In the globalized village of the 21st century, an organization, in order to exist and compete effectively in the market, must, on the one hand, offer a very good product or service, and on the other hand, have a good financial standing. But you can’t get to the top in a category without having a strong brand, and this is built through strategically managed communications.
WHAT IS A STRONG BRAND?
Public relations activities are one of the basic management functions that strongly support brand building. Its importance is constantly evolving and modifying with the changes that occur in the markets. A well-managed brand adapts to the era and times in which it exists. The transformation and evolution of the brand concept can be divided into four stages.
In the first, the brand was used to determine the type of product, and its main purpose was identification. In the next, it was noticed that with the help of the brand it was possible to distinguish one’s product from the products of competitors, while in the third stage the relationship between the brand and the company’s profit was observed. The last stage of brand evolution reveals its importance in building lasting loyalty and the best possible relationship between the company and its customers. A brand is an identifiable product, service, person or place, complemented by enduring values that consumers consider as close to them as possible and satisfy their needs.
Brand is a powerful tool that enables companies to generate more profits and builds a real competitive advantage. An advantage that is difficult to counterfeit and copy by competitors. It is a carrier of information that shapes tastes and influences purchasing decisions. A strong corporate brand has a financial, measurable value for the owners.
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION – PREDICTABILITY
Under the constant progress and changes that occur in the environment, the needs, undergo frequent transformations. Therefore, companies should be prepared to adapt, as well as create these changes on a constant basis. The importance of the brand is enormous in this field, it unites the values of the product, service, and the promise made by the manufacturer. The brand gives the product meaning and defines its identity over time. In the face of permanent market changes, the fastest development of technology in the history of the world, the increasing transparency that stakeholders expect from business representatives, building a good reputation requires strategic thinking in the area of communication. Therefore, the importance of corporate intangibles will grow in the coming years. Companies have technology, know-how, but not all of them can boast a good reputation.
BRAND COMMUNICATION AND STORYTELLING
Customers around the world expect authenticity from brands. They want to be sure they won’t encounter any unpleasant surprises. In a way, we like repeatability. It gives us a sense of security, of certain standards. But on the other hand, we want variety, lack of monotony, while maintaining a certain level of quality. Knowing this, think about how to achieve this level in your service, or when selling a product, what features can you highlight so that consumers will choose your brand over a competing one? Remember – we love stories, use this in your communications. Homer, the Brothers Grimm or Disney already knew this.
PUBLIC RELATIONS ACTIVITIES
We are as a society on information overload. Through mass media, we receive about 100,000 words a day, about double what we had in the 1980s. Including images, that’s more than 30 gigabytes of information every day. It is impossible to notice and assimilate all of them. Therefore, our brain’s natural defense mechanism is to simplify and filter reality. We are increasingly immune to various forms of marketing communication. An example is the decline in the effectiveness of advertising efforts.
And here is the place for PR activities, for which the basis is objective content and the message we want to present. PR activities position the organization in the minds of consumers. They disseminate knowledge about the brand in a credible way, thus building awareness and subsequently leading to a change in opinions, views and behavior.
Through credible, systematic and planned activities, PR consultants are able to shape favorability and positive attitudes towards our organization. We live in a time where it is more and more important to tell the story of a brand, how it behaves towards stakeholders, than what it de facto produces or offers. Capture the emotions, and you will create a cult brand, having no customers but apostles around it.
