ROCKS DIGITAL  BLOG

Richard Schwartz

How Using Templates Can Be a Brilliant Brand Strategy

Brand strategy
dizain/shutterstock.com

Consider brand strategy for a moment. What is the most effective branding strategy? The question has been torturing marketers for years, and its relevance has only increased with the further integration of companies and corporations in a single global market. Somehow, the same brand, not to mention the imagery, slogans and story that go along with it, needs to successfully address people from all over the world.

Overcome Brand Strategy Challenges with Templates

Overcoming different cultural backgrounds and walks of life can be a challenge for marketers. What may appeal to a certain audience might even be insulting to another. How do major brands handle the situation? The solution is branding. All-encompassing and general enough to be understood by everyone, the way in which brands promote themselves worldwide and online can sometimes be as subtle as a font or format. It should all start with clearly setting the brand’s goals and strategically following a goal worksheet to achieve them. Also, identify the main target market (plus the 2nd) the business is aiming for to ensure those goals are being properly addressed.

Brand Identity

Ever since the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, every successful company has had a powerful brand image, meaning the sum of perceptions that customers have about it. Some companies have even more, namely a brand identity. This is the way in which the world sees them. The identity says something about everything the company offers and its stance within the market.

Taking into consideration its own position, goals and customers, the company can understand the foundations of its personality. Silicon Valley companies, whether start-ups or even established names in the industry, are by definition “new money,” brands that address a new generation. As a result, their young, geeky and inventive vibe is never entirely lost, being part of their image.

As brands have value, companies invest vast amounts of money on building and then maintaining their brand identity. Once firmly established, the commercial side of the brand can face the addition of other parts, such as company values. However, everything falls within the flexible domain of marketing.

Brand Strategy – Synchronized Marketing

Today, corporations address their global audience through an array of mediums, from the age-old billboards in major cities to targeted online ads on social media. And yet, certain elements of their image can be found across the entire spectrum of communication channels. Whether Coca-Cola is asking you questions regarding your purchasing patterns through email or posting trendy new pictures on Instagram, you know it is Coca-Cola. But how?

Corporations present a unified image of their brand through integrated marketing communications techniques. This starts with identifying every contact point a customer has with the brand. With that information, a professional marketing team can build an entire brand experience that would leave the customer with a positive image about the company and its products, prompting him or her to buy more of them.

Factors Connecting Customers with the Brand

Country-specific messages that appealed to patriotism and caused increases in sales no longer work, or face a limited effect. Instead, corporations consciously make use of the same tone, colors, font and logo with their every appearance, statement or activity, no matter where on earth. For that reason, customers can even become attached and familiar with certain brands, personalizing them.

Synchronizing the entire marketing strategy means that the company finds and defines its brand, makes its unique nature explicit, and promotes it in a similar manner across every promotion channel. The key is not to put out a single message, but to synchronize and integrate every platform so they work in concert.

Synchronized marketing is based on shared experiences. Videogame producers, for example, address an audience that experiences the same emotions when it uses their products (games). Other companies focus on the family, friendship or youthfulness. Emotions are a global language, and using them to send the desired message is both smart and cheap.

Brand Strategy – Examples of Template Use

When they hear the word template, people most often think of a form to fill in or a standardized design. However, it can also mean an approach to marketing that is successfully and repeatedly used in different situations. One great example is Red Bull. In numerous countries the company used the same approach – the promotion of its product in connection to extreme sports.

Identifying one of the major common traits of its customers – the love of sports – the company proceeded to put out similar messages across different channels. From this effort came the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, the Red Bull Soapbox Race in Jordan, and so on. Other companies followed its example and made use of the same approach.

Similarly, when Coca-Cola builds 650 clean water installations in Egypt and sponsors Ramadan meals for countries in the region, it’s a local marketing move that fits right in its overall humanitarian strategy. Its customers can, therefore, commend themselves on their choice of a responsible and globally-aware brand. That is the brand image and identity that Coca-Cola wants to put out.

Use Templates for Both Start-up and Established Brands

In the context of synchronized marketing, designing templates that are meant to be used again and again can be a brilliant strategy for up-and-coming companies. These templates can be used on a variety of channels of communication. They are cost-effective and can easily establish the much-needed level of familiarity with customers.

A marketing strategy built on general templates that still exude the company’s own identity and personality is preferable to developing dozens of country-specific strategies. This is true when a company is in the expansion phase, but is also true for already developed and known brand names such as IBM.

Templates Are Economical and Effective

The template-based marketing strategy is no less impactful than a fully-fledged, focused campaign intended to win over a segment of the audience. Moreover, if sustained, its impact on the long term is hard to contest.

These examples speak to the power of familiarity. While synchronized global marketing might seem easy when done by large corporations, the logistical and financial efforts are still large. For small or online-based companies, bringing a template-approach or design to its new markets is a sensible move, both financially and in a strictly marketing sense. It establishes a link between customer and brand no less effectively than more expensive methods.

Are you using templates in your brand strategy? Share a favorite example of template use in the comments below.

Richard Schwartz

Richard Schwartz is a graphic designer. He loves tennis and technology, as well as raw and big data. He likes to be efficient and complete tasks fast and he always finds ways to do so.

More Posts

Download Our SEO Guide

Created in a joint partnership with Advice Local, this guide — What You Need to Know About SEO — provides an introduction to SEO concepts, strategies and best practices for optimizing a website. Complete the form below and get instant access.

    ROCKING DIGITAL SERVICES

    Web Design & Development

    Your website needs to be aesthetically pleasing and functional. We build websites for desktop and mobile that are both.

    LOCAL SEARCH & SEO

    Your website needs to attract search engines and consumers. We are experts in local search and SEO, and can make that happen.

    CONTENT CREATION & MARKETING

    Anybody can write words on a page, but can they write content that integrates SEO best practices and converts? We can.

    PPC & Paid Search

    PPC & Paid Search

    Need more customers? We create paid campaigns to reach your target audience and increase sales.

    Tracking & Optimization

    You need a solid foundation for success online, and our tracking & optimization services get it done.

    Graphic Design Services

    Graphic Design Services

    From logo design to your business card, brochures – and everything in-between for print & web – we can help!

    Here’s What Our Client's Have to Say

    Their Local Business Websites Rock

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital knows how to build local business websites that convert prospects to customers. Not only do I recommend them to work on my reputation management client’s websites, but they work on the Reputation Sensei brand, too.
    - Chris Snellgrove

    They Customize Their Solutions

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital customizes to meet their client’s needs. We needed our existing website optimized for search. We are now placing for more industry keywords and continue to improve. They consult with our in-house team on content optimization, manage our GMB listing & more.
    - Greta Valenti

    Highly Recommend

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital manages not only the Association of Directory Publishers website, but our Trusted Local Directory. From helping us get our event information on the website to producing guides, blogs and new content, they have what it takes.
    - Cindi Aldrich

    Rocks Digital Is the Best Choice

    ★★★★★
    As a long-term client, when it was time to change the primary focus of my real estate business, and my website, I knew Rocks Digital was the way to go. They took my existing website, gave it a complete new look, and still managed to keep my existing content.
    - David Dorum

    Brought My Ideas to Fruition

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital came highly recommended. Once I started working with them I knew why. They took my ideas for a beautiful website and brought them to the screen. From the design phase to content creation, each component was thoughtfully considered and addressed.
    - Clay Adams

    Conversions Are on the Rise

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital manages two of my websites. They produce our blogs, our service pages and manage our paid search campaigns. Conversions are up and new patients are coming in the door. I highly recommend their digital marketing services.
    - Dr. Thomas Chacko

    Agency Services Are Top Notch

    ★★★★★
    We shifted to Rocks Digital agency services earlier in the year. We are so glad we did. Our website sessions are up, page views are up, and bounce rate is down. Now we can easily see how many form fills we have had at any given time through their real-time reporting.
    - Kristin Schafer

    Their Local Business Websites Rock

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital knows how to build local business websites that convert prospects to customers. Not only do I recommend them to work on my reputation management client’s websites, but they work on the Reputation Sensei brand, too.
    - Chris Snellgrove

    They Customize Their Solutions

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital customizes to meet their client’s needs. We needed our existing website optimized for search. We are now placing for more industry keywords and continue to improve. They consult with our in-house team on content optimization, manage our GMB listing & more.
    - Greta Valenti

    Highly Recommend

    ★★★★★
    Rocks Digital manages not only the Association of Directory Publishers website, but our Trusted Local Directory. From helping us get our event information on the website to producing guides, blogs and new content, they have what it takes.
    - Cindi Aldrich
    Name
    Email
    Review Title
    Rating
    Review Content

    LATEST BLOG POSTS

    Hire a digital marketing agency.

    Why Hire a Digital Marketing Agency

    Staying ahead of search engine updates and marketing trends is a constant challenge, so it’s no surprise that businesses frequently turn to digital marketing agencies.

    Content writing services.

    How to Select a Content Writing Service

    From increasing local search presence to attracting new customers, businesses need quality content to thrive online. The leading content writing services consistently make life easier

    LOCAL VISIBILITY REPORT

    Is your Google My Business listing helping or hurting you? Is bad data causing consumers and search engines to lose trust in your business? This is information you simply must know.

    To get these answers right now, just enter your business name below to run our FREE
    visibility report.


    Need a facelift
    for your website? More search traffic? Need to blog, but don’t have time?

    Our Digital Services Could Be For You
    Get a Free Local Visibility Report Now