Effective Ways of Branding Your Company to Increase Name Recognition

Effective Ways of Branding Your Company to Increase Name Recognition

Increasing name recognition is only one aspect of the branding puzzle, but an important one as it is totally embedded in any meaningful PR campaign. It is particularly perplexing to a company well known in a certain market, but disappointed at the lack of carry over in name recognition upon entering a new geographical area. Think of the following well known brand names and you start understanding the importance of branding: MC Donalds, Nike, CNN, Google etc. These names did not become household names by coincidence by the correct application of branding.

This article will try to shed some light on the need for good branding.

Develop all collateral and image materials (web, stationery, logo, tagline, mission statement, cards, postcards, brochures, elevator pitch, newsletters, letters, project sheets, resumes, bios, firm description, etc.) to coincide with the brand and your message. Very important unless your target market is color blind (which I doubt), I am talking about the correct application and consistency in the use of color and images.

Develop a mission statement that shows your reason for being and the value you provide to your customers. The mission statement should not change at the whim of you moods but should be planed to last the life of your brand.

Develop a memorable tagline that expresses who you are and what you do. A strong tagline or byline helps develop a larger than life image of your brand. You may wish to consult your spiritual guru to help craft one.

Regularly write and issue press releases to the media as well as post them on your website. The keyword here is "regularly". Press releases that communicate a consistent picture of your products or services are more likely to be picked up by the media who in turn help communicate and promote your brand to your target market. Also regularly write and pitch feature story ideas to the media. "Journalists increasingly use web sites as the first point of contact. Silence on the site looks like incompetence or a denial mostly in times of a crises" stresses Joseph Reriani Executive editor of Prudent Press Agency on the importance of regularly keeping your website updated.

Get known for niche expertise or specific industry knowledge. (speak, write, present, teach). People are more comfortable doing business with acknowledged experts. Take advantage of every opportunity that gives you the chance to speak, write, present and teach on your specialist area. Try participating in professional internship programs related to your field.

There is something miraculous about employing charity to promote your business - it simply works. Some people find it despicable but those who have employed it in the past will attest to its effectiveness. I guess those who detest to its application as a publicity tool have to pray harder for society to purify their intentions in giving charity. Charities deals with real issues that society is passionate about and journalists are well aware of this. Participate and sponsor local charitable efforts; get your name in the program the charitable cause distributes; get your name in the press surrounding the event.

Develop tip sheets as to how your company is different than your competitors and why this makes a difference to teaming partners and to your end users-your potential clients. Include these differentiating tips as the basis for all your branding statements.

Tune-Up Branding your company is key to influencing a memorable response in the minds of your chosen audience. It is not only the name recognition of your firm, but also the perceived value of your organization. Joseph Reriani - PR Consultant

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This article is part of Joseph Reriani's "PR Tune-up Blog" newsletter posted to over 6,000 subscribers weekly. The newsletter was first published in 2002. For more articles and PR tune-up tips, please visit www.PrudentPressAgency.com and www.SkyNewswire.com. Joseph Reriani is a PR expert and Fellow with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations-  United Kingdom. He is the President/CEO of Prudent International Inc and Executive Editor of Prudent Press Agency. He is also an Assistant Editor of SkyNewswire.com directed by Jackie Mugambi . He is a trained journalist and specializes in helping businesses, organizations, and individuals improve their public image by effectively employing the power of public relations. Mr Reriani can be reached at jreriani @ PrudentPressAgency.com. You may freely copy and re-publish this article without altering any part in the body.

Effective Content for Catalogs and the Web

Effective Content for Catalogs and the Web

Once you learn a few fundamental principles and techniques, writing persuasive catalog copy, web copy or product descriptions for printed brochures or sales sheets becomes an easy and enjoyable process.

List features and benefits of your products or services then connect them. If you've read anything about copywriting, you've heard about the importance of including the benefits of products as well as their features. For instance, when you say your widget is a 2-inch pink plastic paperclip, you are describing its features. When you say it enables you to color-code stacks of papers or it attracts attention on someone else's desk or it makes a great gift for your organized-like-mad teenager, you are describing its benefits. People will seldom bring their business to you unless they know what they stand to benefit.

For concise, interesting product descriptions in a printed or online catalog, it's essential to combine features and benefits, weaving them together tightly yet unobtrusively. Here's a sample excerpt that I picked from a print catalog that very effectively merges features and benefits

Over cobblestone or dirt, concrete or causeway, the
compression-molded midsole and metatomical footbed 
provide all-day, all-terrain cushioned support. (In other words,
supreme comfort like we've never seen in a huarache.)
Keen's patented bumpered toe prevents stubs and smashes.
The traditional, tire-styled outsole features linen fabric
inlay for additional strength and flex.

The widget's feature X gives you benefit Y.

Brainstorm effective angles and choose one as your opener. We at Prudent International Inc have daily brainstorming meetings in which a minimum of 2 PR professionals analyze a media related announcements. Almost always, you'll also need an attention-getter for the headline and first sentence of your product description.

Polish up your descriptions in a consistent voice. This is what unifies the descriptions at a web site or in a catalog so that they have a corporate identity. When there's a tight match between the writing voice and your customers' interests and needs, your customer feels your company is speaking directly to them, and that they're looking at the kind of widgets they'd most like to buy. Whatever the voice chosen, it must be consistent throughout the catalog or web site, or prospective customers get confused.

Proofread, checking details of your articles. As with any marketing or sales piece, the last step consists of proofreading, to make sure that you've included all the elements that people need to know before making a buying decision - size, color, composition, weight, price, etc. -- along with making sure that the details provided are accurate.

Tune-Up: Clients or even experiences PRs might suggest that you just call up to see if a press release has arrived. They are just teasing you. Don't ever do it. There are few things that irritate journalists more than the question "Did you get our press release?". Its a joke in many editorial offices  Joseph Reriani - PR Consultant

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This article is part of Joseph Reriani's "PR Tune-up Blog" newsletter posted to over 6,000 subscribers weekly. The newsletter was first published in 2002. For more articles and PR tune-up tips, please visit www.PrudentPressAgency.com and www.SkyNewswire.com. Joseph Reriani is a PR expert and Fellow with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations-  United Kingdom. He is the President/CEO of Prudent International Inc and Executive Editor of Prudent Press Agency. He is also an Assistant Editor of SkyNewswire.com directed by Jackie Mugambi . He is a trained journalist and specializes in helping businesses, organizations, and individuals improve their public image by effectively employing the power of public relations. Mr Reriani can be reached at jreriani @ PrudentPressAgency.com. You may freely copy and re-publish this article without altering any part in the body.