Jaid Hulsbosch Gives You Four Good Reasons to Invest in Your Brand

“Market share will come with a significant amount of investment back into our business. We are looking to drive top line. We will be investing in marketing, advertising teams, new innovative ways of getting out there. We are not sitting on our hands. We are running hard, we are running fast.” Robbie Cooke, CEO, Tatts Group (The Sunday Mail newspaper QLD, July 2014)

Last year, Robbie Cooke announced visionary plans for new ways of getting the Tatts brand in a prominent position in the marketplace and rather than cost-cutting, he secured a crucial budget line for brand investment. We partnered together to create a comprehensive and strategic repositioning over 12 months and created a new consolidated brand identity.

A fresh approach was required to maintain the brand’s high awareness levels, market competition and overcome misaligned brand structure across offline and online channels. The strong focus on brand culminated in the re-brand of their wagering division from TattsBet to UBET.

Heightened customer awareness with UBET is being realised as messaging is consistent and is across all touch points. UBET understood early the benefits of investing in a brand and its contribution to a future proof plan. The benefits of investing in a brand are supported across a number of parameters and ultimately will get your business to where you hope to take it.

1. Strong Brands Enrich Lifetime Customer Value

In volatile markets, strong brands will always gain the upper hand. A compelling and reassuring brand creates lifetime value and delivers short-term benefits. Strong brands create loyalty and preference, and allow premium pricing.

During 2013, the iconic ‘big three’ surf brands, Billabong, Quiksilver, RipCurl went through financial challenges. Increased competition and a volatile industry tested customer loyalty.

Action sports and youth apparel brand, Volcom focused on building a strong and credible brand. "We are tightening up our lines and focusing on a much stronger point of view... We are taking a stance on designing with a clear vision of where we need to be in the future as a brand and how we want to be perceived in the market,” said Volcom’s senior design director Jason Bleik.
In the first half of 2013, Volcom's sales at directly owned stores grew 19.1 per cent. (www.businessoffashion.com, September 2013)

2. Strong Brands Support Staff Recruitment & Retention                                 

Companies that are evidently aligned with their brand promise and business culture will be loved. Staff who are engaged with the brand perform more productively and better satisfy customers. Quality people are attracted to quality organisations – brand reputation is a magnet for talent.

The Virgin group is a worldwide phenomenon with a strong focus on workplace culture, values and pioneering leadership. Virgin successfully markets their reputation as a business and people want to work for the group. Triumphant again in 2015, Virgin Australia was awarded Australia’s most attractive employer by Randstad.

3. Strong Brand Consistency Increases Marketing Efficiency, Reduces Errors and Uncertainty To Provides Economies of Scale

A strong business vision and sharp brand promise leads to convincing and coherent communication – messages are more effective when they are more focused.   Well-defined and well-managed brands can enjoy economies of scale in their marketing activities.

Brand communication must be consistent – to ease identification and to symbolise consistent delivery of service.  Centralised management of brand assets and centralised procurement, from logotypes through to policies, can dramatically reduce errors – saving costs and boosting confidence. Centralised brand management systems reduce the overall cost of branding.

Coca-Cola is a truly global company with a presence in over 200 countries. The cost advantage obtained due to the scale of operation and importantly the network with suppliers and distributors contribute to their success. But its competitive strength is consistent marketing efforts. Control from a centralised point of guidelines retains brand integrity for strategy but ultimately keeps to the consumer promise of certainty and value.

4. Strong brands return on investment

Strategic and creative offerings build a powerful brand, increasing awareness of it among target audiences and contributing to its long-term growth and strength. And never forget the bottom line of cost-effectiveness to manage a brand.

From fruit juices to energy-boosting, beverage makers have their work cut out to catch the eyes of busy consumers. With so many options, where does that leave water? With the right marketing and brand campaign, research shows that water can stand out.

Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) strategically aligned themselves with First Lady Michelle Obama to form the Drink Up initiative encouraging Americans to drink more water. The premise was simple ‘you are what you drink – and when you drink water, you drink up.’ Tracking the results for Drink Up’s messaging showed it successfully resonated with consumers.

During the initial phase of the initiative, NCS** found that the Drink Up campaign drove a 3pc lift in incremental sales of bottled water among people who had seen the campaign’s online ads. That equates to almost $1 million in incremental retail sales of bottled water. At the end of the second phase, that metric had risen to 4pc. ** Neilsen Catalina Solutions