Building brand awareness is one area that most marketers seem to overlook, and miss out on a very important aspect of long term brand recognition. Often, Brand Recognition can be easily mistaken for Brand Awareness, but the two actually are a bit different. While Brand Recognition can be understood as the overall extent to which a brand is easily and correctly recognised by the consumer, based only on basic visual clues like logo and colours, Brand Awareness goes a step further, where apart from the brand’s visible identity, its service and product offerings, its corporate philosophy and values, the core management team/ founder members are well known among the target audiences.
Simply put, Brand Awareness refers to people’s ability to recall and recognise your business. As we usually ask for a ‘Xerox’ and not a photocopy, a ‘Coke’ and not a cola and a ‘Band – Aid’ and not plastic bandage. These terms are known as proprietary eponyms, and they’re the apex of brand awareness. These brands have become so well-known, they’ve replaced the generic terms for similar products in our language. Brand Awareness is all about what the mind state your ideal clients enter when they see or hear your company’s name. It also refers to building brand loyalty through showcasing the thought leadership of the founders/corporate leaders, thereby establish a clear positioning for the brand in an otherwise crowded and competitive market.
One might argue that brand awareness could be ignored as long as ROI based marketing and sales figures can be managed. However, in an increasingly digitally active business environment, is not only beneficial to be visible but also equally clear about the brand messaging, value and philosophy and market positioning – factors that are vital among the new age, well informed consumers. It is also the very first step in the marketing funnel, and a crucial foundation to eventually acquire customers.
This is where an effective Brand Awareness strategy comes into play. One can start by reviewing current branding strategies, in terms of internal, external branding and customer experience and accordingly create a set of marketing tactics which can eventually help brands to expand their reach and recognition, while engaging in a customised manner with a defined set of target audiences. A successful Brand Awareness strategy is also one that takes into account some key factors, like changing consumer needs and preferences, and market trends with respect to direct competitors.
Creating Brand Building and Brand Awareness strategy that is customised for businesses, based on the brand’s life cycle and the unique industry challenges, is also an important aspect to ensure efficacy of digital marketing campaigns. For example, the approach one can take for creating Brand Awareness for Start-ups and businesses exploring the branding space for the first time, needs to be well researched and customised keeping in mind the business goals, like enhancing brand visibility, gaining momentum, attracting investor attention and interest, increasing brand’s market share, boost business sales volume and eventually develop customer loyalty.
This is also where the role of a seasoned Brand Awareness specialist becomes crucial. Through strategic brand management approach, a Brand Awareness specialist can help brands to not only amplify their messaging and industry leadership position but also create a structured marketing plan for short and long – term growth requirements, with a guaranteed ROI in terms of customer acquisition and revenue maximisation.
