Knowing how to implement branding to connect with your target audience is vital for success. So, how’s it done?
Unfortunately, the answer isn’t as simple as creating a logo that stands out. Branding is everything from your offering to your messaging and overall persona. Each of these elements add up to form a public perception of your brand.
The way you choose to strategize your brand will largely depend on your business model, values, and mission.
What is brand strategy?
Let’s look at some key aspects to consider with brand strategy before exploring the different types of branding strategies.
- Purpose – keep the reason your brand exists and what you set out to accomplish top of mind.
- Values – determine what your company stands for and believes in.
- Voice – pick a tone of voice and be consistent with it throughout all of your marketing channels.
- Vision – give thought to where you pull inspiration from and where you’d like to see your brand go.
- Target Audience – identify who the ideal customer is for your products or services.
Top 6 Branding Strategies to Implement
- Corporate branding strategy
Corporate branding is the persona you craft for your company as a whole, and is what keeps your identity in line with your values, mission, culture and core competencies.
This branding strategy closely resembles your brand persona and is how you present yourself to the public and internally to employees.
When crafting your corporate branding strategy, consider how you want your business to be perceived both socially and professionally. Give thought to charities you’d like to support, initiatives to start, and even your company’s stance on current issues. Identifying these elements will give the public a clear understanding of what your company stands for.
- Product branding
Product branding focuses marketing efforts for your brand around a specific product, whether it’s your only product, a best-seller or an exciting new product. This branding strategy brings identity to a standalone product in an effort to build an emotional connection between the product and consumer.
Companies that have mastered this form of branding have discovered how impactful one product can be to their brand identity.
For example, Coca-Cola is a brand that has stood the test of time due to consistency in their marketing and visual simplicity. Not only does Coca-Cola adhere to strict packaging guidelines with their bottles, they also implement red-color psychology to draw customers in. Coca-Cola doesn’t just market a product, they market an experience to their consumer each time they purchase a Coca-Cola product.
- Personal branding
Personal branding is the process of establishing yourself as a thought leader amongst your target audience. This is accomplished by creating a public image that conveys your unique value proposition.
Believe it or not, personal branding isn’t just reserved for the rich and famous, anyone can identify and capitalize on personal branding.
For example, influencers utilize personal branding to enhance their visibility, build influence, and gain reputation in hopes of securing endorsement deals. Today, there are between 3.2 million and 37.8 million influencers in the world, who are on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
- Service branding
Service branding focuses on a provider’s services. Essentially, their services become their products and are uniquely marketed to optimize reach and sales through value creation.
Unlike products, consumers can’t experience your service branding until after a purchase is made. Your job is to persuade prospective customers that your service is worth purchasing. Then, based on their experience, those customers will decide whether your service is worth using, sharing, and upgrading.
For example, Best Buy has been very successful in selling service agreements paired with Geek Squad. This service program holds a high value proposition because it guarantees assistance from a technology expert 24/7 through multiple mediums. Knowing that technical support is available whenever a customer may need it may entice them to make future purchases with Best Buy and share the news with others.
- Retail branding
Retail branding is a strategy based on a brand concept that is transferred into the retail sector. It refers to the process in which a retailer’s physical locations, name, symbols, and logos within become the product.
Repeat customers show loyalty to your store and the products and services you offer. Establishing strong retail branding allows both prospects and customers alike to identify with your retail brand and closes the gap on generating a sale.
Once they recognize your store brand, they gain an understanding of what to expect upon entering that store. However, these expectations aren’t set overnight. It is solely up to the marketer to build as many favorable associations as to why customers should shop at their store rather than a competitor.
- Cultural and Geographic branding
Geographic and cultural branding is essentially branding for a specific region, state, city or cultural aspect.
Examples of geographic branding include the Eiffel Tower as a symbol of Paris or “Lone Star State” to represent the state of Texas. Cultural branding on the other hand would be associating a tapas restaurant or cafe with Spain vs. the city of Barcelona.
Businesses that focus on tourism or sell products specific to a certain region can greatly benefit from this form of branding. Although cultural and geographic branding happens on a larger scale, they also appear online, in-person, and on social media.
How Dia Creative can help
Interested in seeing what branding strategy works best for your business? Dia Creative marketing experts can help you focus on your company’s key elements and identify your unique position in the market as we assist you with creating a branding strategy that converts. Schedule a consultation today.
