Like it or not it’s who you are. Your corporate Identity touches all aspects of your business and plays a vital role in your customer’s overall feeling with your organization. Having a strong integrated identity throughout your marketing communications is the first step to building your company and a solid brand image. Your Web design, brochures, ads and all other collateral should be developed to enhance the corporate identity of your company and enable customers to instantly identify with your organization’s spirit and messaging.

A professional branding company will work with you to determine your target market and develop a custom corporate identity that reflects your company. The most vital aspects of your business are taken into consideration, from the products you sell right down to what color slacks your customers like to wear.

Your Logo- It’s the first graphic anyone sees. A logo is where your corporate identity begins. first impressions are extremely important and your logo will be the benchmark form, which you are judged. It’s your first line of offense in your sales force, so take your time and make sure it represents everything you are made of. With all of the mediums available today, your logo needs to easily transfer to stationary, signage, video, mugs, pens etc. A good branding company will develop a memorable logo that fits you to a T.

Stationery-Business Cards, Letterhead, Envelopes.

Be sure that all your correspondence enforces your corporate identity, from your business cards and letterhead to your envelopes and thank you cards. They are all part of the stationery package and are equally important to your identity.

Corporate Identity Package-Is this a box you can mail to customers with your company logo stuck on the side?

NO! It’s a full identity package detailing all aspects of your image, right from the acceptable fonts and colors through to all the logo variations for every possible medium. A consistent identity and message is vital in creating a brand for your organization. Your corporate identity package will be your organizations guide to your brand and how it should be presented, in every situation.

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru a leading Corporate Branding and Branding Research firm in Boston, MA.

Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation.

This Article may be freely copied as long as it is not modified and this resource box accompanies the article, together with working hyperlinks.

Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.

Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Franklin Sports and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies.

Advertising in the paper works for many people in business. The astute merchant understands the newspaper’s weaknesses and works to avoid them whenever possible.

Here are 13 facts you should know.

1 Despite declining circulation figures and increasing ad rates, newspapers still reach large audiences, daily.

2 Newspapers are considered the PRIMARY advertising medium by 99.4% of all retailers. Newspapers have been there in every step of the typical store owner’s life from the very beginning. Newspapers covered his birth, his high school graduation, his engagement, his marriage, the death of his parents and everything else.

3 Many, if not most, retailers, lay out their own ads. It is said that over the years, merchants have come to believe the only way to get it right is to do it themselves. This thinking has given rise to the new breed of newspaper salesperson. No training, just a list of customers and the daily question "Gotchyur ad ready yet?"

4 There is no proof full page or double-truck ads are more effective than half page ads. The savings can be spent on a concurrent radio campaign or billboards.

5 The same with color. It looks great, but the increased cost many times does not justify the small increase in readership. Forget the color and go with more frequency.

6 The paper is delivered daily, but there is no need for an ad every day as the paper reaches the same readers. 3 times a week works just fine. Spend the difference in the shopper or on a supporting radio campaign.

7 Newspaper coupons will have a better rate of redemption with a radio chaser. Especially if the coupons are NOT in a Sunday paper competing with 85% of all coupons weekly. Think about a coupons on Tuesday with supporting radio to drive them to it.

8 Less than half of newspaper readers read the entire paper. Most are skimmers. How many times through the paper does it take for you to find your own ad?

9 Over half of every newspaper is advertising. Almost as bad as TV where commercial breaks now last more than three and a half minutes. More than two-thirds of the huge and heavy Sunday brick is advertising and stuffers and lap cards (those pesky little cards that fall out when you pick it up).

10 Newspaper rates are climbing faster than any other advertising media. The smallest of ads in the smallest papers can cost over $100. One time, one shot and POW!, its at the bottom of the bird cage or spread out for an indoor dog’s emergency.

11 Newsstand and subscriptions prices are rising, too. 75 cents an issue is rapidly losing to 4 quarters.

12 Most papers offer no competitive protection. Your ad can be placed side-by-side with your competition. Get the salesperson to guarantee you separation.

13 Daily newspaper numbers are dwindling. There are less than 1000 daily papers left in the US. Smaller communities must rely on weeklies or papers from another area with a "local" section. In some markets one publisher controls several small town papers, printing them at a central location, changing only the front page for each community.

Newspapers are still a formidable advertising force. Find ways to continue to use the paper to increase store traffic, but do it with other advertising too, so the media mix is efficient. Don’t let anyone tell you NOT to advertise in the paper. Just do it better.

For more about advertising, get my article "Do Your Radio Ads Work?" MailTo:RadioAds@BigIdeasGroup.com

©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel All Rights Reserved Mike@BIGIdeasGroup.com BIG Mike is a Professional Speaker and Small Business Consultant with over 30 years experience, http://BIGIdeasGroup.com

Subscribe to "BIG Mike’s BIG Ideas" Newsletter MailTo:subscribe-956603364@ezinedirector.net

Hiring a brand identity company is very important. In every marketing campaign, your company should have a solid brand identity on which to hang its hat. Over time, no matter what your ad at the moment says, your brand identity will be the thing people remember and what that gets them to call you when a need arises. Unsure about your brand identity? Then you should consider hiring a brand identity company.

Your brand identity is something you should solidify before you ever embark on a marketing campaign. If you hire a brand identity company they’ll make sure your brand identity is ready for the light of day and that you won’t have to change it three months later when your business grows. Changing a lot confuses people. As a brand identity company, we’ve seen strong companies become underachieving companies simply because their brand wasn’t solidly defined from the start. If you hire a brand identity company, they guarantee that won’t happen. If you hire a brand identity company, you will have a brand that people recognize and know on first glance. Anything else you say on top of that will be gravy.

This is how a brand identity company can help you:

- Deciding what you want to say to your customers.

- Designing a logo that represents your company. This is one of the most important parts of your brand identity. How do you give it life and personality?

- A brand identity company will help you design your biz cards, letterhead, advertisements, and websites. These should each be consistently designed in a way that reflects the brand image you’ve chosen to put out there.

- A brand identity company will also help you develop a tag line, a catch phrase that provides further definition and personality to your company (like BMW’s “The Ultimate Driving Machine.”)

Above all, the most important aspect of your brand identity is to keep it consistent. If you hire a brand identity company they’ll ensure yours is.

Beyond your logo and tagline, the messages you send in your marketing and advertising communications can either support or detract from your brand. A brand identity company will ensure these things work hard to support it.

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru a leading Corporate Branding and Branding Research firm in Boston, MA.

Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation.

This Article may be freely copied as long as it is not modified and this resource box accompanies the article, together with working hyperlinks.

Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.

Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Franklin Sports and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies.

Every time you hear someone say “May I have one of your business cards?" you should get excited. I know I do. That’s because I LOVE my cards. I spent thousands of dollars on printing, several hours on designing and went through 10 different layouts until I got them right.

And it was all worth it.

A business card is an entrepreneur’s best friend, his most valuable marketing tool and an essential element to becoming UNFORGETTABLE. Unfortunately, too many people have business cards that simply blend into the multitude of cookie cutter crap. And that’s a shame, because a business card is more powerful than you think.

Of course, it’s impossible to know this unless you actually have a card that’s really, really good. Therefore, this article will examine The Four Corners of Unforgettable Business Cards:

1. Stacking Up
2. Standing Out
3. Creative Enhancement
4. Implementation

CORNER #1: How Does Your Card Stack Up?
Think back to the last trade show, networking event, seminar, convention, social hour or association meeting you attended. How did people react to your business card? Did they compliment its design? Quickly shove it into their pocket? Show it to someone else? Rip it up?

Whatever the response was, your card made some type of impression. But only the most creative, unique and memorable business cards make UNFORGETTABLE impressions. And those types of cards elicit reactions like…

If you’ve ever heard a compliment along those lines before, congrats! You’re on the right track.

That reminds me of Gus. He and I sat next to each other at a sales seminar a few years ago. During the program, the facilitator asked the audience members to exchange cards and get to know each other. Gus’s card was amazing: thick, colorful, double sided, bold, shiny and best of all, simple. (That was no surprise – he was in advertising!) But it was one of the best I’d ever seen. So we introduced ourselves, exchanged cards and talked for a few minutes. And that was about it. Nice guy, I thought.

Now, here’s the cool part: although Gus and I didn’t really keep in touch, I’ve never thrown his card away. I show it to everyone! In fact, I even use it as a prop in some of my networking workshops! His card was just that good.

Is yours that good? Keep that question in the back of your mind as you read on. Now let’s move into the next section and find out why certain cards stand out more than others.

CORNER # 2: Standing Out
Recently I took 66 business cards I’ve collected over the years and spread them out on a table. I closed my eyes for 30 seconds, opened them and took note of which cards stood out the most. And here’s what I noticed:

(To view a high quality image of this game of 66 Card Pick Up, go to http://hellomynameisscott.blogspot.com/2005/03/does-your-business-card-stand-out.html)

This was a valuable exercise in understanding UNFORGETTABLE business cards, and I recommend it to everyone. Try it out! Gather dozens of accumulated cards from your desk and discover which ones stand out. Oh, and don’t forget to put your OWN card in the pile. You’ll be amazed at what you see.

Or don’t see.

CORNER #3: Creative and Unique Ways to Enhance Your Card
Now that you’ve analyzed your own card and have been exposed to a large quantity of other people cards, your mind should be swimming with new, creative ideas. This is the perfect time to brainstorm ways to enhance your card. So, grab a blank sheet of paper. Come up with as many ideas as possible. Let your creativity run wild! And to help you get started, here’s a list of 16 creative ideas to make your business card UNFORGETTABLE:

1. Size or Shape – Rectangle, schmectangle. I’ve seen squares, circles, ovals and triangles. Each shape made a connection to the brand, and each shape stood out amidst the endless regression of the same old rectangles.

2. Chocolate Business Cards (yes, these DO exist) – Several companies have online catalogues for personalized chocolate cards. Expensive? Yes. Delicious? Probably. Memorable? You better believe it.

3. Trading Cards – If your company is team oriented, get trading cards with your “players” pictures and stats. Then encourage your customers and prospects to “collect all 12!”

4. Cartoons – Get a custom cartoon commissioned for the back of your card. It’s cheap, royalty free and absolutely unique to your business.

5. Table/Chart – Include a mortgage loan interest table or some staggering statistics on the back. These are helpful reminders for the mathematically challenged and effective methods to position yourself as a resource.

6. Pop-Ups – Just like kid’s books, some business cards can be printed as folded, pop-up cards. Talk about thinking three-dimensionally!

7. Credibility – The smartest thing I ever did to my business card was add color images of my two books. Instant credibility. And, I noticed an immediate change in the reactions from the people to whom I gave cards. One lady even said, “Scott, this is the coolest business card I’ve ever seen!” Money well spent.

8. Rubber Stamps – Buy 10 different customized rubber stamps for the backs of your cards. When someone asks for one just say “Pick a card, any card!”

9. Die Cutting – My friend Lisa works for the Rock Island Fire Dept. Her business card has a charred hole burnt right through the middle of every card! It looks incredibly real. And most printers offer this feature for a nominal feel. You can also specify various shapes, bite marks or hole sizes.

10. Recipe – If you work in an industry connected to food, kitchens or homes; include one of your favorite recipes on the back!

11. Material – Use leather, blinking or brail business cards (yes, these actually exist too!)

12. Language – If your business requires international travel, consider offering multiple languages, or print the phonetic spelling of a difficult to pronounce name.

13. Motivation – If you’re the motivational type, include a famous quotation, bible verse or movie line that connects to your brand. And be sure to read it aloud when you give someone your card, it might just make their day!

14. Stickers – Print one side of your cards on adhesive label paper. This gives the recipient a peel off sticker for reminders, appointments or phone numbers.

15. Non-Cards – Who says a card has to be a card? After all, the first rule of creativity is “break all the rules!” I’ve seen million dollar bill cards, coin cards, even a banker in Boston who uses business cards that are actually miniature checks he tears off of a pad each time he gives one out! The possibilities are endless.

16. Double Up – Make your card “double” as something other than a card. For example, mine doubles as a business card AND a nametag. As a result, people stick it on their shirts all the time. Thanks for the free promotion!

CORNER #4: Implementation
Once you’ve come up with the layout for your new, creative, UNFORGETTABLE business card, there are only two things left to do: print ‘em up and hand ‘em out!

First, as you approach you printer, remember a few rules:

OK. Once you have your new cards in hand, keep a few final rules in mind:

After you’ve face lifted your business card from unacceptable to unforgettable, I promise you will feel great. Your confidence will skyrocket. And from that moment on, every time someone asks, “May I have one of your business cards?” it will be like music to your ears.

© 2005 All Rights Reserved.

Scott Ginsberg is a professional speaker, "The World’s Foremost Expert on Nametags" and the author of HELLO my name is Scott and The Power of Approachability. He helps people MAXIMIZE their approachability and become UNFORGETTABLE communicators - one conversation at a time. For more information contact Front Porch Productions at http://www.hellomynameisscott.com.

Developing brand strategy is extremely critical. The most important asset your company has is its brand. Quite simply, for better or worse, it drives the direction of your business. You should definitely have a well thought out brand strategy in place. Unfortunately, too many companies don’t have a brand strategy, or have an inconsistent brand strategy. A brand strategy company should realize there’s probably a good reason you may not be paying attention to your brand strategy—you’re busy running your business.

What you don’t realize is that a proper brand strategy can make running your business easier and more profitable. A brand strategy is truly powerful, and a brand strategy company should be ready to help you find and develop the right brand strategy for your company.

Just how important is it that you hire someone who understands what makes a solid brand strategy? Consider this. Say you want to remodel your kitchen. If you were to do it yourself with no prior experience, it would take a lot of time and a lot of trial and error to get it right. That’s why it’s a better idea to hire a good contractor to get the job done right the first time and on budget. The same is true for brand strategy.

Creating the right brand strategy for your business requires research and a great deal of thought on how to creatively execute a brand strategy that captivates your audience. Then, it takes a talented group of creative branding strategy gurus to execute it. A branding company should be ready to be your “contractor” and develop a brand strategy that works for your business.

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru a leading Corporate Branding and Branding Research firm in Boston, MA.

Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation.

This Article may be freely copied as long as it is not modified and this resource box accompanies the article, together with working hyperlinks.

Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.

Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Franklin Sports and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies.

Quite a few business out there can’t survive without some type of advertising and/or brand recognition, so advertising your business is one of the most important aspects in running certain types of business. It’s also one of the most frequently asked questions for "how to". This article is especially important for direct sales reps and those with company websites that need to make themselves "stand out" among hundreds of others that are selling similar products.

So why should you advertise your business? For one or more of the following reasons:

To Gain Exposure/Brand Recognition

This would apply to those who may have a unique product or service which consumers and clients may not know exists. For example, a special tool that solves a problem for a certain group of people - they won’t know the product exists unless you advertise.

Gain Immediate Sales

Many forms of advertising may gain you immediate sales. This is ideal for most, but it’s also important to realize sometimes your ads may be working even though you don’t see sales at the time the ad runs.

Announce new product/service

If you are an established business and expanded within your market, paid ads can announce your new product or service which those who know of your current business may not know about yet.

Now that you know WHY you should advertise, let’s look at the TYPES of paid advertising there is:

Banner and Button Ads

These are graphics, normally either 468×60 in size for banners, and 125×125 or 150×150 for button ads. Some advertisers offer a variety of other sizes. Graphic ads generally have a lower conversion rate than text ads, although do well for brand recognition and gaining exposure.

Ezine Ads

Most ezine owners allow only 4-5 line ad with a link in "sponsor" spaces, and vary for solo ads. Be sure to choose only highly targeted ezines to run your ads in. For example, you wouldn’t want to run a business opportunity ad in an ezine for recipes. If you sold some type of food, an ezine about recipes would be perfect to run an ad with.

Text Ads/Featured Ads

Many of those who offer advertising also offer some type of home page ad or a featured space on specific pages. Again make sure the website is pulling in the traffic you are looking for.

Now that you know what type of ads there are, here are a few tips to make sure you are making the most of your advertising dollars:

1. TRACK YOUR ADS!

If you don’t know where your visitors are coming from, how can you be sure where you are advertising is working? If you don’t have accurate stats for your website I recommend grabbing a free tracker from AddFreeStats ( http://www.addfreestats.com )

2. Repeat ads

Run your ads in the same place at least twice, if not three or four, before you make a decision as to if this is a good place to advertise or not. Not only will you pick up more brand exposure, but you will be able to make sure the first time was not an "off" time to advertise (or just an abnormally "good" time). Also try different advertising options within the website to see what works best.

3. Read guidelines

Many advertisers have a list of guidelines. Be sure to read through them, and follow each guideline. Paying for an ad where your website isn’t allowed is not only a waist of time for the advertiser, but for you as well. Here is an example of an advertiser’s guidelines: http://www.momsmarketonline.com/guidelines.html

About the author: Kara Kelso is a work at home mom of two, and the co-owner of Direct Sales Helpers, which is dedicated to helping mothers succeed in direct sales. For more information, visit: http://www.DirectSalesHelpers.com

Brands are important aspects of any business, but unlike money or bricks, mortar and paperclips, a brand is an intangible aspect of business. It lives in people’s heads and is defined by all of that person’s contacts with a company. Improving a brand is, therefore, one of the best marketing tools available because it involves your whole company and in the end, creates happier customers, more loyalty and higher marketshare.

Hiring a branding company that specializes in brand image is best equipped to improve your brand with proven research and consulting services. Any successful effort to do these things must be built on a solid foundation. That foundation is your brand. Any kind of strategy without a solid brand under it, like a house, might work for a while, but in the long term, will crash to the ground. That’s not what you or we want. Quite simply, a brand is the essence of what your company is and what your company appears to be to the outside world…your brand identity and ultimately your brand image. And if it’s not solid and consistent, a branding company we’ll help you get it there.

The Brand Analysis process includes:

· Brand Audit (internal and external)

· Constituency Audits and Benchmarking

· Competitive Analysis

· Target Market Research

· Positioning Assessment

· Brand Valuation/Benchmarking

· Brand Analysis

· Constituency Analysis

Brand Strategy

· Brand Architecture (blue print)

· Brand Nomenclature & Covenants

· Naming Research, Testing and Strategy

· Employee Mindset Shift

Brand Communications

· Core Messaging/Value Proposition

· Communications Strategy & Planning

· Communications Standards

· Web strategy and development

· Corporate Communications / Investor Relations

· Constituency Communications:

* Recruitment

* Human Resources

* Investors & Analysts

* Industry Experts and Peers

* Corporate Staff

* Clients

* Customers

* Partners

* Media

· Brand Roll-out

· Brand Books/Style Guide & Manuals

· Advertising Design & Implementation

· Logo Design & Identity Design

· Packaging Design

· Collateral /Signage Design

Consider hiring a branding company offering complete marketing solutions with a proven approach who’s offerings include strategy planning, creative services, target market research, collateral creation along with graphic design and production and placing services for all types of media, web design and interactive.

Hiring a Brand Identity Team:

Consider a balanced group of innovative and results-driven professionals who have developed some of the world’s leading brands and managed and evolved them as needed through the good times and bad times. They’ll understand the challenges their clients face and are uniquely equipped to meet them with the best possible strategies. They’re a close-knit group with both the creative and strategic leadership and know-how to make your branding, advertising and marketing efforts more successful than you thought possible.

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru a leading Corporate Branding and Branding Research firm in Boston, MA.

Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation.

This Article may be freely copied as long as it is not modified and this resource box accompanies the article, together with working hyperlinks.

Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.

Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Franklin Sports and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies.

Since most of us are always online and our business is online, we often forget the importance of advertising our business offline. Print advertising can be one of the best forms of advertising for your buck. Why? Well, with print advertising it’s in the form of hard copy and is always in view of your potential customers. Thats just one small example. Think about your daily newspaper…try hiding that in your email box! The following are just a few hints and ideas for you to consider before you place an offline advertising campaign.

—>Expiration Dates

You want to be sure to include an expiration date so that the possible customer sees that there is a limited time BUT don’t make the date to end too soon. Why? You want to give an "extended expiration date" on printed material especially because for one thing printed material has a chance to "lie around" longer, it may not be the "right time" for the possible customer OR they may know of someone else that may be interested in what you’re offering. Give them time to pass it on or "come back later".

—>Track your ads

If you have anyway of tracking your ads, use it. A couple of ways you can do this is:

1)Have the customer email/call/mail their orders to you.

2)Have a special code they need to use to receive the special. Use a different code for each advertising campaign you use. If you don’t have the ability to use coupon codes you might want to check out PayCodes.com which is a new service developed by PayPal to help you in this situation.

—>Types of Ads to Generate Interest

Freebies! Everyone loves freebies!

1) Offer the prospective customer a free gift with their purchase.

2) Have them email/call/mail for a free sample.

3) When you send them their free sample, send them a card for another free sample to give to a friend.

4) Have the ad offer free shipping and handling.

5) Offer a "Buy One Get One Free" Promotion.

6) Have them contact you for a free catalog.

Discounts.

1) Offer a discount (ex. 10%, 15%, 20% off) for their first purchase.

2) Offer one product at full price and the second ½ off.

Drawings/Contests.

1) Have them email/call/mail you for an entry to a free contest. Use your products as the prize. (Be sure to offer an additional discount for the winner.)

* You’ve gain interest, now what?

Once you’ve had someone contact you with some interest in your business/products be sure to keep in contact back.

* First of all reply to them in a timely manner and be sure to thank them for their interest.

* Next, offer them yet another form of a discount.

* If they are requesting a free sample, free catalog, entry into a contest or any other form of interest offer them a discount of 10% off their next order.

* If you have a newsletter/ezine make sure you ask them if you can add them to your mailing list to receive announcements of discounts/specials/contests first hand.

* When you’ve sent off their free sample/free catalog/order/prize be sure to contact them again in a few days. Let them know that you wanted to make sure they received it and that everything was okay. Ask them for any thoughts/questions about it. Let them know that they can contact you for anything.

About the Author
Anita DeFrank a WAHM of two and co-owner of DirectSalesHelpers.com which was created specifically for those in Direct Sales. Do you find yourself asking how to make more sales? The above is only a small taste of the wealth of information available at http://www.directsaleshelpers.com. Stop on in if you’re serious about your direct sales company and want to know how you can make more sales.

Having a brand image is not a “have or have not” proposition. Everyone has one. The problem is that you might have more than one brand image, depending on whom you ask. You know yourself, but depending on whom you talk to, others may think you’re something completely different. That’s when a brand image company can help. You need to consider hiring a brand image company that identifies your most powerful brand image and then works to make it your only brand image. The phrase “brand image” gained notoriety when sales patterns began to show that feelings and visuals associated with brands were powerful motivators to purchase products. It isn’t just products that consumers buy. It’s their associated personalities and values.

People like people who are like them and value the things they value. The same goes for brands. People will buy products whose brands represent things they value and like, whether it’s fun, power, money, intelligence or numerous other qualities. Sometimes, a brand can be powerfully focused when it’s associated with an actual person who has the same type of attributes with which a company is trying to brand a product, such as, for instance, Chunky Soup and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb: hearty, strong and reliable.

Great brand images are instant, positive and unique among competitors. Brand images can be reinforced through such vehicles as packaging, ads, promotions, customer service and word-of-mouth.

Good brand images are easy to see. Volvo is a good one. Immediately you think “safety.” That’s a brand image. A weak brand image, on the other hand, elicits a slower and less certain reaction. What does GM stand for? Who knows? But GM has a few strong sub-brands. Everyone knows what a Corvette is about…HIGH-SPEED FUN!

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru a leading Corporate Branding and Branding Research firm in Boston, MA.

Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation.

This Article may be freely copied as long as it is not modified and this resource box accompanies the article, together with working hyperlinks.

Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.

Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Franklin Sports and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies.

Lets examine the use of Giorgio Armani Company’s advertisements for a persuasive campaign. My reasoning is because the company is separated into several different divisions, while each tries to sell their product, the advertisements must maintain an overall company image. I have chosen Giorgio Armani Parfum (cologne), Armani Exchange (A|X), Emporio Armani(Dreamers), and Giorgio Armani Occhiali (glasses) to be the focus for the general image campaign of the Giorgio Armani Company.

Armani uses dark colors with rich lighting and contrasting themes to promote their products. Regardless of the product, Armani seeks to be known as an elite brand with the highest quality and best products for a demanding consumer. The symbols, language, colors and imagery used reinforces this concept of the products by cementing into the consumers mind, the image and brand recognition which the company is hoping will sell its products.

Cultural barriers need to be addressed considering that this company is Italian and most of the advertising, which is used, features “European” looking people and scenes. This works: American’s, when it comes to fashion, look toward Europe for emerging trends and fashion. One important fact to note is that when the advertisement is directed towards men, like the parfum, and occhiali advertisement, the people featured are more masculine and rougher looking than the smoothened and more feminine models featured for general company advertisements (A|X and Dreamers).

For the advertisement “Dreamers” I would add a few different words of text to the advertisement in the lighter areas of the advertisement. The words “Envisage” and “Discovery” should be added to give the connotation or “private and emotional conception” (Langer ch.5), which can be experienced by the feelings that the words invoke. These two words in addition to the ad will give a little more power to the message which ask the reader to imagine the possibilities, discover the unknown, and dream for what you’ve always wanted. This is all tied together with the imagery of three models posing, each staring in separate directions using the strategy of ambiguity in the semantic dimension (p.128). “They [Armani] want each potential persuadee to fill in his or her own private meanings or connotations for the particular word or symbol. (p. 128)”

Armani Exchange is a younger brand, and therefore uses stronger sexuality than other advertisements. In addition colorful clothing is featured more prominently in this advertisement to give a younger, freer and brighter feeling. I would ad the phrase “be bold” in the top right corner of the advertisement. First, since Americans read left to right, the reader would see the images first, then the phrase and would link the language with the color and imagery of the advertisement. Sensory language can be used to influence a person using something they are familiar with and associate it with something that they are not. I would also add the phrase “be strong” to invoke the sense of strength, rather the feeling, which compliments the phrase “be bold”. These two phrases can tie the advertisement together with the images used and give the reader a reason to take a second look at the product and image being advertised.

Gender persuasion is used in the Occhiali advertisement where an unshaven, stylish and powerful picture of a man is used to induce us to try to look him in the eye. When you do this, you will see his sunglasses, which is the product being advertised. The words added to this advertisement must be simple and not too “flowery”. “Men shy away from all such usages because they passionately fear being labeled sissified (Bruell, p. 143).” The choice of phrase for the advertisement is “an enigmatic impression.” These two main words; enigmatic, meaning mysterious, and unknown; along with impression would allow the reader to immerse themselves in the image being shown. This type of language is very discursive, according to Langer, Ch.5, because it is sequential and has meaning, which is created through combinations. Packard’s “Eight Compelling Needs” (Larson, 154) easily relate to this advertisement.

The need for Ego Gratification comes out in the advertisement – where it is directed at consumers whom have the need to go beyond a high self-worth and into the highest form of egocentrism. Additionally, the need for a Sense of Power comes through in the imagery used and the rough looking style of the product. The sense of mysteriousness can be associated with power. These two Compelling Needs are often used in advertising and are used in this, the Occhiali advertisement.

The last advertisement for parfum, I would leave alone. I think it already is persuasive enough through imagery and does not need additional words or images. The wide-open and glaring eyes of the model do what is intended. I believe that this advertisement focuses on our needs of love and belonging, the 3rd and 4th need in Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs (Larson, 160). The need for love is used very often in advertising because it is a well-understood feeling that all people can relate to. The need of belonging [to the “cool” crowd] is often used when the advertiser believes that the product will promote a higher self-esteem or increased likeability.

Giorgio Armani uses the cognitive consistency approach to its advertising. The idea that things should be simple and consistent is the reasoning behind this theory. Fritz Heider’s P-O-X (p.90) theory can be implemented to this advertisement campaign as a whole. First, a Person is oriented toward another, which is apparent in the “Armani Exchange” advertisement. Two separate couples; one in the middle, which are clearly oriented, balance the advertisement and the second separated to each side of the page create tension. The idea of an object being the focus and the positive or negative attitude felt about that object can have an effect on the source and receiver. Advertising is dependant on this concept and Armani understands this idea though use of the imagery in its advertisements.

Overall the image of luxury of the brand is maintained and becomes more persuasive by using language, which promotes feelings and emotions of masculinity and mysteriousness. The colors of the advertisements already do an excellent job of keeping mystery in the minds of the readers by using black/white photos and rich, and bold colors. Reasoning from comparison is used throughout these advertisements. The message is: if you use our products or wear our clothing, you will be popular, beautiful, successful, etc.

Sources:

Larson, Charles U. Persuasion: Perception and Responsibility (10th Ed). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth 2004

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