Brand Articulation and Messaging

A brand and why it’s valuable

Chances are you recently bought a bottle of water from the grocery store in the past month. Which brand did you choose? Evian? Aquafina? Nestle? These products usually command a far higher price (sometimes multiples higher) than the store brand. It’s effectively the same product. In some cases, it is the same product, but still, a vast proportion of consumers will choose the brands they know. Even if they also know intuitively that water is essentially just a basic commodity. 

This price differential between unknown brands and known brands; this premium, perfectly illustrates the value of a brand, and it’s why marketers care so much about brand recognition. It is why fast-moving consumer goods companies spend billions on campaigns that slowly but surely shape our perceptions of these brands. Through the execution of the marketing strategy, the product has been imputed with certain attributes; a subtle yet recognizable distinction has been created in the mind of the consumer. In our example, such might be quality, purity, relaxation, enjoyment, etc. With those associations in place, there’s much more to that bottle of water. Enter the value of the brand.

The brand equity can be distinguished even more readily online, where consumer actions are more measurable and exposure to marketing messages is more controlled. Consumers who have been exposed to a brand message will behave much differently from consumers who haven’t. Yes, brand advertising works; it works across industries and sectors, products and services, and it influences your decisions and preferences as well.

A successfully crafted marketing message rests on four pillars, outlining the following:

1. Core value. What is the essence of the value we are providing?
2. Unique selling points. What sets your product, service and business as a whole apart from the alternatives in the market?
3. Attributes. How can we sculpt a message to that the viewer identifies with it?
4. Call-to-Action. What do we want users to do at each stage of the funnel?

Core value: Articulating the Essence of Your Offering

A useful exercise is to articulate an underlying need/problem from the users’ perspective. You also want to make sure you outline the promise. 

Image & Tone

In a successful strategy, nothing is random with regards to the attributes of your business. Looking at the the core needs/problems of the target audience — what are the relevant attributes that describe your brand? You need to come up with values, attributes, aspects and styling that are relevant to your offering, and ideally, unique in their combination.

Examples:

• Apple: artistic, creative, innovative
• Harley Davidson: wholesome, free-spirited, tough
• National Geographic: adventurous, sustainable, scientific