Transforming Digital Chaos To Brand Equity

Randall BeardJuly 22, 20094 min

Transforming Digital Chaos To Brand Equity

The marketing landscape is increasingly chaotic and getting more so. The old world of command and control marketing messaging is dead. And marketers are woefully unprepared to deal with this new reality. In a recent Heidrick & Struggles survey of CMO’s, over 70% said they feel ill-equipped to manage their brands in this new digital environment.

Explosion of Media Channels

Media channels — paid and otherwise — are increasing exponentially. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, webinars, forums, reviews, blogs, etc. are only the beginning. Every day brings new options. Who had ever heard of Stumble Upon a year ago? Consumers ability to access these new channels, engage with other consumers, and talk back to companies has radically changed how Marketing organizations need to behave. And it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

The explosion in new media channels, and the increasing ease with which consumers can react to, create content about, and generally discuss brands is challenging even the best marketers. How do you manage your brand in such a chaotic consumer empowered world? How do you ensure that consumers understand your brand equity and that you drive a single minded understanding of your brand promise?

Here are 6 steps you can take to ensure your brand effectively engages consumers with your brand promise in this increasingly complex and chaotic environment:

1. Be Different, Special and Better — Let’s start with a basic truth. Your brand equity is what consumers think it is–not what you think it is. Unfortunately, too many brands have brand equities that are identical to competitors. So, the starting point is to have a brand promise, and delivery of it, that is truly differentiated–a basic truth too often ignored in today’s frenzied world of media and digital innovation.

2. Know Your Target’s Media Habits — Consumers consume media content differently. Know your targets media habits–traditional and new, and don’t be seduced by the latest media innovation if your target isn’t participating. Map their usage. Then, listen to the communities that are conversing about your brand, understand their priorities and beliefs, and identify respected opinion leaders.

3. Measure Marketing Contact Point Impact — Understand not just what your target is doing, but the impact of different contact points. Quantifying the relative impact of contact points, digital and otherwise, provides a data-based framework for deciding where to focus your limited resources. Word of mouth has always been important, and digital is making it even more so. Thus, it’s critical to identify your categories  “amplifiers” who drive it.

4. Equip Your Organization to Deliver the Brand Promise — Knowing your brands key contact points, you can then map organizational ownership to each of these. Many “old line” functions are being impacted by new media–e.g. PR, Customer Service, etc. Ensure that they — not just Marketing — really understand your brand promise, what it means, and how to deliver it.

5. Organize your Team to Engage Key Media Channels & Amplifiers — Establish teams to engage with consumers across your most important digital channels. Equip them with the talent and skills to publish, respond, and engage–whatever is required to focus the discussion on your key brand equities.

6. Create Value-Added Content — Consumers want more from brands than just a restatement of the brand promise. They want relevant and creative content that surrounds and supports it. Sometimes, they even want to create it. Do your homework to understand what kind of content your consumer wants, whether and how they can contribute, and how it can support and reinforce your brand promise.

Reactive, Proactive or Engaging?

It’s natural to feel that some of your Marketing communications are reactive and some are proactive. But engaging your target audience over time in an intelligent dialogue that drives your brand promise is key:

* Lead with your brand promise in new and creative ways. Engage with consumers to interpret it based on their values and needs.

* Give consumers a voice about your brand and brand promise by enabling feedback, comments and user generated content.

* Guide consumers back to your brand promise, even when they have a negative experience or point of view. Ask “how could we do better?”

* Use value-added content that surrounds and supports your brand promise to make it easier to engage consumers.

The key point is this: focus your limited resources. Focus on the most impactful, highest consumption media channels. Focus on building relevant, value-added content to surround and support your brand promise. And then focus your organization on engaging with your consumers across the key media channels in a conversation that continues to reinforce, develop and deepen your brand promise. Why? Because when consumers think of your brand, you want them to think of one thing — how you’re different, better and more special than the other guys.

What is your brand doing to turn digital chaos into brand equity?

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