Seven Golden Secrets to Creating a Strong Brand Strategy for a Century

Why are so many around us short-lived brand names? Why is it that the price is always much lower than foreign brands? Why does advertising always stop when sales stop? Why could an article and a small quality accident bury a brand (even though Nestle and Toshiba had a very high quality accident but did not hurt the brand?) ... And behind all this is because most of the companies in China are still unfamiliar with brand strategy management, and they don't even know what kind of work brand management is doing or how deep or incomplete it is. A shocking commercial or a good day-to-day sales does not mean that it will naturally be able to create a strong brand for a century.

How to develop brand strategy management? What is the secret of creating a strong brand for a hundred years?

In the domestic market, there have been numerous cases of successful marketing advertisements that have been plagued with admiration. In the past year, there have been wonderful cases such as Shaying Shampoo, Neptune Silver, and Oaks Air Conditioning. This shows that the level of marketing planning for domestic companies has reached a high level. .

However, why are so many brands around us short-lived? Why does advertising always stop when sales stop? Why is there so much trouble in the internal personnel? Why could an article and a small quality accident bury a brand (even though Nestle and Toshiba had a very high quality accident but did not hurt the brand?) Why is it that the price is always much lower than foreign brands? ......

Because we did not create a strong brand with distinctive personality, rich association, high prestige, high value, high reputation and loyalty. The reason behind this is that most of the companies in China are still unfamiliar with brand management, their knowledge in brand strategy management is still very poor, and they don’t know or understand deeply what brand management is doing, or even how deep or incomplete it is. Many marketing executives with billions or billions of sales have not been able to clearly answer the key elements of creating a long-lived and strong brand. More eager-to-advantageous people believe that selling products is a good brand. The lack of brand strategic management knowledge and the lack of brand strategy management capabilities are the weaknesses of local brands.

Many people in the industry believe that brand strategy planning and management are marketing planning, advertising creativity, advertising, public relations activities, and terminal promotions. This is of course related to misleading books with a large number of words such as brand strategy and brand planning. Because many of the brand strategy and branding books have been opened, most of the content is talking about market segmentation, target market positioning, product strategy, broad appeals and thematic positioning, television advertising ideas, media selection, public relations activities, and news softness. How to plan and implement concrete marketing campaigns such as publicity, terminal display, and liveliness. If so, there should be no brand strategy management discipline, and companies will not need to carry out brand strategy planning and management, as long as they do daily marketing and advertising work. The brand strategy has its own research scope and the company's brand strategy management work has its unique job responsibilities and content.

Jason has been engaged in brand strategy consulting and research for many years and has summed up seven strategic strategies for brand management and the establishment of a strong brand:

One of the golden rules: Refining the core value of a distinctive personality and a strong appeal to consumers, and maintaining the core value of the brand with the dedication of water and stone

Brand core value is the main part of brand assets. It allows consumers to clearly and clearly identify and remember the interest points and personality of the brand. It is the main force that drives consumers to identify, like and even fall in love with a brand. Core value is the ultimate pursuit of a brand, and is the origin of a brand marketing communication activity. That is, all value activities of a company (marketing communication activities that are directly displayed to consumers) must be centered on the core values ​​of the brand. This is the core value of the brand. The embodiment and interpretation, and full and strengthen the core value of the brand. The core work of brand management is to clearly plan and outline the core values ​​of the brand, and in the course of brand building in the next 10, 20, and even 100 years, we must unswervingly adhere to this core value. Over time, the core value will be deeply imprinted in the minds of consumers and become the most contagious connotation of the brand to consumers.

Positioning and fully maintaining and publicizing the brand core value has become the consensus of many world-class brands, and is the secret to creating 100-year gold medals. King P&G, the brand’s king, is conceived of the construction and management of brand core values. Once P&G passes the consumer research, it strictly positions the core value of the brand, and it will never be easily changed. All advertising and marketing communication activities are performed with the core value as the starting point. For instance, the core value of Safeguard is “effectively removing bacteria and keeping family members healthy”. For several years, TV commercials have been exchanged for several purposes. However, the theme of advertisements is not only “sterilization” but also “sterilization”. Many of P&G's advertisements are often bland in terms of originality, and are mostly comparative advertisements. But its strong sales promotion is amazing! Mystery lies in the precise positioning and perseverance of the brand's core values. P

Rolls-Royce is the "Royal Aristocrat's Mount"; BMW is "the fun of driving"; Volvo is positioned as "safe"; Marlboro is "brave, adventurous, passionate, enterprising manhood... Above is the core of these gold signs. Once the core value of the brand is determined, it will be held in place and will continue to be implemented. All marketing strategies of the company must be carried out around the core values. Billions and billions of advertising costs are the interpretation of the core value, despite the advertisement. Constantly change, but the change is only a manifestation.

On the other hand, many of our domestic brands hardly have a position on the brand's core value. Marketing strategies are often hampered by tactical goals and deviate from the pursuit of core values. Advertisements are very casual, and the theme of appeals is new, changing year after year, and it becomes Xintian You. . Although a large amount of marketing advertising investment can also promote product sales, but a few years later found that brand equity, overall value and brand prestige have not been improved.

The second rule of the golden rule: After completing the refinement of the brand's core values, one of the most important tasks as a brand strategy manager is to plan brand recognition and make the core value command marketing communication activities operational.

Refining the brand's core values, which are distinctive and highly differentiated and highly contagious to consumers, means that strategic brand management has taken the first step to success. However, there are brand core values, too abstract and ambiguous. It is necessary to command and integrate the company's marketing communication behavior is lack of maneuverability, can not regulate the company's marketing communications activities. Say a brand is recognized by consumers, it is impossible to rely solely on the core value, but also has a full brand association of corporate philosophy, technical image, product characteristics, brand temperament, affinity and so on. Therefore, after completing the refinement of the brand core value, one of the most important tasks as a brand strategy manager is to plan brand identity centered on brand core values.

Brand recognition refers to the definition of brand associations that distinguish from competitors by defining how the product, company, person, symbol, and other marketing communication activities embody core values. Brand recognition reflects the direction of the brand association and brand representative that the brand strategy manager expects to develop, and defines how the brand should be adjusted and improved. After brand recognition is effectively communicated to consumers, a real brand association is formed. A strong brand must have a clear, full brand identity.

After scientifically planning the brand identity, the core value can be effectively landed and effectively interfaced with the daily marketing communication activities (value activities), so that the company's marketing communication activities have standards and directions. Brand recognition plays a role in the overall command and guidance of brand building. In addition to the well-known identification of products, companies, and symbols, responsibility, growth, status, and the relationship between the brand and the consumer can all be used to identify the brand's competitiveness. Jinwa builds the appeal and loftiness of the brand with its extraordinary social marketing concept and sense of responsibility; Reebok is respected by the public for providing labor safety protection and benefits to third-world shoemakers; Avon uses “female friends” as The relationship between herself and consumers has been greatly embraced by women.

The third rule of the golden rule is that the brand identification system centered on the core value will command all the marketing communications activities of the company, so that each marketing and distribution expense will be added to the brand, which will greatly reduce marketing costs.

After refining and recognizing the core value-based identification system, it is necessary to identify all the marketing communications activities of the commander with the brand identity. Due to the obvious role of advertising in propagating the brand, many people mistakenly believe that as long as the advertisements are vividly and meaningfully conveying the brand's core values, the brand's core values ​​can be branded in the minds of consumers and build a rich experience. Brand equity. Since then, sit in this golden mountain and enjoy it for several years.

The brand core value is the functional, emotional and self-expression benefit promised by the brand to consumers. If it is only reflected in the dissemination, marketing strategies such as product function, packaging, and distribution fail to effectively reflect the core brand value or simply run counter to consumption. Those who are confused will not be able to establish a clear brand image in the brain or even do not trust the core values ​​of the brand at all. It is not difficult to find that no BMW will be as dignified and majestic as the appearance of Mercedes-Benz. On the contrary, the shape of each BMW car looks very light and full of spirituality. That is what BMW's brand managers are very wise to “drive”. The core values ​​of the brand's fun, chic, passion, and vitality throughout the product's industrial design. It can be seen that all opportunities to convey brand information to consumers, such as product functions, packaging and appearance, retail terminal distribution strategies, and advertising communication, must reflect the core value of the brand, that is, using the brand core value to command all marketing and communication activities of the company. Consumers deeply remember and sincerely agree with the brand's core values.

The company fully reflects and interprets the core values ​​in any marketing and marketing campaign, namely, POP advertising, promotional items, and news hype, such as raw material procurement, product research and development, packaging design, radio and television advertisements, posters and flags. Soft media campaigns, access strategies, terminal liveliness, street sales promotion and after-sales services, and even every interview with the media, communication with customers, and other opportunities for communication with the public and consumers must all reflect the brand's core values. So that consumers can feel the core value of information any time they come into contact with the brand, which means that every marketing advertising fee is deepening the consumer's brain in the core value of memory and identity, are doing brand additions.

Many domestic brands do not achieve all marketing communication activities with core values ​​as the soul of the company. Typically, only the core values ​​of the brand are reflected in the dissemination and are not implemented in marketing activities. This kind of marketing and non-integrated dissemination caused a serious waste of brand equity, and some of them suffer from food and drink. For example, there is a kind of liquor brand in the dissemination of the scene in the luxurious places of noble officials to drink to create a noble image, but the packaging is very rough and rough, the price is less than 15 yuan a bottle, almost is not a dog anti-type painting. At this time, if this brand is a big job that ordinary people don't shake, they have a sense of family responsibility, work with sweat and quiet, and get a low salary to support their families. I think their wives will definitely Moved to this kind of communication image and thus actively bought the brand's wine for the husband (the core value of the brand matches the price very much). (to be continued)