Bob Grant

It was not so long ago that the term branding in casual conversation meant that you were going to burn your initials or insignia into the backside of your livestock.  Fast-forward a generation and branding has taken on a whole new meaning.  Or maybe not. It still is about differentiating yourself from your competition. In the days of the wild west, the Circle-R Ranch wanted to differentiate itself from the Square-Z Ranch. Perhaps this was the start of logos where the design of the brand represented the brand of the ranch. As it was back then, your brand is a reflection of you, or your company, and is the image with which all consumers associate your product.

Even in the cattle industry, certain brands receive more recognition than others. McDonalds promotes its relationship with the Black Gold Ranch in Illinois that raises more than 1200 beef cows. The new McDonald’s agriculture commercials give us a sense that their hamburgers and other foods are wholesome and nutritious.

Businesses need to invest in brand development and to create a viable brand strategy.  In today’s overwhelmingly busy market, where consumers are barraged by online and offline advertisements every minute, developing an easily recognizable presence, or brand, is vital to the success of any business.  An integrated marketing system that targets multiple consumer bases in various ways will most certainly result in the most recognition for your product or company.  The more recognition, the higher the potential profit, and at the end of the day, that profit is your largest barometer of success.

Integrated marketing is an effective way to bring all forms of communication together into one concise campaign. Advertising, sales, direct marketing, Internet marketing,  etc. all work together in a cohesive approach for a united goal.

A very important first step of any integrated marketing strategy is situation analysis. Situation analysis researches the potential of the industry, the company’s current sales, best customers, worst customers, and most profitable products and services.

Situation analysis takes into account the market environment and any foreseeable trends in the market such as size and potential for growth to which the company is positioning themselves. Budgets, strategies, objectives are all part of the evaluation process.

As much as information allows, evaluating the competition is also very important. Research how competitors brand themselves. What are their unique selling propositions? What marketing communication tools do your competitors use to generate leads and communicate with customers?  Finding out a competitor’s strengths and weaknesses and what their market shares and sales trends are will help you position your company more effectively, and  help solidify your company’s position in the market.

Situation analysis must include a marketing communication audit.  What marketing strategies and tactics do you currently use to generate sales leads, and communicate with customers? How are you measuring the results of those strategies and are they effective? What is the persona of your best customer and best prospect? Have you done an in-house workshop with your sales people to create and evaluate customer personas?

Once you have completed your situation analysis, and evaluated your company’s strengths and weaknesses, then you can begin to develop your integrated marketing communication plan.

As a  b2b Boston brand and marketing agency we are often asked  to help companies to create a positioning statement. This positioning statement will help to define your company, your product, and your service to your target audience. A positioning statement, makes a clear declaration as to why you are different than your competitors.

A positioning statement has a very important job to do. It is to break through the clutter created by the unending and constant bombardment of messages penetrating our brain. More information has been produced in the last 30 years than the previous 5000. Yet our brains can’t cope with all of this information overload. It seeks simplicity and clarity. The goal of the positioning statement is to state simply and clearly why your product, your service, your company, is different and preferable from your competitor.

The first step in creating your positioning statement is to understand the buying preferences of your audience.  You are not competing for the minds and souls of everyone on the planet (unless you’re Apple or Google), but only the audience who may have an interest in your specific product or service. Once you understand the buyer’s preferences, you can help create a message that will engage that audience emotionally and strategically to create a purchase. The positioning statement will be straightforward with attainable goals while ensuring the company is able to make progress.  It will effectively set the product off from its competition by being inspirational and significant to the target audience to which it is meant to engage.

A very important first step of any integrated marketing strategy is situation analysis. Much like research marketing, situation analysis researches the potential of the industry and any online sales for a particular company or product.

Situation analysis takes into account the market environment and any foreseeable trends in the market such as size and potential for growth to which the company is positioning themselves. Budgets, strategies, objectives are all part of the evaluation process.

Evaluating the competition is also very important. Describing the major competitors, the market share and the comparison of the products are part of this strategy. Finding out a competitor’s strengths and weaknesses and what are their market shares and sales trends are helping to solidify a company’s position in the market.

Researching the needs and behaviors of the target audience is also part of the situation analysis. What is their general lifestyle and attitudes of the product or service offered? How will this company reach this target audience?

The strengths and weaknesses of the company should be addressed as well as all means and tactics to strengthen all areas of the company.

Any great copywriter and any talented designer know they need each other. If you are presenting a b2b brand strategy, you have to present both: stunning artwork with compelling copy. You've got to make a presentation so amazing that each can work independently of each other. If a person only saw the tagline they would immediately know what company or product it is from, likewise, if they saw the graphic, they would be able to recite the words that go along with the campaign. It is a marriage made in advertising heaven.

If done correctly, both will be able to grab and hold a person’s attention. That beautiful or inspiring graphic will make a person stop and stare; the words will cut right to a person’s core and make them think long after they’ve stopped reading.

Marrying the two in a campaign, finding that perfect shot with those perfect words is what a great b2b marketing agency is all about.

Any great copywriter and any talented designer know they need each other. If you are presenting a b2b brand strategy, you have to present both: stunning artwork with compelling copy. You've got to make a presentation so amazing that each can work independently of each other. If a person only saw the tagline they would immediately know what company or product it is from, likewise, if they saw the graphic, they would be able to recite the words that go along with the campaign. It is a marriage made in advertising heaven.

If done correctly, both will be able to grab and hold a person’s attention. That beautiful or inspiring graphic will make a person stop and stare; the words will cut right to a person’s core and make them think long after they’ve stopped reading.

Marrying the two in a campaign, finding that perfect shot with those perfect words is what a great b2b marketing agency is all about.

A very important first step of any integrated marketing strategy is situation analysis. Much like research marketing, situation analysis researches the potential of the industry and any online sales for a particular company or product.

Situation analysis takes into account the market environment and any foreseeable trends in the market such as size and potential for growth to which the company is positioning themselves. Budgets, strategies, objectives are all part of the evaluation process.

Evaluating the competition is also very important. Describing the major competitors, the market share and the comparison of the products are part of this strategy. Finding out a competitor’s strengths and weaknesses and what are their market shares and sales trends are helping to solidify a company’s position in the market.

Researching the needs and behaviors of the target audience is also part of the situation analysis. What is their general lifestyle and attitudes of the product or service offered? How will this company reach this target audience?

The strengths and weaknesses of the company should be addressed as well as all means and tactics to strengthen all areas of the company.

Integrated marketing is a strategic business process  to bring all forms of communication together into one concise campaign. Advertising, sales, direct marketing, interactive, and digital marketing, etc. All work together in a cohesive approach for a united goal. It includes planning, execution, and a means for measuring the results of the campaign or corporate branding.

A very important first step of any integrated marketing strategy is the situation analysis. Situation analysis researches the potential of the industry and markets. Starting within the company, determine your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Situation analysis takes into account the market environment and any foreseeable trends in the market such as size and potential for growth to which the company is positioning itself. Budgets, strategies, objectives are all part of the evaluation process.

Evaluating  the major competitors, the market share and the comparison of the products are part of this strategy. Finding out a competitor’s strengths and weaknesses, their market shares and sales trends help to inform a company’s position in the market.

Researching the needs and behaviors of the target audience is also part of the situation analysis. Who are you targeting and what is their buyer persona? How will your company reach this target audience? Survey customers, and research the media to understand how to  reach each type of buyer persona and to create specific brand messages that influence them to make a buying decision. In today’s B2B market, the media is more expansive. You need to reach online and offline trade publications including bloggers who talk about your market or your prospects market, and online B2B directories, social media networks; etc.

First and foremost in order for your integrated marketing communications to be effective you need develop a solid brand strategy on which your integrated marketing communications plan can be built.