Brand strategy separates the sheep from the goats

Here are three simple questions we’d like you to answer:

• When you read ‘golden arches’ what do you think of?
• What is the more commonly used name for the world’s most popular ‘smart phone’?
• Who is famous for wearing a dress made of raw meat and arriving at the Grammys in an egg?

If you answered McDonalds, iPhone and Lady Gaga – you have just made a number of brand strategy experts very happy.

The ultimate aim of brand strategy is to get your brand name interchangeable for, used instead of the generic term for the product or service you make. Think: Kleenex, Hoover, Band-aid, Google – the list goes on. Brands allow for a premium price to be applied to a product or service, without this brand equity, it is a race to the bottom on price.

The internet has flooded our lives with information. When we buy a pair of shoes now or research a holiday, there are hundreds, if not thousands of choices. To avoid choice paralysis, many people now search for and seek recommendations for brands rather than products. In Australia, 49 of the top 50 online searches are for brands.

In 2010, Google announced the first Australian Brand Zeitgeist. According to data gathered by the search engine giant, Australians are crazy for brands. International brands are popular (as is online shopping) but featuring just as strongly in online searches are local brands – indicating that Australians like to search online but still purchase live and local where they can. ‘Woolworths online shopping’ topped the list of retail searches, with strong results also for ‘dfo south wharf’, ‘masterchef’, ‘graysonline’, ‘abc3’ and ‘realestate.com.au’.

Where is brand strategy heading online?

47% of TV viewers are online at the same time. This kind of multi-channel consumption and search is set to continue as people easily switch between social media, gaming, entertainment and communication. Brand strategy needs to reflect the diversity of channels now available. Cross promotion, partnerships, viral campaigns – all of these will be significant in successful brand strategy.

Research indicates that 3 of the top 4 TV advertisers in the UK Financial Services sector are Price Comparison sites. As seen in Australia with www.iselect.com.au and a number of copycat sites in this and other categories, searchers are being bombarded with too much information and are looking for a filter to assist with the selection process.

Eventually Facebook search will be the place to do this filtering, when you use your friends to filter the best products and services. So even for emerging companies, establishing your brand is as crucial as ever. Sticking to your brand values and delivering on the promise will be spread quickly via social media.

iQuantum helps its clients align their brand strategy with their online strategy to get the most leverage from their Digital Marketing efforts.