Well, I recently got "the question" again. Yet another reader of my e-book, "How to Build and Manage Your Brand (in sickness and in health)" emailed me a question about my stance on brand awareness. I get some iteration of this question every few months.
The question?
Always some variation of,
"I'm very interested to know what's behind your statement, 'Brand awareness is not everything. Brand awareness is vitally important for all brands but high brand awareness without an understanding of what sets you apart from the competition does you virtually no good. Many marketers experience confusion on this point.'"
What do I mean?
Brand awareness is vitally important for all brands but high brand awareness without an understanding of what sets you apart from the competition does you no good in-and-of itself.
Just because somebody is aware of your brand does not mean they understand why it is unique or why they should believe it represents superior value. Heck, there are a lot of brands with high awareness but also high notoriety. This is not desirable.
It is only once people understand what is different and unique about your brand that they can start to consider it as the superior choice in its category and start to develop brand preference toward it. Awareness means they are simply aware. Strategically aware means they are aware and understand what makes your brand different from every other one in the category...and just because they understand the differences doesn't necessarily mean those differences are favorable in their eyes.
Positive strategic awareness occurs when not only does the person recognize your brand, but they also understand the distinctive qualities that make it better in their eyes than the competition. This leads to brand preference.
Simply creating awareness for your brand is not even half the battle. Give me enough money for advertising and I can raise awareness for just about any brand...but that doesn't mean I'll drive any sales for it.
So remember, powerhouse, sales-driving branding is all about creating a point of singular distinction, creating positive strategic awareness and building brand preference in the mind of the target market.
SEE ALSO:
http://www.dolakblog.com/2006/08/brand-awareness-whats-deal.html
1 comment:
Very good point. I recently discovered your blog, as well as Dr. Tantillo's (blog.marketingdoctor.tv). He recently profiled Gillette as a brand that does exactly what you advocate here--promote a strong brand but also dedicate itself to excellence. One thing Gillette does and that Dr. Tantillo advocates in this post is going investing in getting your product (free samples) into consumers hand--not so risky when you Know that you have the superior product on which brand loyalty can be built.
Here's the full post - ttp://blog.marketingdoctor.tv/2008/05/22/tantillos-branding-bite-the-marketing-doctor-says-learn-from-gillette.aspx
Post a Comment