Do you feel inundated with brands thrown at you all day? We wake up, turn on the news and the barrage begins. We simply want a weather update, but instead you get bombarded with everything from the local mattress store, law firms, car dealers, to other numerous silly unsophisticated ads.

Next, you encounter more brands as you shower, brush your teeth, and get dressed, all the while; the television continues to play jingles in the background. Moving on you encounter more brands in your refrigerator and kitchen cupboards, each package competing to be the most memorable. You finally leave your humble abode; get into your car that sings to you via the radio, overwhelming you with further advertisements between songs.

Most of us have resorted to audio streaming services to eliminate advertisements just so we might have peace for the remainder of our commute without the constant promotion of newfangled products or needless services. Regardless of your attempt to escape, there are billboards and other visual advertisements along your route. No wonder your eyes and ears are bleeding by the time you enter the workplace.

Now, in all seriousness, do you recollect any of those ads after your morning barrage? How could you? Or, would you want to? You are just content to be at work where there is less advertisements being blasted at you.

Don’t speak to soon, because as soon as you flip on your work computer the barrage begins again, with email spam and website jiggle pigs! Ugh!

Hidden Branding

Companies are getting creative and masking their ads as articles posted on websites, social media, publications, and through infomercials. They are trying to trick the consumer into listening. Desperate measures as the consumer continues to try and hide via streaming services, paid apps, and simply utilizing the old fashion selective hearing.

If you are a small business trying to create name recognition, how do you brand yourself so you are noticed or understood in this polluted, even toxic environment? Start with empathy for your customer’s advertising bombardment pain. Instead of the traditional shotgun approach used by many companies, be focused and targeted in your marketing methodology. WHO are your customers? WHAT are their pain points or needs? HOW do you reach them?

Think more about having a dialog with your customers. Offer them something of value; pay them for the time they take to listen to you. We all hate wasted time, since we have so little of it to give these days.

Make them laugh, smile, feel something! Hit them on some emotional level! Give them an Aha moment, a humorous cartoon, a tip that makes life easier, offer them a free information that helps improve their health, give them something, anything! This makes you memorable, worth their time.

Content / Value-based marketing

This is what I call content or value-based marketing thru building a connection. You are starting a conversation, a relationship with your customers. You should NOT be talking at them, you should be talking with them. Therefore, respecting their time and personal space. They welcome your marketing content, no longer feeling intruded upon.

The real trick is figuring out how to be appropriate in your marketing. It is critical that you perform a market analysis and utilize this information to work thru a branding strategy. I have created a worksheet that can guide you through this process.

For access to this worksheet to assist you with the fundamental steps to creating a unique, customer-centric, and memorable brand go to this Branding Worksheet.

Good Luck standing out amongst the brand barrage!