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MORE THAN A LOGO

What is the first thing that comes to mind when your customers think of your company? Great service? Low prices? An eye-catching logo? Each of these elements is an important factor in building awareness for your company and for your site. In marketing circles, this awareness is called branding. It's crucial because when people need a product or service, they'll reach for the familiar.

A brand is more than a logo; it encompasses the experience a customer has with a company. Simply defined, the brand is the immediate image, emotion or message people experience when they think of a company or a product. An effective brand name gives a good first impression and evokes positive associations. This can be done subtly, as with Adobe or Maxima, or not so subtly, as with Happy Meal or Yahoo!.

A logo is a graphic image that identifies a company or a product. Brand association is the positive attributes people think of when they hear or see the company name. For example, most people think of safety when they think of Volvo. Safety is Volvo's brand association. Your logo, then, should communicate the brand association attributes, such as strength, luxury or technology.

Tag lines reinforce the brand attributes. By using a catchy, memorable phrase that expands on the logo concept, tag lines further describe the company or product brand so people can recognize the company by even the tag line alone. Think of "Just do it" or "Don't leave home without it."

WHEN TO CAMPAIGN

The #1 objective of a branding campaign is to impress your orginatiztion's identity upon potential customers, not necessarily to entice users to visit your site or to capture an immediate sale, although both of these could result from a branding campaign. Because of this specific objective, branding campaigns are more appropriate for certain phases of your business's growth than for others. How do you determine whether to launch a branding campaign? Here are some of the most common reasons to do so:

If your business or product is new
Branding builds name recognition for your company or product, and there's no better time to do this than right at the beginning. By having a powerful branding campaign in place when the doors open or the site launches or both you'll have a jump-start on future marketing initiatives and perhaps on your competition as well.
If you have close competitors
One result of effective branding is that it gives the impression that you are the biggest and best player in your market. If you have stiff competition, savvy branding is definitely in order. Think of the fierce competition among the many real estate agents. The agents that haven't built strong brand identities either by playing up their experience, market knowledge or operational convenience, for example, are less likely to succeed in the highly-competitive market.
If your business is going online
Branding builds name recognition for your company or product, and there's no better time to do this than right at the beginning. By having a powerful branding campaign in place when the doors open or the site launches or both you'll have a jump-start on future marketing initiatives and perhaps on your competition as well.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

The power of your brand relies on the ability to focus. That is why defining your target market will help to strengthen your brand's effectiveness. To achieve your brand marketing goals it is important that you know your target market inside and out.

The following questions will help you assess your target audience. The more thorough you are in your research, the better results you'll receive.

Who is your target audience and where are they located?
What would you like them to think about you and your brand?
How will you attract them to your services?
Who else is competing for their loyalty and devotion and how?

At Ultimate Imaging, we can help you get the right mailing list for you.

DEVELOPING YOUR DIRECT MAIL BRANDING CAMPAIGN

Now that you know the time is right and the audience has been defined, it's time to develop a campaign. Direct mail is a great way to inform and get your audience acquainted with your brand. The core concept behind a branding campaign is that if you put a positive message about your company in front of enough people for enough time, they will think about your company when they're ready to buy. There are several advantages to sending out direct mail pieces, such as letters, postcards and newsletters:

You know you're reaching your target audience—unlike TV and radio.
Easy to schedule. Determine a specific day to hit your audience every month, and you'll always know your deadline. By receiving a marketing piece from you at a particular time each month, they'll know your company is reliable.
When you're marketing with direct mail, you keep your competition in the dark. But they'll always know when you advertise in the newspaper!
Incentives to do business with you. Your piece can ask recipients to bring it with them to receive a special discount or freebie. Postcards are easily totable in a wallet or handbag, and thus especially handy to redeem.
Postcards are real time-savers. Recipients don't even have to open an envelope to read your message.
Newsletters inform your audience, showing them your committment to providing a valuable service not only through your business, but through your marketing efforts as well.