A 30-second television commercial that’s shown during a highly popular, primetime series can boost a bottom line almost immediately. Once the campaign ends, however, the gains are likely to taper off. A carefully planned and executed campaign that seeks to not only bolster sales in the now, but also in the future can have longer lasting and stronger results. The latter is the forte of brand management firms.
What are Brand Management Firms?
Brand management firms are advertising agencies with a slightly different approach. While they might use traditional platforms and tactics to boost sales in the now, their overarching focus is in creating a buzz around a product that lasts in the long term. They have a goal of turning products, product lines and companies into household names.
Helping clients gain the instant recognition factor that the world’s largest firms enjoy (think soft drinks and computer companies) doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and tons of strategy to develop campaigns that deliver enough exposure over time to achieve this status.
Tactics Involved
Branding is a highly specialized field for a reason. In order to pull it off, brand management firms use multifaceted approaches that might include such efforts as:
1. Traditional advertising – Typical sales spots can go a long way toward helping with an overall branding campaign. Since they reach lots of people, they help make products and logos more recognizable. They can also boost sales in the immediate future, which is a plus for a developing brand.
2. Online efforts – Using a combination of website management, social media marketing and online advertising, a good branding firm will seek to get a company’s name out on the ether. Since millions of people spend their time online, this is the perfect arena for reaching them. The social media pillar is generally used to create a following among customers. By creating a community that’s positive, brands can boost loyalty and word-of-mouth advertising. This, in turn, leads to long-term gains that last.
3. Reputation management – Reputation is everything in brand management. The best firms carefully cultivate images for their clients and work behind the scenes to ensure those images are maintained.
4. Product placement – Paid product placement spots can also help boost recognition factor. While not always appropriate, this type of effort can have some very strong results.
Brand management firms grow their clients’ business by focusing on the long term.