Who doesn’t want their brand, products or services known?
You go into the business so your product offerings will be recognized and patronized. Whether it is a niche market or a mass-based item for consumption, your goal is to get the news out there that you have something to solve or supply people’s needs.
To accomplish this, you have to use the most effective means of communication. You have to market your product well so that your target audience will be aware of what your offer.
However, in such a chaotic market, you need to raise your brand voice to be heard. Everyone is doing some sort of marketing and advertising so you have to stand out to be noticed.
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Getting the Consumer Pulse
To differentiate your brand from the rest, you need to get the pulse of your market. Know why their heart beats, when it beats, why it beats. You have to be aware of their buying habits, know their purchase drivers, be informed of where their interests lie.
When you have an in-depth knowledge of these things, you can then work your way to successfully create marketing and activation programs directed to address their needs and wants.
In this, you will greatly benefit from the expertise and experience of a professional brand strategy agency.
Fast becoming a crucial arm in marketing campaigns, brand activation is both a science and an art born from the need to drive consumer interaction with a brand’s products or services.
What is the point of getting your product known when it doesn’t compel your desired audience to act? With the in-depth knowledge and on-the-ground training of marketing activation specialists, a solid brand activation strategy can help your products come to life, engage your audience, and create a lasting relationship with your brand.
Here are some of the most popular brand activation efforts that can help elevate your brand:
1. Consumer Insights
Gaining valuable customer information to better understand their purchasing habits are important to make your brand and products known.
With the aid of marketing activation experts, you will be provided with significant data that you can analyze and use to design an effective activation campaign that will lead your customers to act and interact with your brand.
One such example on how to get to know your customers well is through mystery shopping. By staging a non-obvious strategy to observe how your customers behave, you will have a better understanding of what drives them to buy or use something.
2. Below-the-Line (BTL) Marketing
Whether you are just starting your business or have already established your brand, Below-the-Line (BTL) marketing will still help your efforts in promoting your products or services.
BTL activities such as in-store promotions, roadshows, outdoor exhibits and highly engaging point-of-sale (POS) materials can all complement your above-the-line advertising efforts on TV, radio or print.
3. Digital Marketing
The advent of technology has also brought about innovative digital marketing solutions to engage customers. The customer experience and customer engagement are both enhanced through digital marketing platforms such as the use of the following forms:
- Social media apps
- 3D and 4D technology
- Interactive digital media
- Virtual reality
- Augmented reality
- Chatbots
Millennials and tech-savvy people are mostly drawn to these digital efforts especially when it is creatively executed and creates a fun, experiential moment that resonates with them.
4. Events and Launches
When you want to launch a new product or service to the market, it would significantly help if your target audience gets to experience them firsthand. At the same time, it is not enough to just put the product on a table and your announcement on a poster.
You must launch your product with a bang to create a wave that will ripple through your intended crowd.
To add to the whole marketing mix of getting your new product out there in all its shining glory, a well-executed activation campaign can give your clients an up close and personal experience that will most likely imprint your brand attributes in their brains and hearts.
5. Retail Promotion Staffing
Your brand voice can be better heard with the help of knowledgeable people who are well-versed with the features and benefits of your product or services.
In your brand activation and experiential campaigns, it would help if you can field promotional staff who have pleasing personalities and who can draw a crowd and actively engage them to try out your offers.
A brand activation agency will sift through applicants and give you qualified promotional people who have been through stringent screening procedures, ensuring that they can present your products in the best light possible.
Activate and Motivate
When you want your brand to be larger than life and your target audience to enjoy the experience with your products and services, enlisting the help of a dedicated and efficient team of brand activation specialists will surely lead you to success.
Through a well-thought-of strategy and exceptionally executed campaigns, your brand will surely activate and excite the pulse of your market and motivate them to purchase your product offers.
AUTHOR BIO
Stuart Harris is the Creative Director at Yellow, a Dubai branding agency, digital partner and advertising company working with progressive businesses to build bold, meaningful brands.