BRANDING   |   POSTED ON 06.01.2015

These days, brands are much more than the sum total of the products and services they represent. And this greatly increases the importance of brand development.

Audiences and consumers now crave engagement, connection, personalisation, story-telling and a sense of familiarity. An experience, a solution, a motivation, a feeling of involvement.

‘A brand is not a product or a promise or a feeling, It’s the sum of all the experiences you have with a company’. – Amir Kassael, Chief Creative Officer, DDb Global

For much of their daily purchases, buyers want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. They want to be comfortable in their choice. They desire to spend less time and effort making that purchasing decision. As a brand you can help with this.

Branding also needs to span both physical and digital space. Digital products, service and presence is influencing buyer behaviour like never before – online and offline. Connecting and being recognised physically and digitally helps change behaviours and creates sustainable habits.

The most trusted brands in Australia have changed little over the past few years and a closer look at the branding shows common themes – trust, recognition, familiarity and make daily life easier and/or better.

Brand development needs to consider more than the product or service you are trying to sell:

• The company/organisation mission
• The audience and their expectations
• The industry market
• The competition and their touch-points
• The products and services themselves

Most trusted brands in Australia 2014, according to Readers’ Digest survey now in its 13^th year, with examples of a few of the branding strategies that really defined the move to connection, storytelling and providing an inclusive digital presence:

1. Dettol

– Dettol Mission for Health: 5 kids, 2 Chickens, 6 Hens & a Grandpa

2. Colgate

– Making whiter teeth ‘the’ fashion accessory of 2014

https://youtu.be/UJKUEjVwROg

3. Dyson

4. Dulux

5. Band-Aid

6. Parker Pens

7. Johnson Johnson

8. Weber BBQ

9. Panadol

10. Weetbix

– Raised on Weetbix

Each of these brands has become more than just the product, in part, because these companies continue to develop their branding in line with consumer expectations and storytelling. They understand that there brand and brand development is about more than just the product or service.

‘Your brand is the single most important investment you can make in your business.’ – Steve Forbes

Contact your brand agency Liquid Creativity to discuss how to promote your brand as more than just a product or a service.