- Ideas on New Marketing from Social Media Consultant Matt J McDonald
This is the first installment of a series of posts designed to make you a better marketer. So enjoy Vol. 1 of the MKTG Toolkit.
If you have even the slightest interest in branding, watch this slide show. It’s honestly worth going through the whole thing.
“Don’t mess with me. Seriously.”
Few people/organizations in the world broadcast their message as clearly as riot police.
The two branding lessons that you can take away from them are -Be focused and -Be consistent . Without those two, it becomes impossible to distinguish yourself from the masses.
Being focused is important because it defines the message and identity that you’re trying to establish. If you’re trying to show that you’re X, then anything that portrays you as anything other than X is a branding failure. Looking at the riot cops, you can see their aim is to convey the seriousness of their presence. Shields, face masks, horses, boots, and teargas all say,“Don’t mess with me.”
Being consistent is important because without it, your message will never be fully understood. If you’re broadcasting one thing, and people are starting to take hold of that idea, the worst thing you can do is switch things up. If you’re trying to be X then always be X, no matter what. If you’re not consistent in your portrayal of yourself, how are you ever supposed to achieve consistency in the minds of others? Have you ever seen an on-duty riot cop smile or joke around? My guess is no, - “Don’t mess with me.”
Branding is a tricky thing, and there are no guarantees, so we have to do the best we can, and that means putting out a consistent, focused message.
Sometimes a big factor in branding is a lack of information.
By now, many people are familiar with Blue Moon Belgian White Ale.
This particular beverage, which was founded in 1995, has captured the attention of many beer enthusiasts - and increasingly the general public - because of it’s unique, compelling taste, and it’s down-home, handcrafted image.
What most people don’t know however, is that Blue Moon is brewed by the Molson Coors Brewing Company, the world’s fifth largest brewer by volume. People don’t know about this, because they don’t advertise it. Blue Moon does well because of it’s micro-brew image, and connecting it to Molson Coors would disrupt that.
Or take Radio 104.5, the newest rock station in Philadelphia.
On the air only a few months ago, Radio 104.5 bills itself as an anti-establishment radio station, and the way they do things on-air is different than most. They don’t have DJ’s that talk all the time, they don’t have stupid contests or other useless stuff, they just have music. And lots of it. Sure it’s interrupted every once in a while, but that’s to be expected with free radio. But before returning to the music, Radio 104.5 runs short quips about how they’re different and thanking you for listening.
Radio 104.5’s omitted info? They’re owned by Clear Channel Communications - the largest radio station owner in the United States. Many have taken to 104.5’s rebellious image, and liken it to “sticking it to the man”, but really, “the man” is just “sticking it to” himself.
These two instances highlight the importance of focus in branding. Neither of the facts above are secrets, nor are they even hard to figure out (Blue Moon says Coors right on the box and 104.5 mentions CC every now and then) but they’re not stressed.
Sometimes in branding, what you leave out is just as important as what you put in.
My name is Matt J McDonald and I'm a new marketer & Social Media Consultant based in Charleston, SC.
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