How do great brands grow and thrive in an ever-competitive market? Last year, brand spending on marketing hit the half-trillion mark in the USA. Investing in marketing and branding is big business and the key to its success is constantly being able to reinvent the wheel (aka innovating).
How do we define this properly? It’s the process, ideas, and projects that mean a specific area of a business can be improved. At the heart of all this is that they’re brand new ideas – ones that have never been used before. Whether it’s AI for eCommerce or engaging in different omnichannel branding, what are some of the innovative approaches to branding and marketing companies can take?
Innovating in branding and marketing
Innovating really is non-negotiable if companies want to stay afloat in an ocean where sharks circle waiting to gobble us up. The big question that needs a solid answer is – how can I innovate? It’s not exactly something that’s regularly taught at business school.
Here are a few solid ideas to try:
Elements of surprise: To very lightly paraphrase Monty Python: “Nobody expects the innovation inquisition’s first element… surprise!”
Employing an element of surprise in everything you do can bring substantial benefits. How can it be done easily? Firstly, carefully consider the characteristics and values of your target audience – and the major values of your brand. Now think about the following ideas:
- Developing marketing campaigns combining humor and creativity.
- Finding new ways to speak to your customers that engage with their emotions.
- Offering special promotions.
Encourage belonging: Developing a sense of belonging with the community who engage with your company is a hugely powerful tool. It’ll generate loyalty, repeat customers, and lots of positive interactions. Creating a strong bond means people are more likely to identify with the values and message of your company. You can find ways to do this by offering incentives or free gifts – but think out of the box, customized customer presents like engraved tags and cards, or even clothing, tote bags or homeware are excellent ways to make people feel appreciated, and as though they’re cared about.
Pick yourself up if you get defeated: You know what? At some point, a branding or marketing idea will fall flat – an innovative plan you put in place that you thought was a surefire winner, went down like a cup of the cold proverbial. It’s perfectly normal to feel downhearted, but the important thing is to pick yourself up and see this as a new opportunity to dissect what went wrong and learn from it.
Innovating is a huge risk. You’re stepping out of a comfort zone to develop a strategy that might work – but might not. It’s better to try, and fail – than not to try at all.
Innovative marketing examples
Here are some ideas for ways to innovate when it comes to marketing.
Omnichannel strategies
We’re no longer single-channel consumers – and sometimes we’re consuming lots of content at the same time through multiple channels. As an example, how many times have you been working from home – whilst also looking at the smartphone, listening to music, or watching a podcast on YouTube? When innovating – you need to apply an integrated experience to your marketing plans and it’ll forge greater connections and closeness with your audience.
VR is King (or Queen)
These days consumers are looking for more, better, and easier ways to consume content, as well as ways in which their senses are being engaged more readily. VR is one way of tackling this head-on – literally! Think about creating or developing apps in which users can have a 3D experience of shopping, testing, or trying an item out. They should be able to smell, feel, and experience it as if they actually possessed it already – and give them an in-store experience in the comfort of their own surroundings.
Build relationships with non-profits
Show you care – innovate by partnering up with companies or orgs that are non-profits. It’ll provide you with a boost and increase your own visibility, and it also shows you care about the world around you. Create joint campaigns, or think about perhaps making a donation to their cause – or incentivize your customers to spend with you and make it clear a portion of their purchase will go to the company you’re working with.
Innovating your brand and finding new ways to market is all about taking the time to sit back and reassess your values, who you want to appeal to, and finding new ways to reach them – and encourage new customers to join you too. Learning and developing are key – but so is assessing the situation when things don’t go to plan, too!
Nina C. Sumner is a freelance writer with a talent for transforming complex concepts into engaging and accessible content. Her passion for making the complicated easy to grasp makes her the ideal person for unraveling even the most challenging subjects. But Nina’s expertise doesn’t stop at writing – she’s also an expert gardener, known for cultivating a variety of vibrant and flourishing plants. When she’s not weaving compelling stories or tending to her lush garden, you’ll find her exploring the great outdoors on invigorating hikes.
Branding stock image by Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock