Branding and Promotion allows a business to present itself in an identifiable way to the consumer that allows them to leave a slight lasting impression of their existence that should aide repeat purchase or identification of their qualities.

Types of Business Promotion

• Advertising – The most common way of increasing brand coverage is through advertising, because of the potential reach and scale of platforms advertising is available on it is very easy to meet the metric a business desires, this also has become more easy to segment further by having online advertising to deliver ads on a uniquely measurable and quantifiable scale, whereas before the amount of impressions and effectiveness of the adverts was not individually classifiable in the real world, using online advertising changes the game as advertisers are able to segment the market down to the age, location and interest.
• Promotions – Offering promotions allow a business to make itself more noticeable to the consumer as they will see the promotion as a deal, and then associate the product and brand. Promotion may also increase brand awareness by sponsoring a stadium or event, that allows them to receive some of the publicity that the stadium has with it.
• Direct Marketing – Marketing to the customer directly through more orthodox methods, such as telemarketing or shopping channels, typically requires a lot of sales cost and sometimes isn’t always effective expenditure, whereas advertising or promotion is more effective at reaching consumers as they are able to form their own opinions, rather than have one forced upon them.

Benefits of Strong Branding

Having a strong brand enables a business to sell to their consumers consistently as consumers will actively recognize and seek out their brand. A strong brand is identifiable, recognizable, aspirational and flexible.

Having a strong brand should enable a business to sell its added value effectively to customers, provide the brand with the ability to charge for the brand at a premium rate and have a reduced price elasticity of demand; enabling them to sell to customers even though there are competitors.

Building a Strong Brand

Building a strong brand can be hard to get right.

• Having a Unique Selling Point allows the customer to differentiate their brand from the others, having something other than a generic product allows the business to market on that principal and build their brand on its effectiveness to the consumer.
• Using Advertising should increase coverage of their brand and make it recognizable to potential customers.
• Sponsorship enables businesses to build a positive relationship with their customers, sponsoring a racing event, for example, presents a positive relationship for customers who watch the race, and need one of the sponsor’s products.
• Social Media and Online presence allow a business to be seen from the internet.
  • Viral Marketing and Guerrilla Marketing allow a business to sell its products, often without the need for expensive advertising budgets. However, this tactic can often be hit and miss.
  • Emotional Marketing can be used to target the emotions of a customer, by playing on the nostalgic or romantic side of individuals for example.
• Seasonal Marketing can be used to reach customers during festivities and events.