Sometimes naivety can be a good thing! We often find ourselves getting stuck in a box we are unable to break out of due to the surplus of knowledge that we have gained throughout the years. Marketers often need to break free from the clutter of little pieces of knowledge that are the basis of their strategic thinking. In turn, they can see the real opportunities for radical growth.
It’s important to be internally honest about the problems and challenges facing your brand so that they can be swiftly and effectively addressed. This allows room for a more focused approach to your branding. By starting with a central challenge and building outwards, your business will be able to lay the foundations for the strategic thinking that follows.
As a business, success comes once you gain a clear sense of who you are, what your business is and why it exists. These three concepts should be projected as an identity with intensity, consistency and salience. This will allow your consumers to notice your brand even if they are not looking for it.
There are two brand leaders in every category. The Market Leader who holds the biggest share and distribution, and the Thought Leader who has the most perceived potential in the consumer's mind. Thought Leadership is your ticket to greater brand loyalty and an increased market share.
Successful brands are those who understand the importance of interrupting the autopilot of consumers and causing them to rethink the place of your brand in their lives. By creating campaigns and ideas that capture the indifferent consumer's imagination, your company is sure to become a top-of-mind brand and a leader in your category.
What a company chooses to do is just as important to their success as what they choose NOT to do. Focusing more narrowly on the audiences and mediums best for you is what builds a brand identity.
Success is a product of calculated risk; this is just as true in marketing as anywhere else. You must choose a direction and actively commit your resources to that direction. When methods don’t work it’s essential to understand why and have the resources dedicated to determining this is integral to growth.
The use of communication to reach out to current and potential consumers continues to be one of the few remaining sources of competitive advantage. It is essential for a company to stay socially relevant, giving them a relational gift when connecting with its customers.
Success is a very dangerous thing– causing brands and people to stop behaving in the way that made them initially successful. The principle of becoming idea-centered versus consumer-centered encompasses how a brand maintains its momentum once it has become successful. Here we move the organization from being consumer-dependent to focusing on the generation and implementation of ideas. These ideas constantly refresh and renew the relationship with the consumer.
Challenger branding seeks to place smaller brands into the competition with larger brands. Professional NBA basketball player, Wilt Chamberlain was quoted saying, “Everybody pulls for David, nobody roots for Goliath.” It remains a goal for Stimulus Advertising to continually support challenger brands and encourage their action in the marketplace.
For more information on leadership and challenger branding, see Eating The Big Fish by Adam Morgan.
