The internet/other technology platforms are giving consumers more control over how they and others will position/interact with your brand.  Companies can, however, gain more control over how consumers position them by taking a closer look at “brand delivery”, or the genuine delivery/over-delivery of the brand’s promise to the consumer. Reevaluating “brand delivery” is a worthwhile exercise that can lead to an increase in customer satisfaction and greater advertising success.  In other words, “brand delivery” is more important to advertising success than advertising is to brand success.

Lowest negotiated CPM (cost per thousand) makes the advertising world go round, but very often the quality of audience reached suffers from this approach, so what is the trade off? Some believe it’s better to have a low CPM at all times because the message will reach a broader opportunity — thus efficiencies and sales volumes will be highest. We believe there will always be rationale for low CPM/mass advertising, but not at the exclusion of other strategies, because although low CPM advertising is broad and efficient, consumer response rates tend to be lower than with more targeted efforts. The rationale for higher CPM, market-specific or segmented campaign ”layers” within the overall advertising mix is threefold: Continue Reading »

Especially in the “digital age”, brands are not defined or positioned by marketers, but rather by consumers.  This means that brands can “think or say they are one thing” but in actual fact can be defined by the consumer as another thing altogether.  Consumers position brands based on their frame of reference including advertising, price, value, competitive brands and features/benefits.  Understanding where your brand fits within this framework will enable you to brand in a way that is consistent or complimentary with how consumers will brand you.