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Strategy & Tactics – The Yin & Yang of Marketing

541-815-0075

Are your marketing tactics aligned with your strategy? Your operation? Your brand?​

Are you struggling to prioritize your tactics and track results?Is your marketing effort out of balance?

marketing strategy vs. tactics: yin yang of marketing

We can help with a Yin Yang Marketing Assessment.

Marketing programs, like people, need balance. It’s a yin yang thing. And balance begins by finding the truth about your current marketing efforts.

So stop guessing. Get the truth you need to achieve marketing harmony. 

We’ll assess your marketing plan, study your tactics, and dive into any strategy documents you may have. Then we’ll provide a coaching session where we deliver a clear, decisive plan on how to balance your efforts with a harmonious combination of strategy and tactics.

It’s an easy, risk-free way to get the answers you need from a team of seasoned marketing professionals.

Schedule your personalized, YinYang Assessment today and get the insight you need to align your strategy and tactics.

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Apprentice Package

Get the insight you need to align your strategy and tactics.

$589.95

  • Marketing Strategy Assessment. Review of your current marketing strategy to determine how it stacks up against your competitors. 
  • Tactical Plan Review. Analyze the list of your current marketing tactics along with the budget to determine the most cost-effective solutions.
  • Yin/Yang Alignment Roadmap. This deliverable will show you exactly where your strategy and tactics are aligned, and where they go wrong.
  • Accounting and critique of your creative assets. Assess the execution of your marketing tactics. Graphic elements, copywriting, videos, music, photos and key brand imagery.
  • 1 hour of personal coaching. I will walk you through our findings answer questions, and provide clear direction on what your next steps are toward marketing success.

marketing strategy vs. tactics: yin yang of marketing

Questions? Call us at 541-815-0075

Master Package

Get the insight you need to align your strategy and tactics PLUS lots more

$949.95

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  • Marketing Strategy Assessment. MBA-level review of your current marketing strategy to determine how it stacks up against your competitors. 
  • Tactical Plan Review. Analyze the list of your current marketing tactics along with the budget to determine the most cost-effective solutions.
  • Yin/Yang Alignment Roadmap. This deliverable will show you exactly where your strategy and tactics are aligned, and where they go wrong.
  • Accounting and critique of your creative assets. Assess the execution of your marketing tactics. Graphic elements, copywriting, videos, music, photos and key brand imagery.
  • 1 hour of personal coaching. I will walk you through our findings answer questions, and provide clear direction on what your next steps are toward marketing success.
  • 30-minutes of follow-up consulting.  One additional phone call for personalized advice on your newly aligned marketing efforts.
  • checkBONUS OFFER: The Yin/Yang Website Review – Great websites are a delicate balance of technology, strategic insight, and creativity. We will provide a thorough assessment of your web site vis – a- vis your current strategy and tactical list. Details include copywriting, brand image, messaging and SEO. 

marketing strategy vs. tactics: yin yang of marketing

When your marketing efforts are in balance, you will:

  • Avoid costly strategic blunders and tactical do-overs.
  • Stretch your marketing budget by creating and leveraging the right assets.
  • Align your value proposition and marketing messages with your most valuable prospects.
  • Improve awareness, brand image and brand loyalty. 
  • Increase the ROI from every marketing tactic. 
  • Eliminate wasteful tactics and messages that cause confusion.

Here’s what two recent clients have to say about BNBranding:

“I really appreciate the art and craftsmanship of the work they do at BNBranding. Their design work is meticulous and very well thought out. John Furgurson is the consummate professional… always delivers what he says he’s going to deliver. They did my website and some very nice printed sales materials. It’s first rate. I would definitely recommend them.”  

Lisa Slayman

Slayman Cinemas

BNBranding revolutionized how I was positioning my paddle craft invention John took a deep dive into the roots of user preferences for various paddle craft, then helped me recognize a far broader application for my design. The aha! moment in a coffeeshop together was truly remarkable. I will always credit John as the Big Thinker behind what we now call our “crossboat.” 

Michael Grant 

Kittigan Crossboats

An unbiased, outside perspective makes all the difference.

Don’t ask your in-house team how things are going. Ask us instead. We’ll tell you if your strategy and tactics are in alignment. We’ll gladly report that your ads are spot on, or your video production is a true tear jerker.​

But we’ll also call a spade, a spade.

If your website is way off base, we’ll give you specific list of to-dos that’ll make it better. If your value proposition doesn’t resonate with the target audience, you need to know that. If your social media posts are coming out of left field, we’ll tackle that one too.

I promise you this… You will have new insight on what’s working, and what’s not working. And you’ll have an actionable plan that you can implement, so you can eventually achieve complete marketing enlightenment.

​

Schedule Your Personalized, YinYang Assessment today.

Apprentice Package: $589.95

marketing strategy vs. tactics: yin yang of marketing

Master Package: $949.95

marketing strategy vs. tactics: yin yang of marketing

Copyright 2018,  BNBranding  |  541-815-0075

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1 balance your marketing tactics and strategy with BNBranding

The Yin & Yang of Marketing – Are your efforts in balance?

BNBranding logoIn Eastern philosophy yin yang represents the concept of duality. Two halves working together toward wholeness and harmony. It’s the dance of opposites — where seemingly contrary forces are actually complementary.

marketing strategy vs. tactics: yin yang of marketing

Like marketing strategy and tactics.

“Wholeness” — ie optimal results — is only achieved when you strike that delicate balance between the two. When the marketing tactics flow naturally from the strategy.

If your marketing efforts are predominantly tactical, without adequate strategy, you’ll be throwing money at ill-conceived tactics. Ready, fire aim!

If your marketing efforts are tipped the other direction, you’ll spend all your time preparing, planning and aiming, without pulling the trigger.

When you employ both halves of the marketing equation you can touch a glorious chord of emotion while still employing a data-driven strategy. It’s old-school story telling balanced with new technology and analytics.

Right-brain creativity with left-brain analysis. Yin and yang. Marketing strategy and tactics. One cannot live without the other.

All marketing programs are a mix of strategy and tactics, but most small business owners gravitate heavily toward the tactical side of the equation. They forego the strategy part for several reasons:

• Because they can’t do it themselves or they don’t understand it.

• Because they perceive it as being too expensive.

• Because they don’t have time… too many other things to do.

• Because they don’t see the value in it.

They skip the most important step to save a few bucks, but they pour a lot of money into tactics.

They use social media specialists and graphic artists to produce content. They purchase TV time and digital ads. They produce videos for YouTube and run radio ads, but there is no thread of continuity. No consistency of voice or message. No strategic platform from which to work.

No yin yang balance.

balance your marketing tactics and strategy with BNBranding

Therefore, the effectiveness of each tactic is compromised.

Let’s look at some of the opposing, yin yang elements of any good marketing program:


Inward vs. outward.

Many businesses are too inwardly focused when it comes to marketing. Instead of addressing the needs, wants and emotions of their prospects, they talk about themselves and their industry. It’s all me, me, me, me, with a bunch of jargon thrown in for credibility purposes.

Not only that, outward facing marketing tactics and messages are often out-of-balance with the internal operation of the company. The ultimate success of your brand doesn’t hinge on what the marketing people say, it hinges on what you actually do. When you do great things, effective marketing messages are much easier to come by.

So what are you doing internally that your marketing department could build a strategy around?

Emotional vs. analytical marketing.

If you want your marketing strategy and tactics to balance, you can’t underestimate the influence of feelings.

Many business owners operate as if cold, calculating characters like Spock make all the buying decisions. They line up the spreadsheets, produce some charts and graphs, and expect facts and data to do all the work. But it NEVER does.

balance your marketing efforts with BNBrandingThe latest brain research — fMRI testing — proves that emotion commingles with reason, even in rigorous business-to-business purchasing decisions. In fact, many studies show it’s emotion that triggers action.

As one writer put it, “emotion is in the Oval office while the rational brain is in the press center, justifying the decisions that have already been made.”

Trust is not a rational thing. Trust is a feeling. And it’s trust that builds brand loyalty.

Simon Sinek says it succinctly, “Most companies are quite adept at at winning minds; all that requires is a comparison of features. Winning hearts, however, takes more work. That starts with WHY. People don’t buy WHAt you do, they buy WHY you do it.”

Fast vs. slow

Some tactics need to get done quickly. For instance, social media posts are often very time sensitive, so there’s not much consideration for craftsmanship. Promotions are also short-term. TV commercials or print ads, on the other hand, demand careful attention to detail, so you need to leave time to do it right. Branding is a long-haul play.

Strategy also takes time and thoughtful consideration. Strategic issues arise when the strategy is rushed to accommodate the tactical to-do list. Confusion and credibility issues arise when the tactics are produced in a vacuum, with no strategic guidance. All yang, and no yin.

Positive vs. negative.

Some marketers believe that you should never mention the competition. Always stick to a rosy picture of positivity, they say.

But there are some strategic situations that demand a negative approach to execution. Sometimes it’s simply stronger to refer to someone else’s weakness than to talk about your own strengths.

The yin & yang of competition is often the most poignant and effective approach for campaigns.

All great brands have arch enemies. Coke has Pepsi. McDonalds has Burger King. Apple has Microsoft. Don’t shy away from that just because you’re afraid of offending someone. Better to offend some, than be invisible to everyone.

That said, you can’t have a marketing campaign that’s completely negative, all the time. Especially in small town. It’ll probably come off as snarky.

Male vs. female

A comedian once said that women make 80% of all the decisions — and they have veto power over the other 20%.

Keep that in mind when you’re working on tactics, planning your strategy and building a brand. Women remember things! And they’ll attach very strong emotions to those memories, so you better not piss them off.

On the other hand, if you show genuine empathy, and make them feel good, they’ll be great brand ambassadors for you. And don’t forget… Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram skew heavily toward women.

Yin Yang is not static. Neither is your marketing.

The nature of Yin Yang flows and changes with time. So does your marketing. Sometimes it’s stop and go.

Some initiatives are purely tactical, while others are more strategic. Factors outside your control can change your strategy completely or rob you of tactics that you once counted on.

The seasonal nature of most businesses means that tactics may be bunched heavily into one time of year, while planning takes place another. Not only that, goals can change dramatically from one year to another. So you can’t just upload the same marketing plan year after year and expect it to work. You can’t keep running the same ads on the same shows or websites.

The balance point is always shifting. Hot & cold. In and out. Yin and yang. Enlightenment is achieved only when marketing strategy and tactics come together.

If you’re wondering about your own balance point, give us a call. Let’s start a conversation about your brand. 541-815-0075.

Read more on marketing strategy and tactics.

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Strategy & Tactics – The Yin & Yang of Marketing – old

Are you unclear about the difference between marketing strategy and tactics?

Are you struggling to prioritize your efforts and track your successes?

Do you know if your strategy is aligned with your tactics — and with your operation, your target market and your brand?

Are your marketing efforts out of balance?

marketing strategy vs tacticsWe can help with a Yin Yang Marketing Assessment.

Marketing programs, like people, need balance. So stop guessing. Get the truth you need to achieve marketing harmony.

This is an easy, risk-free way to get the answers you need from team of seasoned marketing professionals.

We’ll assess your marketing plan, study your tactics, and dive into any strategy documents you may have. Then we’ll provide a coaching session where we deliver a clear, decisive plan on how to balance your efforts with a harmonious combination of strategy and tactics.

When you have a balanced approach to marketing you will:

• Avoid costly strategic blunders and tactical do-overs.
• Stretch your marketing budget by creating and leveraging the right assets.
• Align your value proposition and marketing messages with your most valuable prospects.
• Improve awareness, brand image and repeat business.
• Improve the ROI from every marketing tactic.
• Eliminate wasteful tactics and messages that cause confusion.

Get a second opinion before you spend any more money on marketing.
Schedule your YinYang Assessment today.

 

Grasshopper Package: $359.95

Basic website review and marketing plan assessment.
Strategy alignment assessment. Review your list of tactics and compare with existing strategy.
Image assessment. How your image stacks up relative to others in your niche.
20-minute coaching session
Email follow-up with specific recommendations

 

Apprentice Package:  $589.95

Thorough website review with SEO insight.
Detailed marketing plan assessment and budget review.
Strategy alignment assessment. Review your list of tactics and compare with existing strategy.
Image assessment. How your image stacks up relative to others in your niche.
Study 3 different examples of creative execution and analyze the messaging and branding.
45-minute coaching session.
Email follow-up with specific recommendations

 

Aspiring Master Package:  $949.95

Most thorough website review with SEO insight.
Detailed marketing plan assessment and budget review.
Detailed review of all current tactics and help prioritize according to your budget.
Strategy alignment assessment. Compare tactics with the existing strategy.
Image assessment. How your image stacks up relative to others in your niche.
Study 5 different examples of creative execution and provide specific creative direction for your team.
Copywriting recommendations and strategy ideas.
1-hour coaching session.
Email follow-up with specific recommendations

 

You’re not the only one who’s struggling to make sense out of the current marketing landscape.

A recent CEO survey shows that 87% are in the same boat. It’s a confusing jumble of nonsense. Everyone wants to know what’s working, what’s not working and how to maximize every marketing dollar.

That’s where we can help.

Our Yin Yang Marketing Assessment provides that crucial, unbiased perspective you need to move forward and make immediate improvements to your marketing programs.

Don’t ask your in-house team how things are going. They’ll all say it’s fantastic because they value their jobs. And don’t ask your outside contractors — They’re afraid for their contracts.

Ask us instead. We don’t have a dog in that hunt. We’ll give it to you straight.

We’ll tell you if your strategy and tactics are in alignment. We’ll gladly report that your print ads are spot on, or your video production is a true tear jerker.

But we’ll also call a spade, a spade.

If your website is way off base, we’ll give you specific list of to-dos that’ll make it better. If your value proposition doesn’t resonate with the target audience, you need to know that. If your social media posts are coming out of left field, we’ll tackle that one too.

Schedule your personalized, Yin Yang assessment now.

I promise you this… You will have new insight on what’s working, and what’s not working. And you’ll have an actionable plan that you can implement, so you can eventually achieve complete marketing enlightenment.

 

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The ancient, proven path to marketing success – Credible, Emotional, Rational

BNBranding Bend, Oregon advertising agencyHumans love instant gratification. In fact, our brains are wired for it. But the path to marketing success is not instantaneous. It starts in the gut, meanders around till it hits your heart, and finishes in the head — if you play your cards right.

Say hello to the holy trinity of marketing success: Credible, Emotional, Rational. Gut, Heart, Head, in that order.

This isn’t a new idea. In fact, it’s a proven process of persuasion that dates back thousands of years, to the ancient greeks.

the ancient proven path to marketing success - Aristotle

Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher.

Aristotle was onto something. His famous modes of rhetorical persuasion — Ethos, Pathos and Logos — were strikingly similar to Gut, Heart, Head. Effective arguments, Aristotle said, include all three.

The path to marketing success begins with Ethos — the credibility piece.

Aristotle recognized the importance of credibility, and said persuasive power often comes from the character of the presenter.

The idea goes like this… If the audience has a good gut reaction to the presenter, they are much more likely to believe the presentation or buy the product.

It comes down to trust.

Back in the Mad Men days of advertising Ethos was used to sell everything from toothpaste to pick up trucks… put an actor in a white coat and you’ve got yourself a credible expert. “Nine out of ten dentists recommend…”

These days people are more skeptical, and it takes more effort to earn trust in the marketplace.

That’s what being a “thought leader” is about. That’s why white papers and case studies make for good “content.”  That’s why authenticity is such a hot topic in marketing circles.

That’s also why so many companies pay millions for celebrity endorsements. When they don’t have an honest differentiator, they often borrow credibility from A-list Hollywood stars. They even pay for big-name voice-overs.

Ethos in advertising bend advertising agencyWhen Donald Sutherland does a voice-over for orange juice, even the farmers feel the love. That’s ethos plus pathos. Gut and heart equals booming orange juice sales.

Pathos represents the emotional heart of your sales pitch.

The english words “sympathy” and “empathy” come from Greek root, “Pathos”.  This is where passion and creativity comes into play, and it’s where most business people fail miserably.

Managers, particularly those inclined toward the finance side of things, think vertically. They work in a straight, logical line from one thing the next. Top to bottom. It’s hard for them to leap out of that left-brain world and into the realm of emotion and empathy.

Creative folks, on the other hand, think horizontally, diagonally and vertically. Sometimes all at the same time.  We bounce from one seemingly unrelated thought to another and connect the dots in brilliant new ways.

That’s why creativity is so valued in the advertising world.

All the latest brain research proves that emotion drives behavior. Not logic. Logic rationalized behavior. So smart brand managers know the path to marketing success is hiring advertising pros who can communicate the emotional heart of their brand messages.

It’s not just a digital media buying exercise. It’s strategic message development. It’s not just reaching an audience, it’s making an honest, emotional connection with real people. It’s not shoving stuff on unsuspecting consumers, it’s making a genuine connection with people.

Logos is the left-brain rationalizer.

Sometimes you need more than just a credible presenter and a heart-felt pitch. That’s why there’s Logos. Pure Logic. Stats and data. The left-brainier, cognitive leg of the stool.

Unfortunately, many companies rely solely on this. They present all sorts of supporting facts about the features of their products and forget all about the main emotional benefit.

This is especially true in business-to-business marketing and in technology marketing. Most CEOs are simply unequipped to make the leap from the rational, factual side to the emotional side of the equation.

path to marketing successBut just because someone’s making a buying decision at work doesn’t mean she’s suddenly turned into Mr. Spock. She still has feelings.

In their extensive research, Antonio Dumasio and Joseph LeDoux of USC have verified the theory that the head is primarily used to justify decisions that have already been made in the gut and the heart.

We aren’t rational, but we are rationalizers.

Their studies show that emotions don’t decide for us, but they weigh in early and heavily into the decision making process. Plus, emotions are inextricably interconnected with rationality, so no decision is purely logical.

“We’re not thinking machines, we are feeling machines that think.”

That’s why it’s very difficult to sway a consumer to change from one tried and true brand to something completely new. A long list of rational bullet points cannot compete with gut feelings.

Douglas Van Praet, in “Unconscious Branding” sums it up for marketers: “The emotional part of the brain serves as the primary driver of our behavior, while our rational mind acts as a backseat observer that, more often than not, goes along for the ride.”

So the path to marketing success is a matter of balancing Aristotle’s three elements.

Ethos — credibility to elicit that positive gut feeling about you and your product. Without it, no one will be open to receive your message.

Pathos — emotional content to connect in the heart and create brands that are truly loved.

Logos — facts and data to help people rationalize their decisions in their own heads.

If you want a more balanced marketing effort, give us a call.

541-815-0075

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Clients

Case studies from some of our recent clients…

Branding in the natural foods industry

Client: Leslie’s Organics — Petaluma, CA

 

Brand: Coconut Secret

 

Initial Assignment: Update an old, outdated website.

 

Solution: Launch an ecommerce operation and turn the website into a profit center.

 

Leslie Caren was drawn to BNBranding through the Brand Insight Blog.

“When I read John’s article on the yin and yang of marketing, I just had to connect with him,” Leslie said. “I knew we needed to update our website, but John and his team ended up delivering much more than that.”

It was a classic case of delivering what’s best for the client, rather than what the client thought she needed.

Coconut Secret did not have its own ecommerce store, and we would have been doing her a disservice by not proposing that. So it wasn’t a case of migrating old content onto a new website, they needed a whole new approach to their online branding.

“They really went above and beyond, with a new tagline, new photography, new shipping methods and a whole new way of doing business.,” Leslie said. “I never dreamed we’d have this type of online store. Their service has been tremendous.”

 
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Bend, Oregon advertising agency

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Golf Industry Marketing

Client: GNL Golf — Lady Lake, FL

 

Initial Assignment: Rebrand the Golf Institute and create the company’s first website

 

Solution: Build a new business model that turns the sales pitch into a money-making educational service.

 

John Ford has been a client since 2006. We started with brand strategy, a value proposition and brand identity, then continued with a website, point-of-purchase advertising, direct response and print advertising. He’s one tough customer.

“Marketing is kind of an obsession of mine,” Ford said. “I’ve studied it. I’ve read tons of books. And I worked with big-name advertising guys all across the country, but I keep going back to this little Bend advertising agency.”

“They have a process that I like, and they always deliver what they say they’re going to. And damn… some of the advertising they’ve done for me is just brilliant. We have more leads and a better sales process than we’ve ever had before. We’re killing it with our putting clinics.” Read more about the GNL case study here.

 

 

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Bend, Oregon advertising agency

 

 

Visit our advertising agency portfolio.

 

Marketing in the natural foods industry

Client: Azure Standard — The Dalles, OR

 

Initial Assignment: Increase ad revenues in the company’s quarterly catalog.

 

Solution: Revamp the publication, launch a content marketing effort, and build industry goodwill.

 

Results:  Increased advertising revenues 10x in just 12 months.

 

Azure Standard is a national distributor of natural foods and organic products. We devised the Azure Indie Partner Program that targeted Azure’s vendors, industry partners and potential vendors in order to build the Azure brand from the inside.

“Sometimes the best branding projects aren’t focused on end customers,” said Debbie Pantenburg, CMO at Azure.

“What John created was a strategically brilliant concept that transformed Azure’s position in the industry. He connected suppliers, team members and customers in a common cause. The idea went right to our core values, and helped define a business model that differentiates Azure from the competition.”

“John was a key partner on the marketing team. He was also instrumental in the launch of our content marketing effort and advertising.”

 
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BN Branding

 

Bend, Oregon advertising agency natural foods industry

Visit our portfolio from the natural foods industry.

 

Real Estate advertising and branding

Client: Morris Hayden — Bend, OR

 

Initial Assignment: Naming, brand identity and website design

 

Results: Successfully launched a new brand in a highly crowded market

 

Morris Hayden is a property management company and real estate brokerage in Bend, Oregon. We created this brand identity for them and built a highly functional website that differentiates them at a glance.

“Bend is overrun by realtors, investors and property management companies, so it’s tough to stand out,” said Erika Morris, owner of Morris Hayden.

“There are also a lot of companies that specialize in websites for realtors, but those sites all look the same. That wasn’t going to cut it for us,” Morris said. “We needed the site to be just as functional as all the rest, with the MLS listings and all that, plus it had to look different.

“The idea of Rosey the Riveter was perfect for us. We get compliments on that site all the time. It’s an integral part of our business.”

 

BN Branding

Real Estate branding from Bend, Oregon advertising agency BN Branding

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Branding and advertising in the software industry

Client: SaleFish Software — Toronto, CA

 

Initial Assignment: Build a new website

 

Solution: Rebrand the company with a new identity, new value proposition, new website, new sales materials and digital marketing.

 

Results:  Stay tuned…

 

We talked with Rick Haws for two years before he decided to pull the trigger on a new website. His company’s one of the entrenched leaders in the proptech arena, and he needed some help taking SaleFish to the next level.  In order to go global he knew he needed a better web presence. But he also needed a whole new way of looking at his value proposition.

“John was very thorough, in his process, and he determined that we needed to change the way we sold our software,” Haws said. “In a nutshell… We quit selling the nitty-gritty features, and started focusing on the outcomes that we achieve for our clients.  And the response was immediately positive.”

The BNBranding team devised all new messaging, a new brand identity, new website and new collateral materials. Work is ongoing on an animated explainer video, info graphics and digital marketing to drive traffic to the new site.

“I’m very, very happy with the new branding. It’s all coming together fabulously,” Haws said.

 
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Bend, Oregon advertising agency software industry case study

 

Client: Black Butte Ranch

 

Assignment: Brand re-fresh, advertising, resort signage, collateral, direct mail.

 

Results: A record number of heads in beds

 

We literally wrote the book on the Black Butte Ranch Brand. We also ran a ground-breaking radio ad campaign, devised seasonal promotions and produced new signage throughout the resort.

“When I was at Black Butte Ranch  BNBranding was our advertising agency of record. They started out by doing the research and writing the book on the Black Butte brand. Then they refreshed our brand identity, produced new signage throughout the resort, and did some great advertising for us. Their work put heads in beds and helped us increase our golf revenues.”

“I think the radio campaign that John did for us was some of the best radio work I’ve ever heard. It was “out there” for Black Butte and yet it was right on brand. The story telling, the script writing, the choice of talent… it was amazing.”

 

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Tourism industry branding from Bend, Oregon Advertising Agency BN Branding

Visit our portfolio for more travel industry ads.

 

 

Branding a Non-Profit Organization

Client: Working Wonders Children’s Museum

 

Assignment: Launch a new non-profit brand from the ground up… Naming, identity design, advertising

 

Results:

Launching a start-up is hard. Launching a start-up non-profit organization is even harder.

BNBranding was the advertising agency that helped build Working Wonders Children’s Museum from the ground up. We devised the name, tagline and brand identity, helped with fundraising and board development, wrote their mission statement and acted as the museum’s ad agency. We even helped create and build the playful, hands-on spaces in the museum itself. It was a labor of love.

 
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Effective advertising from BNBranding an ad agency in Bend Oregon.

Visit our advertising agency portfolio.

 

Marketing to Restaurant Owners

Client: The Where To Eat Guide — Bend, OR

 

Initial Assignment: Create sales materials and a pitch deck

 

Solution: An integrated, in-your-face campaign that opened up two new markets.

 

The owner of The Where-To-Eat-Guide wasn’t afraid to offend restaurant owners. He hit them right between the eyes with ads, email, direct mail and printed sales materials that helped him expand his publishing business from Bend, to Portland, to Seattle and eventually Napa.

“I didn’t think I needed a branding firm,” said John Herbik. “I figured I could do a lot of it myself, with just some freelancers. But I need to thank John for his insight on branding and marketing. The stuff he did really got attention and opened a lot of doors for my sales people.”

 

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examples of copywriting from BNBranding

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's what they say about us:

 

“As a CFO, I’m pretty leery of branding firms. Most of them just end up costing the company a lot of money, without any measurable results. But John Furgurson has a good head for business and he grasps the importance of results. His batting average is very good. Plus, he looks for ways to save money, not just spend it. I wish we would have spent more with BN Branding, and less with the other firms we’ve hired.”

Carl Rigney

CFO and franchise owner
 

“From a branding standpoint, we were pretty well lost before we hired BN Branding. They’ve helped us organize our product lines, create a comprehensive brand strategy, and design two fantastic brands. It’s been a great combination of strategic consulting and creative design… I’ve been very impressed.”

Dan Corrigan

Organic 3
 

“As an interior designer I really appreciate the art and craftsmanship of the work they do at BN Branding. Their design work is meticulous and very well thought out. John Furgurson is the consummate professional… always delivers what he says he’s going to deliver. They did my website and some very nice printed sales materials. It’s first rate. I would definitely recommend them.”

Lisa Slayman

Slayman Cinema
 

“My “aha” moment with BN Branding was truly remarkable.  They helped me recognize a far broader application for my product.  They also went above and beyond with their namestorming process and came up with Kittigan Crossboats. My relatively small, early investment with BN Branding was immensely worthwhile.  John is a skilled strategist with some mad creative skills. “

Michael Grant

Kitigan CrossCanoes
 

“We didn’t think we needed an ad agency, but when we found BN Branding, our website was in a state of emergency. They took great interest in our products and took the time to get familiar with our business model and our clientele. John came up with the new name and logo. And when the site was finished and launched, our selling proposition was much more clear, which led to more online sales without the “pre-call”.  I would recommend BNBranding to anyone looking for any marketing.”

Scott Beydler

Beydler CNC
 

BN Branding News

Big things happening for our client in the proptech software industry.

July 16, 2019

SaleFish Software is a SAAS company out of Toronto that serves residential real estate developers. Rick Haws, SaleFish CEO, hired BN Branding initially to do a new website. However, as the research & discovery work progressed we determined that SaleFish needed to rebrand itself in order to achieve the goals that Rick set out.

The scope of work has progressed from a simple website refresh to a new brand identity, collateral materials, video production, content marketing and digital advertising.

“I’m very happy with the new branding,” Haws said. “It came together perfectly… with the new logo and the new site, and some new sales materials… now we’re poised to expand our global reach.”

 

Bend branding firm redesigns GutPro packaging

Jan 2, 2019

Organic 3 Inc., makers of Gut Pro probiotics and owner of Corganic Ecommerce has hired BN Branding to design a new brand identity and packaging for their GutPro line of probiotics and enzymes.

 

 

Bend, Oregon advertising agency BN Branding chosen to help launch a new health benefits company in California.

Nov 15, 2018

Bend, Oregon branding firmIncentive Health of Bakersfield, California has hired BN Branding to help them stir things up in the health benefits arena. The Bend, Oregon branding firm is working on a brand strategy, go-to-market plan, website, sales materials and a tactical marketing plan for the new company.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for us to help create a disruptive new brand, from the ground up,” said John Furgurson, owner of BNBranding. “We’re going to change the way CEOs look at health benefits. It’s exciting.”

Until now, CEOs have faced a difficult decision when doing their annual review of health benefits.

“It’s always been a trade off,” Furgurson said. “They had to choose between their people and their profits. It’s a no-win. But now there’s an alternative to that.”

 
 

BNBranding launches new website and ecommerce store for Coconut Secret

Aug, 2018

BNBranding website for Coconut SecretWe’re proud to be working Leslie’s Organics, makers of the Coconut Secret Brand of natural foods. Leslie and Randy chose BN Branding to launch an ecommerce website and provide tactical marketing assistance.

Coconut Aminos is the nation’s #1 selling brand of soy-free Asian condiments. They also have a delicious line of candy bars, chocolate bars and granola bars, all sweetened with coconut nectar. So we’re getting some tasty photography for that. (Thanks to Mike Houska, at Dogleg Studios.)

www.coconutsecret.com

 

Read more news »

Some of the brands we’ve helped over the years…

Brand identity design by BNBranding


Black Butte Ranch brand identity design by BNBranding


Coconut Secret logotype and tagline by BNBranding

Print advertising for Desert Orthopedics by BNBranding




client list of BNBranding

advertising and content marketing for Azure Standard

BNBranding client list

Advertising for Bend Cable - now BendBroadband

Broken Top brand identity by BNBranding

Advertising for COPA in Bend, Oregon

trade advertising for Clif Bar

golf industry branding by BNBranding


Definition of digital marketing — 3 things you HAVE to know

BNBranding logoSurely you’ve heard the online chatter about “digital marketing.” There are a million platforms, channels, systems, software programs, “strategies”  and agencies that are guaranteed to make you a million bucks.

Every month it’s something new. (You using Facebook Messenger as an ad platform yet?)

If you’re a business owner you have better things to do than follow the scuttlebutt about the shifting landscape within various specialties that fall under the banner of digital marketing.

It’ll make your head spin.

So here’s a little advice… If you’re choosing a digital marketing firm, or thinking of hiring an in-house “digital marketing specialist,” read this post all the way through.

At least you’ll get a handle on the definition of digital marketing. That’s the bare minimum you need to know before diving in. You can’t manage their work effectively if you don’t know the basics:

Choose one main thing BNBranding1. Know the definition of “Digital Marketing.”

You have to understand that the term itself varies dramatically from one firm to the next. Depends on their niche… Some say it’s SEO. Some say it’s web development. Some says it’s pay per click. Some say it’s lead-gen. Some say it’s all of the above.

Here’s a definition used by one of the big players in that business:

“Digital marketing is data driven and targeted brand promotion through technology.”

“Data Driven” and “Targeted” are popular buzzwords these days. But guess what… Marketing consultants, direct response agencies, media-buying specialists and market research firms have been “data driven” since the early 1950’s.

Even Advertising Agencies… They use hard market research data to devise creative campaigns, and then they use sophisticated media targeting to deliver the message to the right people.

This is NOT a new concept in the marketing world.

Digital marketing firms are just using new tools to do the work. And for the most part, it’s good, valuable work that should be part of every marketing plan. But it’s just a part.

Note the use of the word “promotion”.

By definition, promotions are transactional, tactical tools that can boost short term sales. But they do not build brand loyalty. Don’t confuse promotional tactics with marketing strategy or brand building.

And wait a minute… That same firm also claims: “We have the means to take over your marketing from top to bottom, evaluate your brand’s needs and develop a powerful strategy that maximizes profits.”

That’s where they begin to overpromise.

I don’t know any small digital firms that have account planners, market researchers or brand managers on staff who can help you with a brand strategy. Digital marketing people are detail-oriented, technology-minded specialists. They’re not trained — nor wired — to see the big picture.

For that, you need a real a marketing consultant or a strategic branding firm. Even an ad agency would be a better choice for strategy work than a digital marketing firm. Let the digital guys stick to their own definition of digital marketing, and use someone else to oversee the strategy.

2. Know where digital marketing firms fit into the overall marketing landscape.

Naturally, all digital marketing firms contend that “digital is the future of marketing.”  And a lot of business owners are buying into the idea that a digital marketing firm is all they’ll ever need.

But the world’s greatest brands, and the fastest growing small businesses, recognize one old-fashioned business school fact: The best marketing is a MIX of things.

You need a rich mixture of marketing tactics, marketing perspectives and marketing talent — both generalists and specialists.

You also need a mix of different media outlets to keep your brand visible and relevant. Not just social media posts or paid Instagram ads.

A healthy marketing mix means that some of your marketing efforts will be designed for a short-term bump in sales, while others will be designed for building long-term brand loyalty.

Some will be creative, design-oriented, “feel good” efforts like what you get from design firms and ad agencies.

Other tactics will be analytical and numbers-driven, like what you get from digital marketing firms.

Both can move the needle for your brand, but all those pieces should be aligned under one, coherent, overarching marketing strategy.

Digital Marketing Agencies are constantly promoting themselves on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. Which is perfectly on-brand, because that’s their wheelhouse. They commonly boast that they “manage $x millions in digital media spending”  which tells me they fit squarely in a specialized niche within the bigger niche of media buying services.

They don’t tout their strategic prowess or creative thinking. Just their ability to manage your social media posts and paid ads on all the various digital channels.definition of digital marketing by BNBranding

The business model that’s taught by all the digital marketing gurus is based on mass scaleability. “Just follow this model and you’re going to crush it,” they all claim.

It’s true. Media planning and buying always has been a highly profitably business model. (That’s how advertising agencies made their millions.) But there’s a dirty little secret in the new model that digital agency owners don’t want clients to know:  When they “scale” the clients pay a price.

The mindset is this: We managed a facebook campaign for a natural foods company that worked well, so we’re going to replicate that and run the exact same thing for a bunch of clients in the same category. All we have to do is change out the logos.

It’s an efficient cash-flow generator for the agency owners, but it’s not necessarily good for your brand. Do you really want to be saying, showing, and doing the same thing as your competitors?

Seth Godin posted this recently:

“Online marketing has become a messy mix of direct marketing, seo, tricks, tips, code and guesswork. It’s an always-moving target and it’s mostly focused on tactics, not strategy, because tactics are easy to measure.”

3.  Know the difference between marketing strategy and tactics.

Digital marketing firms will tell you how “strategic” their social media work is, and they’ll claim that everything they do is based on “strategic targeting.” Sure, targeting is important, but do not expect marketing strategy from a digital marketing firm.

Mark Ritson, a world renown brand strategist and Professor of Brand Management puts it bluntly: “‘Digital Strategy’ is a contradiction in terms. What’s happening all the time now is tactics are getting perverted into ‘strategies’. What you really need is a marketing strategy.”

Strategy first, THEN tactics.

I know it’s confusing. And don’t feel bad if all your efforts have been tactical. Ritson says that 80% of all British companies don’t have a coherent marketing strategy. Everyone’s fixated on tactics these days.

Here’s a good post where you can read more about the differences between marketing strategy and tactics. 

definition of digital marketing by BNBranding

 

Strategy first. Tactics second. 

The old 4 P’s of Marketing still apply.  You should  pay attention to all four, not just the one that’s covered by digital marketing firms.

There’s “Place” which has to do with distribution strategy.

There’s Pricing. 

There’s Product. (A great product makes all the other elements of marketing much easier.)

And finally, there’s “Promotions” which is a catch-all phrase that includes all marketing communications and tactics, including every specialized facet of Digital Marketing.

So you see, the tactical work that Digital Marketing firms do well — SEO, SEM, SMM, CPM — and all those other confusing acronyms — is really just a small part of the overall tactical marketing picture.

Digital marketing firms like to compare themselves to “traditional advertising agencies” because the old, Mad Men model is an easy target.

But digital agencies are actually more similar to Direct Response agencies than they are to traditional ad agencies. Direct Response firms always have been driven by quantifiable data and measurable ROI.

I believe it won’t be long before the term “digital marketing” is dropped entirely from the industry jargon. Because everything’s digital these days. Even traditional old things like radio advertising and print are delivered digitally. The lines are blurry, and the terminology continues to confound many people. (For a primer on marketing terms, try this post from the AMA.)

4. Know who’s really doing the work.

The business model for many Digital Marketing Firms is pretty simple: Scaled Outsourcing. They exploit and monetize multiple sources of cheap labor such as crowdsourcing websites, freelance markets like Upwork or “white label” firms from Asia. Then they mark it up. Dramatically.

It’s a good business model for them, but it’s not designed with the best interest of the client at heart.

There’s no synergy to those efforts because every little marketing tactic is being executed by a different person who knows nothing about your business. Plus, in most cases there’s no strategy to guide the efforts. The right hand seldom knows what the digital left hand is doing at any given time.

So before choosing a digital marketing firm, just know that they cannot help you with the big picture strategy work that’ll build your brand in the long run.

So you have two choices… Become your own, best brand manager and get really good at strategy, OR hire a brand strategy consultant to map things out before you ever jump on board with a digital marketing firm.

Without it, your digital tactics will not be as effective as everyone would like.

If you’re still confused about the definition of digital marketing, give us a call. We’ll coach you through it, from a strategic perspective. 541-815-0075.

a new approach to website design BNBranding

new approach to website design

Brand design with a bang – Visual cues and consistency across platforms

BNBranding logoA lot of people ask me about our brand design and the graphics that accompany these blog posts.

They see the same visual cues on the BNBranding website, in social media posts, in our ads, on video and even on good, old-fashioned post cards, emails and invoices.

brand design that produces resultsThey comment about the work on LinkedIn and, yes, they respond to it. Some people have even said, “Wow, that’s really cool. Can you do something like that for my company?”

Of course.

Because the fact is, bold graphics such as these stop people in their tracks. It’s brand design that produces response.

It’s like direct response branding.

As prospects are scrolling quickly through a Facebook feed, they breeze right over all the stuff that looks the same as everything else… Stock photos, charts and graphs, head shots, even stupid cat videos get ignored these days.

They only pause when they see something that “Pops.”

The incongruity of the image or message, relative to everything else they see, creates natural human curiosity. It’s just the way our brains work.

a new approach to website design BNBrandingOn the other hand, we are wired to ignore the images, sounds and words that are familiar to us.

So familiar words, sounds and imagery do not belong in your advertising efforts.

Thanks to an increasingly fragmented marketing landscape, the need for consistently UNfamiliar visuals is on the rise. There are just so many different marketing tactics these days, it’s hard to get them all aligned into one, cohesive campaign. Most companies lose that “Pop” they could get by maintaining visual consistency across various platforms.

The same goes for sounds. The very best Radio, TV and video campaigns include unique sound cues that tie all the components of the campaign together. For instance, I wrote an award-winning radio campaign for a glass company, and the audio cue couldn’t have been more clear… the squeek of windex on a window.

It was an audible punctuation mark that proved very successful.

Visual punctuation marks, such as the images in our “Be” Campaign, can make small budgets look big. It’s one of the little things that small businesses can do to become iconic brands in their own, little spaces.

Brand design advice Tom PetersTom Peters, in his book The Little Big Things, says “design mindfulness, even design excellence, should be part of every company’s core values.

Because the look IS the message. Because design is everything.”

Some people seem to think that “branding messages” do not belong on social media or in digital advertising. And that you can’t design a “branding” website that also moves product.

That’s hogwash.

As Peters said, every message out there is branding. You can’t differentiate sales messages or social messages from brand messages. It’s all connected. You might as well make them look that way.

Consistent, unexpected brand design is the easiest way to improve the impact of your messages and leverage your marketing spend.

If you’re not thinking about branding and design aesthetics when posting something on LinkedIn or Instagram, you’re missing a huge opportunity. People will just scroll on by.

truth in advertising BNBranding

If you’re not thinking about design when crafting headlines for your website, you’re not seeing the big picture. People will just click right out.

If you’re not thinking about your brand image when choosing a location or decorating your office space, you’re missing the boat.

Design is just one element of your overall branding efforts. But it’s an important one. Too important to ignore. Because every time you hammer home those visual cues, you move one little step closer to your objective.

If your business needs a stronger visual presence across all marketing channels, give us a call.

Or click here for an inexpensive yin/yang assessment of all your marketing efforts.

a new approach to website design BNBranding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Same with sounds.

 

 

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A new approach to website design – What’s the big idea?

BNBranding logoI grew up on the creative side of the advertising industry. In that world, big ideas produce big bucks. Agency creative teams toil endlessly to come up with the spark of an idea that can be leveraged into a giant, category-busting campaign.

When it comes to winning new accounts, ad agencies pit their ideas, head-to-head, with the big ideas from competing agencies. Winner takes all. In that business, big ideas are the currency of success.

a new approach to website design BNBrandingBig ideas are also the bread and butter of the start-up world.

Entrepreneurs and VCs are constantly searching for innovative, disruptive ideas that solve a problem, attract venture capital and produce teaming hordes of 28-year old billionaires.

And in Hollywood, producers are aways searching for high-concept movie ideas that break out of the normal, predictable patterns and produce box-office mega hits like Avatar or Titanic.

There’s absolutely no doubt that big ideas can transform a brand — from bland to brilliant. And there’s no doubt that your website is great place to showcase that big idea.

But you’re going to need a new approach to website design.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the typical website project, big ideas are as rare as a Harry Potter blockbuster.

Most small business websites are nothing more than bad corporate brochures in electronic form. Everywhere you look there are cookie-cutter templates, lousy stock photos and “keyword-rich” copy that sounds like it was rendered by a robot rather than written by a pro.

You wouldn’t take a generic ad template that all your competitors are using, fill in the blanks, and then spend $20,000 to run it in a national magazine. But that’s essentially what a lot of companies are doing with their website design projects. It’s like paint by numbers, and the results are mind-numbing.

I’ve come to the conclusion that we need a whole new approach to website design.

Because the current standard operating procedure for website projects is all wrong. It shouldn’t be a project at all, it should be an ongoing initiative. It should always be evolving and improving, just like your business.

“When’s it going to be done?” is the wrong question to ask.  It should never be done.

Instead, ask “What’s the big idea?” What’s the novel concept that will differentiate this website from all the rest, and move viewers to action?

A new approach to website design BNBrandingEveryone in the web development world knows that web projects get bogged down by one thing: “Content.”

The tech guys who build sites are always waiting for interesting headlines, engaging copy, uncommon offers, authentic stories and brilliant graphics to arrive from the client. Sometimes, it seems, for an eternity.

Because that’s the hardest part. Building a site on a WordPress theme is easy compared to the work that has to be done, up front…

First you need some Strategic Insight. Then the Big Idea. (Think “Got Milk” or “Where’s The Beef.”) THEN execution… That’s where all the elements come together.  1-2-3.

Unfortunately, most companies jump right to Step 3.

In the web design arena, the tail is definitely wagging the dog. It’s technology first, process second, content third, design fourth. Nowhere does the big idea come into play. It’s the most commonly overlooked element of any web project.

So here’s my advice for any business owner or marketing person who’s thinking of “doing a new website”:

Forget about that. Stop thinking of it as a website design project, and instead, launch a campaign that starts with a with a big idea that is showcased on the website. Think of it as a long-term marketing program, not a short-term project. Think of it as a new approach to web design that’s more wholistic, more integrated, and more effective than the old way.

Yes, paddling back upstream is often difficult work. And you often need outside help to come up with the strategic insight and big idea you really need. But the effort will pay off.

The big idea is the branding thread that connects all your marketing efforts… It’s not limited just to your website. It should carry through to your social media campaigns, your paid advertising, your PR and even your customer service procedures.

a new approach to website design by BNBrandingWhen you begin with a big idea, the website falls into place quite naturally. It’s just another tactical execution of the big, strategic idea. When it’s done right, it obviously aligns your marketing strategy and tactics into one, kick-ass idea.

For more on the new approach to website design, try this post.

If you’d like an affordable, honest assessment of your current strategy and website tactics, click here. 

If you want expert marketing assistance, just give us a call. 541-815-0075.

a new approach to website design BNBranding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Personal branding from BNBranding

4 Ingredients of small-business branding – Learning from breakfast cereal and a 4-buck burrito

small-business branding from branding experts at BNBrandingBranding is a popular topic in the business press and in business schools these days. Unfortunately, coverage of big brands like Tesla, Nike and Virgin make it sound as if Branding is a discipline reserved only for Fortune 500 companies and globe-trotting billionaires. As if small-business branding isn’t even a thing.

Let me set the record straight on that: It’s entirely possible to build a successful brand without a million-dollar marketing budget or a cadre of high-paid consultants.

Small-business branding is very doable. In fact, many business owners do it intuitively. They build a successful business, step by step, year after year, and eventually a great brand emerges.

small business branding from bnbrandingIt does not happen the other way around.

You can’t just come up with a nice name and a great logo and expect the business to become a successful brand overnight. Without a good, solid business operation and a realistic brand strategy, you’ll never have a great brand.

If you look closely you can find plenty of inspiring brands in everyday places. Like the breakfast table and the local Mexican restaurant.

Because the fact is, branding is not exclusive to big business. If you deconstruct it, you’ll see that small-business branding shares four important things with fortune 500 branding:

Relevance. Credibility. Differentiation. Consistency.

Forget about Proctor & Gamble for a minute and consider the small businesses branding case studies in your town or neighborhood.

Think about the little guys who have a ridiculously loyal following. What makes them successful? What have the owners done that turned their typical small business into an iconic local brand?

small-business branding - big fat burrito from the brand insight blog BNBrandingIn Bend, Oregon there used to be a popular little restaurant named, simply, “Taco Stand.” It wasn’t the best Mexican food in town, but for many years it was the most popular, despite an embarrassing location and many other shortcomings.

Taco Stand was in a tiny building in a hard-to-find spot next to a run-down laundry mat.

It was never open for dinner. They had no web presence, advertising budget or social media following. And yet, for 20 years it was a successful little business, doing much better than many high-end restaurants downtown.

Taco Stand had all four ingredients of an iconic brand, with a bit of Tabasco thrown in for good measure.

The owners of Taco Stand consistently delivered on a very simple value proposition: Big flavor for a small price. All the locals knew you could get a big, great-tasting burrito for very little dinero.

They never wavered from that focus. Consistency led to a loyal following, which added to their credibility, which led to profitability. There’s good money in rice and beans.

Small-business branding and a big-business blunder.

Most people think differentiation and credibility is easy for big corporations. Companies like Kellogg’s can launch a new brand with a massive multi-media campaign, effectively differentiating their product on nothing but advertising creativity and pretty packaging.

But even the big boys make mistakes that leave a bad taste.

brand credibility in cereal branding Take, for example, Smart Start cereal…

The idea at Kellogg’s was to launch a cereal that could compete with all the rising stars of the natural foods industry. The consumer trend was overwhelming… people wanted healthier breakfast alternatives. They wanted whole grains, fiber and good taste without all the sugar.

So Smart Start was positioned as a “healthy” and “wholesome”adult cereal. The elegantly set promo copy described it as “Lightly sweetened, toasted multi-grain flakes and crunchy oat clusters.”

It was launched in 1998 with beautiful, minimalistic package design from Duffy & Partners and a Fortune-500 style marketing effort with lots of  full page, full color ads in targeted magazines like Shape and Parenting.

Great name. Great-tasting product. The greatest package design in the history of breakfast cereal. And a premise that was complete BS.

When my kids were young they liked Smart Start. And for some reason I felt okay about serving it to them, despite the fact that I knew it was a big, fat lie.

One glance at the ingredient list and you’ll see that Smart Start isn’t as nutritious as it’s cracked up to be.  It’s loaded with sugar… 18 grams of sugar plus high fructose corn syrup, honey,  molassass,  sugar, sugar and more sugar.  That’s more than Fruit Loops, Cocoa Puffs or Cap’n Crunch.

So much for credibility. So much for authenticity.

From day one, Smart Start was built around a brand promise that the product could never deliver upon. It was doomed from the start because the actual product was not aligned with the brand promise.

Over the lifespan of that product Kellogg’s tried a number of things to stem the bleeding. Rather than addressing the underlying weakness of the product, they tired the old line-extension trick… They did a “Strong Heart” variation that has 17 grams of sugar, a Strawberry Oat Bites variety and an antioxidant variety.)

Just keep launching new flavors and spin-offs of Smart Start , maybe they’ll forget about its UN-healthiness.

The packaging also devolved over the years… what started as a distinguished, minimalistic design slowly become less and less unique with every variation.

So Smart Start’s credibility was sorely lacking for anyone who pays attention to nutrition labels. The brand’s consistency is debatable with all the line extensions. And the brand’s relevance is dwindling as more people find out about its nutritional shortcomings and turn to truly healthy alternatives from brands like Kashi.

Even a big company like Kellogg’s, that has deep pockets and a 33% overall market share in the cereal isle, can’t get away with that.

In October 2019 Kellogg’s settled a $20 million class action suit for false claims of being “healthy” “nutritions” and “wholesome.” The suit involved five flavors of Raisin Bran, 16 types of Frosted Mini-Wheats, Smart Start cereals and 24 types of Nutri-Grain bars.

I bet they won’t be putting the American Heart Association logo on their packages from now on.

 

So what’s the lesson here for small-business branding?

Smaller companies can’t afford to mess up like Kellogg’s. Credibility too hard to come by, under the best of circumstances. If you launch a new brand under false pretenses of any kind, you’re going to fail.

brand credibilityDon’t choose a name, like “Smart Start,” that cannot be substantiated by the facts.

Naming is hard, and when it’s not done right it’s a recipe for a small-business branding disaster. The name and the identity design and the packaging and the claims need to be aligned with the brand strategy and the product itself.

Make sure your product claims are not only truthful, but also relevant to the target audience. 

For instance, “Healthy” is not part of the Taco Stand value proposition. It would be a silly claim to make because people who want a big, cheap burrito don’t really care about healthfulness. It’s not relevant.

Credibility would also suffer because no one would believe that a Taco Stand burrito is really healthy.

Be consistently authentic.

If you serve a great, cheap lunch, don’t try to do fancy dinners. If you do sugary cereals, don’t try to compete in the health food world. The big food brands have learned that lesson… now they just buy-up successful natural food companies instead of trying to do their own brand.

For more on what all great brands have in common, try THIS post.

For help with your small-business branding and marketing management, schedule a test drive with BNBranding. We’ll run you through a simple brand assessment that can help jump-start your branding efforts. 541-815-0075.

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