;
• branded printing products: booklets, calendars, notepads, etc.;
• gift and souvenir goods.

Tool 3. Navigation system in the interior and exterior.

A well-designed navigation system reduces the distance between the consumer and the product. In order for the customer to make a purchase, the product must be beautifully presented to him. The retail space design and orientation system is an important branding element and shows you care about your customers.

Tool 4. Shop interior design and exterior design.

The interior design of the store, which contains elements of the corporate identity of the retail brand, has a positive effect on the efficiency of its work. Properly placed design accents make the purchase of goods for customers as attractive as possible. Exterior design is also important in attracting shoppers to stores.

Tool 5. Branding of commercial equipment.

The image of the store consists of many components. Branding of commercial equipment plays an important role in stimulating consumers to make a purchase. Design in the corporate style and graphic design of commercial equipment have an advertising function, attracting the attention of customers and arousing their interest in the product and its purchase.

Tool 6. Creating a corporate uniform.

For a trading network, it is very important to use branded personnel uniforms that perform a number of functions:

• the uniform demonstrates respect and attention to customers;
• increases the level of consumer loyalty;
• strengthens relationships in the team and the company as a whole, increases the level of corporate culture;
• coordinates employees by seniority;
• Employees in branded clothing inspire more trust among customers, and also encourage communication.

Tool 7. Corporate transport branding.

Corporate transport, designed in a single corporate style of the enterprise, is an effective and free carrier of information about the brand.

Tool 8. Brand book and guideline.

A brand book is a document that describes a set of standards acceptable when developing a brand, as well as possible ways to convey information about it to the end consumer.

Guideline - a set of rules, due to which a common corporate style and its identity are maintained at all points of the distribution network. The main task of applying the guideline is to maintain a single brand idea.

Brand development in retail is focused on the emotional component of consumer thinking. At the same time, the emphasis on the quality of the product, its functionality and range are secondary.

5 stages of creating your own brand

Stage 1. Strategy development and brand positioning.

The most important step in brand development. It is necessary to determine the target audience, the concept and capabilities of the brand, to analyze the company and the market, to find out ways of communication between the company and customers.

Scope of work:

• Carrying out marketing research.
• Brand positioning concept development.
• Building a promotion strategy.

Stage 2. Brand name development.

First, several concepts of brand names are thought up. After that, each of them is tested and the most successful one is identified, which, in the course of open research, was liked by potential consumers the most. When a client approves one of the names, a legal review of the future brand takes place.

Scope of work:

• Naming, name development.
• Registration of the name as a trademark.
• Slogan development.
• Brand legend development.
• Preparing a brand book.

Stage 3. Development of visual brand identifiers.

At this stage, it is important to understand that a brand is not only a set of logos and technical documentation. It is necessary to convey the branded graphic features of the brand to the buyer, while relying on its individuality. Accurately matched personal identifiers should be used in each specific case.

Minimum set of brand carriers:

• Name.
• Logo.
• Color.

Extended composition of brand carriers:

• Title and slogan.
• Logo.
• Color.
• Corporate business documentation (envelopes, folders, letterheads, booklets, business cards).

The maximum possible composition of brand visual media:

• Name + slogan + brand legend + brand book.
• Logo, color, corporate pattern (background, pattern), variants of the logo block.
• Own font.
• Corporate documentation (business cards, envelopes, folders, letterheads, presentations, badges, diaries).
• Advertising printing, graphic design (advertising page, annual report, banners, booklets, catalogs, leaflets, flyers, POS-materials, icons, illustrations, company character).
• Corporate packaging.
• Company uniform and transport design.
• Souvenir products (calendar cards, mugs, key rings).
• Environment design (use of corporate identity in the interior and exterior, navigation, exhibition and advertising stands).
• Digital media (website, electronic presentation, mobile application, electronic communications).
• Company melody.

When developing individual brand identifiers, it should be taken into account that in each individual case the composition and set of corporate identity media should be different, suitable for a specific group of goods and services.

Stage 4. Development of a passport of brand standards and a corporate style guide.

For all carriers of the corporate identity developed at the previous stages, it is necessary to draw up technical documentation, carry out certification and make manuals. In addition to general protocols, it is possible to develop separate technical acts for each carrier of corporate identity.

Stage 5. Implementation, maintenance, audit.

The final stage is the visualization of the brand. This is a very complex and long stage during which the brand is realized - staff is trained, the corporate style and concept are introduced, advertising products and packaging are printed, and PR campaigns are held.

Practitioner tells

How to effectively rebrand your store

Irina Vasyutenko,

Marketing Director of the women's clothing brand ZARINA, Melon Fashion Group

Rebranding is a complex change in the brand, its perception by the target audience, as well as the platform. As a result, the consumer of goods and services changes their attitude towards the company. When rebranding, large-scale transformations take place, as a result of which the target audience of the brand, its name, logo, packaging design, company website, and corporate identity may change.

Today, rebranding has become a fashion trend in the world of commerce. However, in the process of its implementation, an understanding of its purpose does not always come, mistakes and errors are often made. Therefore, it is worth clarifying in which cases the store needs rebranding:

• Negative image of an existing brand.
• The transition to a new target audience of the brand, its renewal, the need to change perception.
• The brand's entry into new markets where it will have to win the trust of consumers, despite the fact that the current brand rating does not allow it to develop successfully. This is what the Soviet automaker did when it entered the world market, changing the Zhiguli brand familiar to compatriots to a new one - LADA.
• Transition to another price segment of the market.
• The need to modernize the brand, which arose as a result of its obsolescence, when the brand was no longer relevant and modern for its target audience.

When rebranding is carried out, it is necessary to take into account that it is not so much its development that is important, but the implementation process. From my experience, it takes about half a year, depending on the size of the rebranding company. It is important that it be held with a full understanding by the employees of the idea for which it is produced.

1. Preparatory stage.

When implementing rebranding, it is important to properly prepare - to take into account the stock of products, the time it will take to sell them; find out when it will be possible to completely update the product design and interior design of retail outlets. For example, in food sales, rebranding times are the shortest. If the company sells construction equipment, then it will take a lot of time to sell products under the old brand and introduce a new design.

A situation may arise when part of the goods on the shelf will be presented under the old brand, and part under the new one. There are a few simple steps you can take to avoid this:

• If the warehouse has both the old stocks and the new ones that have been rebranded, you can send the old ones to one region of the company's presence, and the new ones to another, thereby dividing the groups of goods.
• It is possible to reduce the period of stay on the shelves of products under the old and new brands by forming a strategy for ordering packaging.

1. Broadcasting the concept of the updated brand to the company's employees.

For a successful rebranding of a company, all employees must participate in it. At the same time, meetings with the heads of departments are very important, at which they should be explained the purpose and idea of ​​rebranding, and how to implement it. All personnel must clearly understand why the company is rebranding and what goal it pursues.

It is possible that ordinary employees of the company will perceive the rebranding negatively, because for the majority it turns into unnecessary problems, for example, changing the usual workflow, which people really do not like. It is important when rebranding to convince employees of the need for it, to explain all the stages, to show what benefits it brings both to employees and the entire company as a whole.

In my practice, when informing employees about an upcoming rebranding, I have always broken this process into three stages:

• The preparatory stage, aimed mainly at the heads of departments. It includes the collection of analytics indicating the need for rebranding. This stage allows you to prepare people for changes so that they are not unexpected for them.
• Voting and choice concept. It is important that each employee can feel their involvement in the common cause, have access to participate in the formation of the rebranding concept, and contribute their own ideas to it.
• Rebranding presentation. The final stage at which the new brand concept is presented and brought to all employees of the company involved in the rebranding.

Thus, having informed employees, we will involve people in the rebranding project and it will not come as a surprise to them: employees will be prepared for the changes and the process will be as efficient as possible.

1. Broadcasting the concept of the renewed brand to the direct customers of the company.

It is better to tell the main clients of the company about rebranding 1-3 months before it is carried out, so that it does not come as a surprise to them. Conferences are suitable for informing clients, at which they will be shown the concept of rebranding, explained the reasons for its implementation and told what goals it pursues and what quality indicators should change after it is carried out. Also at this stage, it is important to hear suggestions from customers and answer their questions. Some partners may perceive the rebranding very optimistically, while others will react negatively to the changes. It is important to explain to customers how rebranding can affect them and increase their profits.

1. Using elements of the new brand in daily practice.

For a successful rebranding, it is important to explain to employees how their daily workflow will change, how rebranding will manifest itself in it.

At this stage, it is important to control the implementation of rebranding in the field. This is the most difficult stage, because it is necessary to track and check many details, gather all employees into one team and coordinate them. You can control the rebranding process with the help of specialized computer programs.

1. Bringing the idea of ​​an updated brand to the end consumer.

At this stage, all the materials that customers will encounter daily should be ready: an updated website, packaging design, booklets, corporate identity in the work of employees, materials for the sales department, special forms, an updated office, advertising booklets.

Trade branding: 5 golden rules

Rule 1 Favorable atmosphere.

Rule 2 Feeling of unity. Choosing a store of a familiar trading network, a person intuitively expects that the service in it will correspond to the usual level. To create an atmosphere of community, universal for all stores of the network, a style is being developed that is the same in everything - from the range of colors in which the interior is decorated to the uniform uniform for all store employees.

Rule 3 Creation of a unique image. The brand primarily carries the idea of ​​positioning - a unique offer, thanks to which customers should give preference to retail outlets of the network. It must distinguish the store from competitors.

Rule 4 Orientation to the target audience. To attract customers, branding should be as tailored as possible to a specific target.

Rule 5 Practicality and convenience. Brand elements should be simple, clear, unobtrusive, but at the same time effective.

4 Common Mistakes That Make Trade Branding Ineffective

Mistake 1. Misperception of branding.

Undoubtedly, for any company, the presence of a strong, recognizable brand is always beneficial. A positively perceived brand can increase sales. But do not think that it is just a beautiful logo. A brand is, first of all, the emotions that a person experiences when buying a product or receiving a service. A good brand always creates a positive customer experience for your products, but it is the successful use of the products themselves that evokes the strongest emotions in people. To maintain customer loyalty, it is necessary to build work in such a way that the buyer remains satisfied under any circumstances. All customer problems and questions can be resolved through the website or by responding to inquiries by e-mail. If, after a perfect purchase, a person needs an accompaniment, do not leave him: make sure that he is satisfied not only with the deal, but also with your brand. In this case, a satisfied customer will recommend you to their friends, and this is the best advertisement.

Mistake 2. Lack of a professional designer.

Even if your brand seems ideal, beautiful and attractive to you, this does not mean that it will be successful. Amateur brand design does not always give a positive result. When developing it, it is better to turn to professional designers. A specialist will help you create a design guide, write down the rules for applying corporate style when using a brand, and understand how to work with it most effectively. The creation of a style guide should be accompanied by a decision on how it will be used in the future.

Mistake 3. Mismatch across platforms.

After creating a design guide, you must follow the rules outlined in it. At the same time, it is necessary to adhere to these standards both at retail outlets, and on the company's website and in social networks. If you don't follow these rules, your brand will be unprofessional in the eyes of potential buyers, which will give people reason to doubt your business. The uniform style of your brand, its consistency and identity at all levels will increase customer confidence, push them to purchase the product.

Mistake 4: Using a vague message when describing your brand.

You must create a brand that will be able to simply and clearly communicate the essence of your company to customers. Many seemingly great brands have fallen victim to vague content that fails to concisely and concisely describe the essence of the company. The content of a brand is just as important as its graphic design. It is the content that should explain to potential customers the differences between your brand and those represented by competitors. Just two simple rules will allow the brand to increase its effectiveness:

• Avoid repeating words.
• Speak to customers in their language, use a simple conversational style.

How trade branding is developing in Russia

The issue of branding in the West has been dealt with for a long time. In our country, it is only gaining momentum and is not developing as rapidly as it is there. Often, foreign brands appear on the shelves of Russian stores much earlier than domestic ones. In order for our companies to be able to successfully compete with Western ones, it is necessary to invest considerable financial resources in trade branding.

Unlike Western companies that are pioneers, Russian firms can avoid mistakes by adopting positive experience from their foreign competitors, which will make trade branding more effective.

It is also worth considering the current market situation: competition between domestic companies is still at a low level, so successful promotion of Russian brands requires less financial investment.

Another disadvantage of domestic trade branding is the small number of professional marketers. As a rule, most of them are people with an economic education. It is great that economists have begun to engage in branding, but this direction implies not so much an economic component as a creative one. When developing a brand, companies should not only pay attention to economic factors, but also involve psychologists, sociologists, designers, and specialists in brand promotion on the Internet in creating a brand and introducing it to the market. Only with an integrated approach to brand formation will the result be successful.

Brand development today involves the interaction of various specialists - professionals in the field of promotion, graphic design, marketing. Trade branding should be based on a general concept, but individual programs of advertising promotion, product design, its placement and presentation on the market should be considered as its constituent elements.

Information about experts

Ilya Balakhnin, CEO and Managing Partner of Paper Planes Consulting Agency, Head of WinTheMarket and WinTheDigital educational programs, Head of WebInCo Russia, IABC/Russia Vice President for Innovation, Chief Editor of Venture Business News, business coach and coach. Works with such companies and clients as the Government of Moscow, the Ministry of Justice, Skolkovo, Microsoft, Rostelecom, Beeline, Megafon, Unilever, Coca-Cola Hellenic, Universal, Comstar, Bud, Kodak and others. Paper Planes Consulting Agency is a consulting agency with over 400 successful cases.

Irina Vasyutenko, marketing director of women's clothing brand ZARINA, Melon Fashion Group. Melon Fashion Group is a leading Russian fashion retailer. The company manages the brands befree, ZARINA, LOVE REPUBLIC, performing the entire cycle of fashion business from modeling to sales distribution and promotion. Every day more than 100,000 people make purchases in the company's stores in Russia and abroad. Melon Fashion Group is successfully developing and continues to expand the geography of its presence. Each of the presented brands has its own development strategy and its own target audience, which makes it possible to effectively represent Melon Fashion Group in the main mass market segments.

Modern market realities create a situation in which competing companies are forced to fight for a buyer. Today, a wide range of products is offered in all areas, numerous brands flooded the market. Before making a large purchase, people look not only at the characteristics of the product, but also at the brand to which it belongs. Therefore, the creation of a marketing concept for the promotion of goods and services should occupy the first positions in the company's activities.

Company brand promotion is carried out through several common methods.

• Application of advertising campaigns within the media. In this case, we are talking about positioning the organization in the press, on television, on the radio (it may be interesting -).
• Application of promotion via the Internet. Companies create official websites, forums, use social networks, portals. Here you can get acquainted with the latest economic news, learn new business knowledge and skills, advertise a product, talk about the company, and publish an article with a link to the company.
• The formation of a marketing policy is another effective way. As part of its application, the creation of rational pricing, the formation of a set of shares are taken into account.
• Taking part in seminars, exhibition events, profile presentations and so on.
• Sponsorship, in order to maintain the reputation of the brand, the owners of large organizations are engaged in charity events and become sponsors.

Thus, promotion of the company's brand is not an easy task, requiring the organization to maximize its impact and make certain decisions. Choosing the best promotion method, coupled with perseverance and following goals, will achieve the best result.

The program associated with the launch of a new brand on the market is quite extensive. It includes several key stages.

1. Research. The specialist at this stage must collect diverse information that will act as a basis for activities. This moment includes an assessment of the brand, its merits, analysis of competitors.
2. Target setting. In this case, the data taken from the previous stages is used as a basis. Traditionally, the popularization of a new name includes several basic goals - increasing brand awareness, creating an image with a positive connotation, and conquering the market.
3. Consumer choice. In this case, it is necessary to focus on meeting the needs of a potential audience. There are several groups of aspects that are of maximum interest in the course of creating marketing and PR relationships. These are directly employees, partners, customers.
4. The choice of instruments of influence. These are various marketing techniques, including the creation of service centers, the design of the design part, and the creation of long-term mutually beneficial relationships with investors (see).
5. Strategy Development. After obtaining the necessary information and passing through other stages, there comes a moment in which other parameters are determined. They include the type of market, the people targeted by the strategy, and the stage of brand development.
6. Definition of the budget. In this case, each detail of the developed promotion plan is considered on an individual basis. Detailed calculations are carried out, estimates are made, further effective planning is built. Then the strategy is put into practice.
7. Evaluation and analysis of effectiveness. This is the final stage, which involves evaluating the effectiveness of the activities carried out and determining the level and quality of achieving the set targets.

The promotion of the company's brand is carried out in stages in order to correctly fulfill each of the most important points. There are many methods of this type of activity, but modern and progressive companies are guided by PR on the Internet.

Brand promotion on the Internet: the most effective ways

The Internet acts as a rational way to maintain a brand at the proper level. Often it is he who becomes the best option for implementing the marketing concept and winning the consumer. Promotion in social networks, creation of corporate websites and their optimization - all this contributes to the company taking a leading position in the market and becoming memorable. Therefore, a special role is assigned to this type of promotion.

SEO optimization (search engine promotion) and traffic promotion

This is a way that allows you to bring the advertised resource to the first positions of search results / increase resource traffic. This method allows not only to increase the level of sales, but also plays several other important roles. It serves PR, site promotion, improvement of consumers' attitude towards the company. The direction allows to achieve an increase in the attendance of the company, as well as its recognition among the general public. So, SEO is an affordable way to promote any business, including small businesses. Such promotion of the brand on the Internet will allow the business owner to "kill two birds with one stone", in particular - to target strategic perspectives and receive tactical benefits.

Contextual advertising and contextual display advertising

If you need to achieve a quick result, the ideal course of action is the creation of contextual advertising. It does not require constant checking of certain indicators, unlike SEO, but the return will not be so long-term and promising. That is, you will see the result while you are advertising your own resource. The obvious advantages of this tool are a clear focus on the target audience, an instant launch of an advertising company, it is well predicted, transparent statistics and there is the possibility of quickly adjusting your advertising promotion. But as a key promotion method, this option is used less often - it is expensive. Its basic goal is to increase sales and increase awareness.

Interactive advertising

Currently, this method of promotion is subject to constant improvement, more and more new types with formats appear, methods of such promotion are updated. Currently, leaflets, huge posters and other ART directions are in demand, which not only attract attention, but are also remembered for a long time by representatives of the target audience. And this is the best help in the formation of the brand concept.