Media Spotlight: Branding your business
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By James Hammond
The US television series Mad Men has brought glamour to advertising and branding a business.
When star of the series and ad man Don Draper gets his hands on a product he makes it sexy, appealing and more likely to sell.
In Branding Your Business, author James Hammond provides a whistle-stop tour through the mind of Draper - minus the sex, drink and smoking.
One of the key themes is that brands are not just about products but services too, so brokers can build a brand just as easily as Adidas or Pepsi.
The first crucial stage is the sensory reception of a brand through sight, sound, smell, taste and touch, which gives the initial impression of a business. There is an interesting chapter on the smell of a brand and how to use fragrances such as cinnamon, lemon and jasmine when meeting a client.
So a broker could freshen up their office with a light scent to give the client a positive impression of their business. Hammond also advises on the personal scent of a seller but most brokers are surely aware that poor personal hygiene will have a negative impact on clients.
Also using music to listen to, brochures to touch and sweets to taste he says all add to the sensory appeal of a brand. As long as there is not a sensory overload, gentle use of Hammond’s methods can improve a customer experience and enhance a brand.
The next phase is building the so-called brand halo in three stages - pre-purchase, during the purchase and post-purchase.
Before purchase a business wants to become known and can use advertising, public relations, exhibitions and a website. During the purchase it is about making the experience as pleasurable as possible so customers feel positive about the firm. Post-purchase brand building is the most often ignored but perhaps most important if targeting referrals.
Brokers, for instance, can follow up with a thank you note, a questionnaire, more relevant products for the client or an invite to an event or show.
Most of this may seem irrelevant to a TV show set in the 1960s in the embryonic stage of brand building and marketing but it is a natural progression.
While Draper designs billboards and magazine adverts the modern brand is built around a more diverse set of media.
Public relations and social media can supplement advertising and in some ways be even more effective. Hammond certainly thinks social media is crucial.
But he cautions against hyperbole quoting a friend who attended a social media seminar.
“Our website is no good,” he says after the seminar. “We need to rebuild it around social media. Forget advertising and direct mail. Forget everything except social media. Everything else is dead.”
An over-reaction if ever there was.
To use it properly Hammond has devised the three Rs of social media - regular, relevant and remarkable. But this is only one weapon in a branding armoury, so only gets one chapter.
The modern Drapers must focus on a more holistic experience throughout the service rather than on static campaigns.
While this book won’t turn you into a Draperesque ladies man, it will give you a taster of what the modern Mad Men are talking about in their New York skyscrapers - and that knowledge could help your business.
- Review by Samuel Dale
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