A company's product, image, and brand are visible and quite palpable with every touch-point the company has with its public - whether guest or customer, financial institutions, or government agencies. It is useful to view all aspects of public interaction, and the materials used during this interaction, as the organization's "strategic marketing platform."
The messaging of each item in the platform, and all items taken together, should be as cohesive as possible for best and lasting impressions. When well conceived, these touch-points not only carry the strategic marketing strategy but also provide the structure of truly experiential brand messaging.
Product or Product, Company Naming - It all starts with naming - and there is truly an alchemy between a product or place and its name. Consider - truly great movies with poor titles typically have poor box office - marketing cannot correct that dissonance for consumers. Sometimes, though, the name of something integrates perfectly with what it is, and when it works it truly resonates.
Logo, Trademark, Trade Dress - All aspects of the name and product are carried in a logo and all related trade dress. Does your product or organizational trade dress speak to your target customers? If you are a licensor, or an organization with many business units - do you have "logo use" style guides and usage guidelines?
Employees, Human Resources - An organization is as good as the impression provided by its employees and other representatives. Does your human resources policy advance your intended brand messaging.
Web Site, Email, and E-Mailers - There are many proper and alternative points of view for what Internet presence means to your strategic marketing program. A cool looking website may not be optimized "to be found" by any of the key word searches conducted by your target customers. Your employee email can carry a tag to specific promotional web pages. And are each of your web pages "actualized" should a prospective customer find you on the web - search engines typically take the user to the page having the content the user wanted to find - not that initial flashy splash page on your web site that was so expensive to design.
Printed (Written) Collateral Materials - Starting with the product or company brochure even in these days of email and websites, a hard copy brochure remains a great item to push across a desk. A brief "e-mail" version of your brochure is good for rapid first responses, and saves a lot of money on overnight delivery charges. For this same reason, an organizational or product newsletter is a great means of tickling your customers or various constituencies.
Other Collateral Materials - Including divisional or product 2-pagers ? simple 2-pager "sheets" in a standardized format are a terrific means of providing detailed information for specific products, or divisional activities. Also product or project experience sheets with little need for fancy pre-printing, project experience sheets, leasing brochures, and the like, are a great addition to the standard materials kit. Business Cards - Do they carry the company image? How about your tickets or passes - do they carry the message?
Report and/or Sales Communications - Includes folder with pockets - Do you have a generic pre-printed folder that conveys a quality look? Same as folders, do you have a generic pre-printed cover that can be used for the company's variety of reporting?
Leasing strategy and tenanting - as with all else here, if you're in the tenanting or sales business - do your product specific materials knit well with the strategic marketing program?
Marketing Calendar - A rolling one-year plan that identifies all aspects of touch-point marketing, is a useful tool, and forces thinking about holiday and special event participation for your organization. A marketing calendar is also essential for use in soliciting corporate partners and the active collaboration of third-parties interested in your company and your products.
Announcements and Other Media Relations ? Are you building a corporate image out there, making announcements, citing accomplishments, etc.? As consultants to the strategic marketing process, we find that it is often significantly less expensive to have an active company media program versus a paid advertising program to reach your prospects. Including postcard mailers A simple "tombstone" type post card for accomplishments, new assignments, announcements, etc., can do much to foster a company's image among its publics. Partner/Associate Photos Quality, standard looks to a company's senior management photos sends a good impression. Biographies Package ? Along with photos of your senior management, people do want to know who is behind your company. Don't forget the people side of your branding and messaging. Holiday Card Mailing ? A superb time to send a kinder and gentler version of your organization around your respective industry. For a major new facility, is your pre-opening publicity program carrying the message you want? And do you have media guidelinesm, FAQ's, and training in place for your staff and representatives?
Corporate or Product Advertising - Including space advertising (magazine, internet), direct advertising (postal, email), telemarketing, personal sales (sales people, reps), media advertising (television, radio), billboard (highway signs, hallway posters, blimps)
Corporate Partnerships, Sponsorship Programs - if you work with sponsors or corporate partners, is that program integrated well with your overal strategic marketing approach?
Promotional Items - Don't forgot some consideration for having a few promotional products on hand - baseball caps, posters, calendars, etc., might sound crass, but the right item is seen a a kind gesture. For those hosting visitors to the U.S. from overseas, why not host in the gracious style they're accustomed by U.S. companies just never got comfortable with? Promotional items can include incentives (tee-shirts, awards, vacations, contests) as well as discounts (sales, coupons).
Direct Experiential Marketing - Although everything an organization does, through all its touch-points, can be considered "experiential," there are some activities that are the traditional experiential marketing foundation - local community relations, grand opening ceremonies, groundbreaking events, as well as trade show booths, preview centers and traveling road shows. Have you evaluated the potential for corporate sponsorship or other in-kind participation in your experiential marketing? Previews, whether a preview day at a theme park, or a prestigious preview opportunity for a residential custom lot sale program - are highly effective means of direct connection to your consumers. For grand opening type events, have you considered celebrity tie-ins, even television (cable or network) tie-ins with your event?
Office Presence - Starting with the home office lobby ? what image is being presented? Visitors and reception ? and the receptionist ? ow are visitors to the office treated and greeted? Signage and phone answering at the home office and regional Offices ? what's the image?
Related Topics
About Experiential Branding
About Experiential Design
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Stonecreek Partners Resource pages are provided freely and without limitation for personal, private, non-commercial use, and may be linked to as a source page. All resource page information is based on 30 years of practitioner's experience of Stonecreek Partners' principals, in the retail, entertainment, hotel, residential, and commercial real estate industries.
