KO your competitors with the benefits of branding
30th March 2018
Brands rarely exist without competitors. After watching one of the biggest sporting competitions on the planet – the Heavyweight unification fight between Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker, what better time to explore the benefits of branding and how to KO your competition?
(Copyright for the image used in this blog belongs to Duco Events and Team Parker. Image reproduced by kind permission. Angle Limited is not professionally associated with the Heavyweight unification fight.)
Competition is a fact of life
If you think about brands in a particular sector, it is usually dominated by a handful of leader brands that define the category. Follower brands and challenger brands also exist competing for market share and share of mind. Follower brands offer an alternative to the leader via cost or another competitive advantage. Challenger brands aim to disrupt the category and do things completely differently. Whatever position in the market a brand occupies, it is exposed to competitors.
How do brands deal with competition?
Well conceived and executed branding plays a vital role. Category leader brands can’t dominate without the benefits of branding. Follower brands can’t compete effectively without clearly differentiated brands. Challenger brands can’t disrupt a sector without appropriate branding and an altogether different voice.
Strong branding is a powerful and influential business tool that helps with differentiation, authenticity and innovation. Strong branding requires a robust and professional process that includes a critical mix of strategic and creative thinking.
The results are:
- Your brand stands out and gets noticed
- Your brand changes people’s perceptions
- Your brand looks and communicates consistently
- Your brand builds loyal customers and thrives
And all that means you are well placed to deal with competitors.
Branding heavyweights
In 2014 Angle branded Joseph Parker. Already a rising star in the world of Heavyweight boxing, he needed a professional brand that matched his world class status, his personality, his rapidly growing list of achievements and his future goals.
Out of the ring, Joseph Parker is humble, down to earth and polite. Inside the ring it’s a different matter – he is a Heavyweight champion with devastating punching power and speed. Angle designed a brand befitting this champion. His heroic silhouette with gloves raised, stands proud of the emphatic name Parker. Rendered in gold and black, everything about this suggests a winner. Read Angle case study
Brand building
There are many benefits created by strong branding. In Joseph Parker’s case, the new branding helped Team Parker and his promoters Duco Events to build:
- Visiblity with a unique brand that stands out in the ring, on apparel, on TV and online.
- A competitive edge with a dominant brand that differentiates and KOs the competition.
- Credibility with a professional brand that matches Parker’s status and ability to go 12 rounds with the world’s best.
- Loyalty through a hard-hitting and emotive brand that fans want to be a part of.
The good news is that professional branding can generate the above benefits and more, for businesses, products, services and experiences. You might be a business that’s rebranding for strategic reasons or to overcome new competitors. You might be a small business or a startup brand that needs to punch above its weight in order to win business and market share in an established sector.
Whatever your circumstances, well planned and executed branding will give you a competitive edge.
The undisputed benefits of branding:
1. Differentiation
Branding helps to establish your point of difference and separate you from your competitors so you can capitalise on your uniqueness and win people over.
2. Visibility
Strong branding helps you to stand out and get noticed so you can compete effectively and build customer recognition. Recognition and familiarity are important when customers make choices.
3. Loyalty
Relevant and authentic branding helps people to connect with your brand at an emotive level, especially when you deliver your messages and values in ways that resonate with their values.
4. Memorable
Distinctive and consistent branding helps people to remember who you are. If customers can recall your brand, they are more likely to choose you and tell others.
5. Credibility
Well developed and executed branding makes you look professional, authentic and trustworthy. People tend to buy what they like, know and trust, so being credible is very persuasive.
6. Quality
Strong branding creates the perception of higher quality. Your audience sees your brand as part of your product or service, so a quality brand = a quality product or service.
7. Consistency
Professional branding helps you to create a consistent customer experience, which in turn builds credibility and makes you memorable. A consistent appearance is also a vital part of your brand’s identity.
8. Direction
Brand clarity builds a strong team working to achieve the same goals. Branding sets the tone for everything you do and provides a reference point for key decision making.
9. Adds value
A strong, quality brand adds value to a business and its products or services. It also makes an organisation more attractive to potential investors or buyers.
10. Saves money
A clearly defined brand helps to reduce marketing costs because you already know how to present and promote your brand and what the key strategies and messages are. There’s no need to reinvent every time.
11. Attractiveness
A strong employer brand with a positive reputation helps to attract the best talent. Organisations can promote themselves as a distinctive place to work based on more than just financial reward.
12. Culture
Quality branding builds solidarity, direction and confidence internally. It helps to unify and motivate employees around a common goal with shared values and personality.
If you want to build a strong, competitive brand, contact Angle Limited. We are a full service branding agency with a solid track record of branding projects. We deliver the full package of skills that you need to get your brand fighting fit. Find out about our branding services and how we use branding as a powerful business tool or contact us, we’re experts with a down to earth approach.