Brand building through advertising.

It’s not just your product you’re selling.

You’ve built yourself a nice, shiny brand. Now it’s time to take all the components that you created to define it, you know – the look and feel, tone of voice, logo and fonts – and get people to store it all in their brains so your brand is the first thing that comes to mind when they need your service or product. How? By putting a spotlight on your brand in the form of a campaign. AKA, advertising.  

Brand building never stops. It’s how brands grow up and grow successful. And the biggest brands out there are still around because they’re constantly staying relevant in different ways, whether it’s by re-evaluating their brand positioning through new targets and expanded offerings, or as in the subject of this article, with advertising campaigns. They not only serve as a reminder to customers that you exist and offer a solution to a problem, when done consistently (and well) brand advertising can strengthen your business over the course of years, one campaign at a time. Here’s how we help you do it:

Advertise your brand, not just your product.

Advertising is not some mind-bending marketing concept. Its main function is to help people become aware of your product so that they consider buying your product, and if they like your product, remember to keep buying it. Simple enough, right? But a campaign’s real power comes from its ability to connect on a human level, not just a transactional one. When this happens, you’re not just building up your brand, you’re making it a customer’s go-to.

So when it comes to developing campaigns for your brand, we look to inform but also connect. By shaping how your target audience perceives your brand by communicating your company's core values, mission, and unique POV, consumers begin to see you as a  personality, not just a product. They value what you stand for, not just what you sell or offer. They share your view on things and relate to it. By reinforcing this through multiple ads spread across different media and touchpoints (more on that in a minute), we simultaneously showcase your product or service while telling everyone who you are, what makes you different or what makes you believable. Over time, your brand solidifies in the minds and hearts of customers because of its relatability, not just functionality. Powerful stuff, right? You just have to take the plunge and develop a campaign. The best part – it doesn’t have to cost a bajillion bucks to make a significant splash. 

To help you make a splash, we start with a ripple.

As an up-and-coming company, or even a relatively established one, the goal is to have constant visibility. As the saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind”. But brand campaigns serve as little reminders that you’re out here with something to offer, so that over time, your brand is the one that comes to mind first.

Does that mean you need a Super Bowl spot out the gate? Of course not. We can help you start small through grassroots efforts that can be done very affordably. Things like social media ads, billboards and trade publications. Or pass out handbills, send postcard mailers or stage promotional activations. Heck, sponsor a little league team. The point is, the more you advertise, the more ripples you make, which starts to rock the boat. And people start noticing when the boat is rocking.

Ride the wave.

With continued effort, each campaign we create together makes more and more ripples. It takes time, but eventually your brand becomes a wave. The trick to making this happen is to keep the momentum going in more ways by thinking bigger and longer term.

We start by considering the shelf life of your brand campaign. Should it only run during Q1 or the full year? Is this going to be an awareness campaign or a full funnel approach? Whatever the case, you’ll want to support your brand campaign with the right type of content and the right amount of it. So let’s say it’s going to run for 6 months, we’ll strategically plan out a creative calendar of sorts with several ad options in different formats. This ensures a steady flow of fresh ads spread out over the course of your campaign timeline while avoiding repetition and wear out. A lot of times, brands will have a full year’s-worth of ads projected in advance of a campaign launch. Daunting? Yes. But the good news is, we collaborate with you to determine how much creative you need in your campaign, the right ad placements and a rollout plan to deliver it all.

Think multiple moments, not one-offs.

To that point, and to keep the wave waving, it makes sense to create a broader brand campaign to reach even more people in more engaging ways. One ad in one campaign won’t cut it, so think about expanding your media mix and what might be required to bring your ads to life across multiple touchpoints to build on your momentum. Things like video, out of home installations, targeted social media and bolstering your organic social presence are all options we bring to the table and can leverage to strengthen your brand. Not only do they make you look sophisticated and established, they create more moments to make stronger connections with current and potential customers. 

Things to Remember

Advertising = Awarene$$.

That’s money in your pocket, figuratively and literally. And there’s nothing wrong with more of it. With advertising comes more awareness to your brand (no matter where you are in the marketing funnel) which leads to market leadership and more sales. Cha. Ching.

Keep things simple and play the long game.
Our goal is to help you build long-term brand recognition and positive associations over time. With brand campaigns you’re focusing on the big picture, so when you start out, keep it simple. Be you, make one point and let your brand do its thing.

We repeat: BE YOU.
One thing you don’t want is to be mistaken for another brand. You have distinct assets and a brand voice for this very reason, so use them in every ad. With our branding experience as a starting point, we clarify what makes you different, then use that to make you stand out in a strategic brand campaign.

Which leads us to the big, important questions:

How are you approaching advertising at the different levels of the marketing  funnel? Whether you’re introducing customers to your brand at the awareness stage or convincing them to give you a try further down the funnel, a brand campaign can energize your efforts while continuing to build your brand along the way.

How long has your brand campaign been running? Or more importantly, when was the last time you ran a new one? In either case, the next iteration of it – or a new brand campaign all together – is a great way to reacquaint yourself with the crowd. Depending on your situation, a  rebrand – and with it, a launch campaign – could be the thing to get your brand some renewed recognition. All things we’ve sorted out and solved for our clients.

What’s your competition doing? Are they treading into your creative territory? Or worse, is your campaign looking a little too much like theirs? Creating value by differentiating your brand from others is why branding is so important and should be reflected in how your brand advertising campaigns show up. 

Last bit – not sure which direction to go with your next campaign? Well, first of all, stay true to your brand. That’s the foundation for any kind of brand building, campaigns included, and it’s the north star we use when it comes time to create brand advertising for our clients. So when you’re ready to make ripples or even a tidal wave with your next campaign, we’re ready to dive in headfirst.