branding | Internet Marketing Blog

Five lessons in corporate brand building from the big boys

There’s been some talk in the last weeks about FMCG companies investing in and building their corporate brands.

Research by media monitoring company Precise, published in March 2013 says that consumers are more likely to view FMCG companies favourably if they develop a recognisable corporate brand.

Now comes the news that Johnson & Johnson have unveiled a new corporate slogan, prompting Mark Ritson to write in Marketing Week last week in less than complimentary terms about various attempts at corporate brand building.

What all this proves is that the audience for corporate brands has extended beyond the traditional confines of city, press and internal staff to include consumers, and the principles of brand management are being applied.

In fact, both Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever place so much importance on their corporate brands that they use digital asset management systems to manage them.

by Jens Lundgaard 17 May 2013 09:30am 2 comments

Micro-copywriting: the good, the bad and the cheesy pictures

Words are the most important tool marketers and ad men have. To prove it, I’ll show you a picture.

The chart beneath the Bee Gees shows that 60% of people prefer a ‘print experience’ to something ‘whizzy’, on a tablet app.

Obviously, 'print-like' doesn't just mean words, it also refers to typography and, to some extent, pictures. However, in this post I'll be focusing on copywriting, on an achingly small scale.

I'll be highlighting titbits of copy that are done well, in keeping with a company's brand, and make a web experience enjoyable, as well as some that aren't so good.

In the spirit of new media, I’m calling this ‘micro-copy’. And, to the dismay of the A/B testers, I’ll posit that some of my examples are qualitatively ‘better’ than others.

by Ben Davis 07 January 2013 10:28am 31 comments

Want success? Work on you as your brand

One of the key characteristics of brands that are launched by entrepreneurs is that they leverage the personal passion and history of the founder. It’s hard to think of Starbucks without thinking of Howard Schultz, Zappo’s without Tony Hsieh or Virgin without Richard Branson.

Each of these founders has spent time building their businesses but also paying attention to their own brands and building up a reputation for credibility and expertise that goes beyond any one individual business venture. Many entrepreneurs tend to be serial entrepreneurs; they get involved in more than one venture.

Personal branding is particularly important here as odds are some of your ideas will be successful and some won’t. But you want people to continue to invest (time, energy, money) in you as an individual.

by Julie Cottineau 19 December 2012 16:39pm 6 comments

Why your brand's audience should be a bull's eye

Let’s not kid ourselves: creating a brand can be complicated. (If you’re reading this, you likely know firsthand how complicated.) Not only do you need to decide what your brand stands for, what you want to provide consumers and how to convey your brand promise, you must identify who you want to use your product.

This is one of the most important decisions you can make. After all, brands are relationships, and like romantic relationships you need to make sure there are two mutually interested parties. You don't want to get into an unrequited love situation where no one is interested in what you are offering. This can be a very cold, lonely, and ultimately very unprofitable situation to be in. Healthy relationships involve two interested and equally committed parties. Unhealthy ones don’t – and rarely last long.

by Julie Cottineau 13 December 2012 15:24pm 4 comments

Stop wasting your marketing dollars: Build your brand first

Although it may seem seamless to the naked eye, branding that is truly on-target is no easy thing to master. But effective branding can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in the long run.

In fact, let’s imagine for a minute that you’ve just spent those thousands and as many hours working with a web developer on a website or a mobile app, or even that you’ve just created a physical product that fills a gap in the marketplace. Essentially, you’ve created the thing you want to sell to consumers and you know it can make their lives better.

So you’re all ready to go out with promotion, right? Sell that product to its fullest potential – you’ve finally perfected it, so why waste another minute? Stop right there, though. Before you spend another marketing dollar, back up and make sure your brand is solid - or risk throwing your hard-earned cash down the drain.

by Julie Cottineau 28 November 2012 14:42pm 6 comments

Four principles of great country branding

He’s been saving the world from assorted villains these past 50 years – and now James Bond is backing Britain. Currently being aired in 21 countries, VisitBritain’s new promotional campaign has put 007 on the case.

VisitBritain’s ‘GREAT Britain’ campaign also draws together major events, sporting achievements and commercial partners to promote the UK as a great country in which to live, study, invest and do business – as well as to visit.

In my book, the GREAT Britain campaign is a real winner. So what can it teach those of us in branding and brand management about the principles of country branding?

by Jens Lundgaard 25 October 2012 09:12am 2 comments

Television networks adopt Rovio's Angry Birds merchandising strategy

In today's multi-channel, multi-platform world, it's increasingly difficult for television networks to lure viewers to their shows. To succeed and build an audience, on-network promotions just won't cut it.

So a growing number of networks are turning to a strategy that has done quite well for a very different type of media company, Rovio, the maker of the hit gaming franchise Angry Birds.

by Patricio Robles 07 August 2012 14:40pm 2 comments

Angry Birds Space becomes fastest-growing mobile game ever

While nobody can deny the massive popularity of Rovio's Angry Birds franchise, there are plenty of skeptics who question whether Rovio's cash cow will remain popular forever.

And for good reason: in today's fast-paced and highly-competitive gaming market, which now includes millions of social and casual 'gamers', producing hits is difficult but keeping them hits is often even more difficult.

by Patricio Robles 30 April 2012 21:12pm 2 comments

Managing your brand abroad: a guide to multilingual branding

We’re nothing if not resourceful in the UK. While high street sales may be dropping, a number of UK-based retailers are marketing themselves abroad, yet keeping the business (and product fulfilment) on UK shores.

Scottish brand Lyle & Scott, for example, has expanding markets in France, Germany and Sweden through e-commerce sites designed for those markets, while managing the business from its home in Selkirk.

by Patrick Eve 28 March 2012 12:14pm 9 comments

Q&A: Frank Rose on digital storytelling and media immersion

Frank Rose is the author of The Art of Immersion: How the Digital Generation Is Remaking Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and the Way We Tell Stories and a contributing editor to Wired.

Last week, he gave one of the keynotes at Ad:tech Sydney, based upon digital storytelling and why marketers need to surrender the idea that brands control their messaging. I was able to catch up with him afterwards, where he generously expanded his thoughts on this complex topic.

by Jake Hird 19 March 2012 02:00am 1 comment