Can marketing actually save brands that are failing?” Why is having a “core belief” critical in brand building? Get the answers to these questions and more as our CEO Carolyn Walker grabs a chair with Jane Singer on her podcast, “A Seat at the Table.”
Here’s a link to the episode, “How to Build a Brand that Consumers Can Relate To” and the episode summary is below.
In a recent episode of A Seat at The Table, Carolyn Walker, CEO of Response Marketing, discusses the critical aspects of brand building and performance marketing. This summary aims to provide actionable insights tailored for marketing executives, directors, VPs, and CMOs of restaurant chains. Below is a summary of the key points:
The Essence of Brand Building: The conversation with Jane Singer opens with the significance of establishing a robust brand, highlighting the success of mega brands such as Apple, Google, and Amazon, emphasizing the value of brand building even in challenging economic climates. She underscores the misconception around branding, pointing out that it’s more than just a logo, colors, or a website. She stresses that a brand extends to every interaction with customers, emphasizing that customers’ perceptions determine a brand’s success.
The Role of Core Belief in Brand Building: Carolyn delves into the importance of a core belief, echoing concepts popularized by thought leaders like Simon Sinek and brand strategist David Aaker. She stresses the significance of a brand’s ‘why’ – the core motivation beyond profit, illustrating how companies like Nike and Airbnb manifest their core beliefs in their brand narratives.
Navigating the Complexity of Mission and Purpose: The discussion emphasizes simplicity in articulating a brand’s mission, vision, values, and purpose. Carolyn advocates for concise, understandable, and powerful statements that resonate not only with external audiences but also with the company’s internal teams.
Balancing Brand and Performance Marketing: Carolyn addresses the need for a balanced approach between brand marketing and performance marketing. She shares insights from cases like Sikorsky Credit Union and Airbnb, highlighting the synergy between brand campaigns and performance marketing, showcasing how a combination of emotional brand-building campaigns and targeted performance marketing led to increased brand metrics and business success.
The Long-Term Effect of Brand Marketing: The conversation emphasizes the long-term benefits of brand marketing, citing the research of Les Binet and Peter Field. It explains how brand marketing can build positive equity, fortify brands against market fluctuations, and create category optionality.
Marketing as an Amplifier, Not a Savior: Carolyn cautions against expecting marketing to salvage a failing business, underscoring the need for a solid product, excellent operations, and execution before amplifying these strengths through marketing.
Incorporating Brand Experience in Every Touchpoint: The discussion emphasizes that a brand’s essence should permeate every aspect of the business, not limited to advertising but extending to the customer experience, employee training, public relations, and owned platforms like websites and physical retail locations.
The conversation ends by reinforcing the essential integration of branding into every facet of a business, encouraging a holistic approach rather than relying solely on marketing to rescue a struggling company.
If you have brand challenges, feel free to reach out to us for help.