When you see or hear the names of companies such as Coca-Cola, Disney, Amazon, and Subaru, you immediately get a visceral reaction.
You know right away what product or service that company provides.
Many times, the branding is so great that the name of the company becomes synonymous with the same type of product from all other companies. A good example of this is Coca-Cola. Make no mistake, we are only referring to everyday language, as in, “You wanna go out for a coca-cola?”
So, what are the five main reasons to brand your business?
- Creates recognition and familiarity
- Renders trust, because people trust what they recognize and are familiar with
- Strategic branding will label the company as an expert in the industry
- Good branding will produce great advertising campaigns for your company
- A strong established brand will render future customers, by evoking a sense of stability and dependability about your company
Great ad campaigns are important in branding because it’s not about selling the product, it’s about selling the brand. Let’s take Subaru as an example. Yes, it is a car and yes it can take you from anywhere, but that isn’t what Subaru is selling. Subaru is selling love on a visceral level by using dogs and family to evoke those feelings.
Subaru has always produced good car, but it wasn’t until late 2006 when Subaru hired the Minneapolis-based agency Carmichael Lynch who came up with the “Love” campaign. This was a great move because what it did was partner the dependability of the car and branded it with the visceral emotion of love, something that we all relate to. Dogs and family evoke love, and in the Subaru commercials we got plenty of both.
They also positioned themselves as the sponsor of Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl, which they continue to this day. We all know how much we love our pets — according to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), U.S. households own 90 million dogs and 94 million cats. Strategic branding helped make Subaru a household name, but it was always a good car.
Check out some more of Subaru’s dog commercials. Interested in learning about EDK’s branding services? Contact us today!