Branding and Marketing Strategies

Product is what you produce. Brand is what they buy!

In modern marketing Brand is considered as the most valuable property of the company.

According to professionals Brand is:

    * Patented visual, emotional, rational and cultural image associated with the company or the product(Charles R. Pettis. Director of Branding Company – Brand Solutions)

    * Product is a total sum of all visible and invisible features that makes the company's offer unique (Interbrand)

    * Brand is a total sum of all visible and invisible features that includes name, price, history, reputation, advertising. Brand is a unity of impression and consumption practice. It is What a consumer feels towards product and personal features assigned to it, trust and loyalty" (David Ogilvy – Founder of the agency Ogilvy&Mather).

In order to provide success of a certain brand it should ensure quality and satisfaction. It has to be distinguished from competitors. It should be easy to identify, actual, convenient, easy to understand and available for potential clients. Brand has to correspond to their life style, attitude and values.

IPM Branding service includes the following issues:

1. Brand creation

    * Market analysis (product analysis, competitive analysis, identification of advantages and disadvantages, opportunities and threats of producer company)

    * Segmentation of clients

    * Selection and description of target segments

    * Identification of brand advantage and disntinguishing features

    * Brand positioning

    * Development of brand concept and identity (individuality, values, quality perception,brand associations, brand essence)

    * Development of brand attributes (brand name and logotype, package, company style, slogan, etc)

    * Preparation of brand marketing strategy

2. Brand management

    * Development of PR/communications strategies

    * Optimization of PR and Ad budgets

    * Identification of Ad and PR efficiency parameters

    * Management of Ad and PR projects

    * Distribution assessments and optimization

    * Brand development monitoring

3. Development of strategic document

Strategic document includes analysis and planning of the following directions:

    * General volume of market

    * Segment volume, potential of segment development

    * Description of target consumer segment (according to demographic, psychographic,mood, behavior and other characteristics)

    * Brand potential

    * Strategic line of brand development

    * Pricing strategy

    * Sales organization

    * Brand communications strategy (including preparation and testing of ad samples and concepts)

    * Recommendations on startegy implementation for marketing specialists of client companies

4.Specialists' consultations

The client company gets consultations for its own specialists in marketing, brand management, ad campaign organization, etc. This is a certain insurance package in marketing that includes:

    * Recommendations in ad campaign

    * Recommendations in sponsorship and PR projects

    * Assessments of Ad initiatives

    * Recommendations in other issues of marketing and PR service

Objectives of branding and marketing strategies have close links with the company's organizational mission and vision. There are particular strategic decisions that represent prerogative of a client rather than a colsultant company. Respectively, in order to provide efficient branding service it is necessary for the client company to have a contact person involved in decision-making process from top management or marketing department.

Concept testing

It is necessary to be precise in concept formation process. Mistakes in this phase cause huge losses of resources in the long run. Thus the activities carried out in the process of concept testing are as follow:

    * Analysis of target segment in consumer and psychodemographic context

    * Development and analysis of brand image concept

    * Conceptual line of brand communication

    * Signs of brand identification

    * Other issues

Slogan preparation

Client takes a slogan suitable to brand concept (1) and marketing objective of given stage in a srategic document. Slogan remembrance or any other attribute is a tool in goal achievement process. Their marketing function is a marketing objective that appears in the process of product development.

Slogan as well as a general communication strategy with various share participation (for different cases) includes emotional and rational sources.

Logotype and name

This task, like a slogan corresponds to the concept of brand communication and explains objectives represented there to certain extent. Sub-concepts of name and logotype are oriented on predictable consequences. Their color, graphic elements and contents match consumer practice and perception.

The communication language of logotype and name is verbal as well as non-verbal. Its compliance provides important effect for the implementation of marketing objectives.

Company style (design)

Complies and relies on sub-concepts of developed slogan, logotype and name. It may concern any element of business relations, including visit cards, forms, greeting cards, office interior, etc. Company style is often provided in the form of design concepts and its preparation becomes the prerogative of a client company.

Main features of company style:

    * Identification- company style should not differ from analogues. Consumers should recognize it easily.

    * Trust- if a consumer accepts brand consumption practice included in company style and consumer attitudes respectively, these attitudes will be similar for other brands of the same producer

    * Advertising- one of the most important reason for ad efficiency concerns relevant company style. Good company style provides optimization of ad expenses.

Communication ad samples (concept design)

Client takes samples of out-door advertisements, concepts of TV commercials, scenarios of radio advertisements, etc. All the samples are subject to minimum expert assessment, mainly- testing research (name testing, concept testing, ready ad sample testing, etc).

Testing of developed ad samples

All the ad communication samples may be tested through special studies. Testing provides:

    * Recommendations on changes

    * Recommendations on selection of optimal concept from alternative ones

    * Recommendations on ad channel shares to conduct ad campaign

    * Recommendations on probing (successive testing after a certain period of time) research

Brand management

Delegation of brand management to a consultant company is a wide-spread practice in Western Europe. This precedent is carried out in Georgia in IPM. All similar projects are quite successful. Brand management service includes:

    * Creative of all products and services provided by a client company

    * Management of possible inner brand competition

    * Analysis of competitive environment

    * Preparation and implementation of recommendations at all advertising stages

    * Monitoring of all ad campaigns provided by all TV channels

    * Cooperation with consultant companies attracted by client company (for instance ad agencies) and provide recommendations for them

    * Ad quality control

    * Control of the implementation of developed strategy line

    * Optimization of ad expenses

    * Optimization of current marketing objectives and goals