08
Boosting Brand Awareness
Brand awareness simply means that people – not yet
prospects, let alone customers – know that your brand exists.
No matter how good your product, service or cause, if few
have ever heard of it, fewer still will ever select it. How do
you achieve it? Here are a few ideas:
Create – or strengthen – your brand identity
. It will have
a brand name, logo and preferably a tagline that summarizes
your brand promise. If you’ve covered this years ago, it might
be time for a second look. Perhaps your logo is just outdated.
Or, maybe your company or organization has evolved to include
new products or services, and your branding needs a re-fresh.
Develop branded materials
. At minimum, business cards,
stationery and office forms are essential. Printed materials
might also include brochures and newsletters, interior and
exterior building signage, displays and banners. To note:
Research firm Millward Brown
1
presented a study that
revealed engagement with a physical piece prompts more
brain activity than with digital views. This suggests that it’s
more “real” and involves more emotionally vivid memories
which may help with brand recall and motivation.
Take it to the streets
. Mobile signage in the
form of wraps or repositionable magnetic signs
for your cars, vans, trailers and even leased
vehicles are a low-cost, high-impact way to
build brand impressions. (See page 12 for
more on vehicle graphics.)
Go door to door
. Low-cost options include Every Door
Direct Mail™ from the U.S. Postal Service
®
and Unaddressed
Admail™ from Canada Post, which let you reach every home
and business within a selected geography at bargain postal
rates without a mailing list. It’s ideal for companies that derive
most of their business locally.
Gaining Brand Recognition
Brand recognition is the degree to which people can identify
your product, service or cause simply by viewing your logo,
advertising or signage. You want consumers to recall prior
knowledge. (“Acme is the window company that responds
quickly to storm damage.”) Some tips:
Go ahead and repeat yourself
. You’ll not only have to
spread the word (reach), you’ll need to repeat it often
(frequency). While it helps to have an unlimited budget, many
marketers do well with unlimited imaginations. Think outside
of your go-to channels, and spread the word in more ways via
trade shows or event and content sponsorships.
Put a stamp on it
. Make direct mail an integral part of
your marketing mix. Even in our digital age, nearly 90%
of consumers say they want to receive sales and
promotional offers via direct mail, according
to Nielsen.
2
Go where prospects go
. And that means
the Web: 78% of Americans look for
products and services online according to
Measure Levels of Awareness
Conduct a benchmark survey to gauge
awareness of your brand against your top
competitors.Then, a post-campaign survey
will let you know if your marketing efforts
were successful – or how much more
work you need to do.
