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3 factors marketers should keep in mind for maximum brand impact

These days, there’s no shortage of brands trying to outcompete each other and win the wallets of consumers—especially because with social media, companies of all sizes can now get their brand story out there with less marketing spend.

Leesa Eichberger, head of brand marketing at Farmers Group, calls this phenomenon a “democratization in media.” So what can brands do to stand out? During a series of talks at Brandweek, Eichberger shared three lessons every marketer should apply to their brand strategy before it’s too late.

Know your audience

One thing an ad strategy should never do: target the wrong people. Eichberger, for example, was targeted with an ad about free meals for kids at Applebees, but she doesn’t eat at the restaurant and doesn’t have children. How could Applebees get it so wrong? With all the data being collected on consumers, Eichberger says, it’s a “great opportunity for brands big and small to talk to consumers in a really personalized way.”

Eichberger also suggests brands be “memorable.” The Famers Group ads and jingle stay in people’s heads whether they want it to or not, and the brand has two Effie awards to prove their lasting impact.

“We’re producing good enough work that people are remembering our advertising, and that’s one of the big things in this crazy media world is making sure your ads are memorable,” Eichberger says. “You’re not just targeting and yelling like a bad digital ad or a bad display ad—you’re doing something that people care about.”

Build relationships

With companies like Walmart and Amazon learning everything there is to know about a customer, Eichberger says, it’s harder for individual brands to make a splash. But in the world of direct-to-consumer brands, companies like Dollar Shave Club and Casper are building relationships with customers that make people look forward to buying their products.

“There’s these relationships that they’ve developed that have kept them from being a commodity and actually make them something that someone cares about,” Eichberger says.

Use every bit of data out there

By gathering all types of data, whether it’s first-party or from social, Eichberger says companies can learn about how customers like to be reached and what interests them. Once that data is collected, Eichberger says, it’s time to “commit to a customer-centered cross-channel media strategy.”

“All of us are guilty I think at some point or another of living in silos,” she says. “Having consistent creative, talking to the customer where they are and not where we want them to be, using that customer-centered media strategy to talk to customers is another way to break through in this really changing media environment.”

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by Ann-Marie Alcántara
source: ADWEEK