Hi fellows! Nice to see you again and thanks for your time reading my articles. Today, we will talk about how to shape your brand message. Here I am going to give you a bit of idea about how to tell the market what you really want them to know!
What is a brand message?
Every brand needs a voice, either for better market impression or a more consistent brand image. Messaging provides the content that helps customers and prospects understand your brand function (why it’suseful) and brand values (what it believes in). Brand message also delivers your brand promise and desire, or even tells a story that could call upon people andget them excited about your product and services. In other words, brand message could win your customers’ hearts unconsciously.
However, not every brand message works and what you need to do first is to understand the message structure and then planit specifically. A fundamental core brand message is necessary in declaring why your brand matters, what it stands for and how it stands out in competition. The message is called core fundamental because this is the inspiration base when you need to create a message camp and need to remind yourself what you stand for. A core brand message communicates the values and key differentiators that define the brand. And most importantly, it generates some excitement and attracts your markets’ attention on and on.
In saying the message camp, we could understand that the core brand message will shape a company’s entire subsequent brand marketing messages. A company’s tagline or slogan may closely match the words with its core brand message, or they can take a difference form. What is important is that all of your company’s brand messages describe aspects of the brand that are relevant to your customers.
Following I picked up three brand slogans. Can you match these slogans with their companies?
Just do it.
I'm lovin' it.
Eat fresh.
If so, you have experienced the positive results of effective brand messaging. As I just mentioned, brand messages are used to interact with customers and to help them understand a company's value. Your message is what defines your brand. It should be built into all of your communication efforts, including social media, public relations, and advertising - basically every marketing activity!
Let us imagine that you have just started up your business, a fresh fruit and juice bar called Vitamin C Fruit and Juice Bar. What do you need first to attract customers? One question that you must first ask yourself before planning your brand message is how you want others to perceive your fruit and juice bar!
To get your juice bar being known by the market efficiently and positively, you then need to work hard to build your brand and to create a positive impression in your customers' minds! Make sure your message is easy to read and remember also.
Congratulations! Your juice bar has got a great core brand message now. And, is that it for messaging? Get ready for some more great works! At this stage, you should not forget that your brand strategy defines what your business stands for, the promises your company makes, and the personality your business conveys. It may also include the design of your company's logo, the color palette you utilize, and the slogan you chose.
Focus is the open sesame!
My first section has already given you a bit of idea about the function of your brand message. Brand strategy is always working with mental tactics. To be honest, what do your marketers normally want your consumers to know about brands? Quality? Price effective? Fashion? Or you wantthem all?
Fact is, you only have one value proposition and you want it to stick in your customers’ minds!
BMW is the "ultimatedriving machine." Apple customers "think different." Nike's message -- "Just do it" -- is ubiquitous with the brand.
So focus means think simple!
Focus also means unique. And I believe that, only one brand can own one position. How do your competitors position themselves? Here are some useful hints. Look at their tag lines. Read the "about us" copy on their websites. Palmolive positions itself as the only dish soap that softens hands while you do dishes. You want to make sure your value proposition is distinct.
Understand what values in brand to Chinese.
As I mentioned on previous chapter, marketers are all well aware that the Chinese have their own way of logical thinking, and hence are more sensitive when valuing the brand message. What you firstly need to do is, to get into your customer's head. But how?
In China we have an old saying ‘Know your enemy and know yourself’. In market war, it means that we have to better understand what your customers’ minds to win their heart. We must remember that a brand's messaging should never rest on the shoulders of one person. This message is supposed to represent your product or service, and to effectively communicate what that product or service is. Don't presume! Go out and interview customers, survey them, pay attention to them on social media, follow them around the mall. Besides, start thinking about what your customers most value and keep track of keywords you hear repeatedly from them.
Subtract to success.
Here we talk a little more about billboard exercise. Generally speaking, a successful billboard is one that defines the brand message in 7 words or fewer. And that is exactly what you need to do with your brand. If you can narrow down what your entire brand message is in a mere 7 words (or fewer), than you have clearly defined exactly what your brand does in a short, elevator speech format. This statement should reflect what your brand can deliver, believes, stands for, and does. You can then use this message and expand upon it in your marketing efforts.
This subtraction rule can also be conducted during your whole brand propaganda campaign. When writing your brand blog post, remember to ask yourself this question “Does this message reflect our billboard message?” Or, when designing your Wechat business account, you should also ask, “Is the way we describe ourselves representative of our billboard message?” When creating a QQ video, think, “Does this truly communicate our billboard message?”
You can provide all sorts of communication elements, such as text details, images, context, and various other things when messaging your brand online. The purpose of the billboard exercise is to maintain the element that is omnipresent in every message you send, and subtract the encumbrances.
The message created from this billboard exercise should be remembered in every campaign you create, for better brand consistency and market memorization. While your various campaigns may promote disparate parts of your business, all your marketing efforts need to be reflective of that key brand message. This messageis what you and your company stands for, and you should never lose sight of that.
Okay, that is it for today! We have talked enough about what your brand message is and how it should be like. Next, we will focus more on how to deliver your message and how to communicate them essage well with your market! Can’t wait to see you again!
The copyright of this article is belonged to Easywei Marketing & Consulting Co, Ltd. Easywei is a leading integrated marketing consulting firm in China specialized in food and agricultural products consulting business, and used to work for ASOEX and OXEC Beijing to promote fruits from Chile and fruits from Peru. For more information about Easywei, please look up our website: www.easywei.cn
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