Making Your Brand Memorable

“Martha, what’s that company’s name that sells vacuums? You know, the one with the singing gopher on TV. I can never seem to remember it’s name.”

If your marketing campaign has sparked questions like the one above, you may have a problem. You are reaching the targeted audience, but, for some reason, you are failing to make your brand a “household name”–one that immediately springs to mind whenever your targeted customers think of your industry or products.

If your company’s name–or “brand”–is failing to stick, you need to embark on a mission to make it more memorable. Here’s how.

Be a “Broken Record”

If you’ve ever had to cram for exams, you likely remember repeating terms and definitions over and over until you could say them by rote. After all, the more you hear and say a word, the more likely you are to remember it.

The same is true of brand names. If you want your brand name to become easily remembered and recognizable, you need to make sure that your potential clients come across it many times in many places. Be sure that, in addition to your company’s website, your brand enjoys a presence across social media channels and on a blog.

Create an Image

Every successful brand has an image to market and uphold. Dodge pickups are tough. Pepsi is youthful. And Victoria’s Secret is sexy. All the time.

In order to market your brand, you need to, first, identify its personality. For instance, if your company is known for fresh ingredients, you will need to ensure that this image is communicated consistently throughout your marketing and advertising efforts.

Be Predictable

Being “predictable,” in this case, does not mean becoming staid or boring. Instead, make sure that your brand is easily recognizable in a comforting and familiar sort of way. For instance, Entrepreneur‘s “5 Big Company Branding Strategies Any Business can Utilize” asks you to think about everything you know about Coca-Cola’s branding and, then, imagine that the company releases a new purple can with words “Coca-Cola” in bold sans-serif font. If it is difficult to picture, it’s because Coke uses its red and white trademark branding across all venues including TV ads, magazine spreads, social media profiles, and packaging. Your brand needs to adopt this consistency as well.

Marketing Needs to be Uniform Too

One way to create the aforementioned predictability is to use the same graphic design on each of your blog and social media headers. As “These 8 Simple Things Will Reinforce Your Small Business’ Brand Online” advises, your company blog is your digital home base and your social media platforms are often the first point of entry for your online visitors; therefore, both need to adhere to the uniform brand guidelines that you have laid out. They also need to have the same “feel.”

Be Present

When it comes to blogging, tweeting, pinning, posting, and any other online activities, it is important to follow a few simple rules. Always respond to questions and concerns in a respectful and expedient manner. Be sure to generate interesting and share-worthy content on a regular basis. And use your blog and social media platforms as a way to develop a relationship with your customers that fosters brand loyalty, excellent word of mouth, and new business.

Have Fun

If you are having fun, your customers will too. In fact, Virgin’s “5 Ways to Help Make Your Brand a Household Name” recommends being prepared to look silly, stating that the creators of Hello Fresh once dressed up as carrots to hand out root vegetables at subways stations with a URL to a YouTube video on making carrot soup. This garnered significant attention and the company now delivers 70,000 meals monthly across the UK.

And, remember, while it is important to celebrate every time your company enjoys a moment of fame, you must strive to maintain that focus. After all, your brand is here to stay–and so, too, must be your enraptured audience.

In your opinion, what brand has the most memorable marketing campaigns? Why?

About Author: Kimberley Laws is a freelance writer and avid blogger who prefers Coke over Pepsi. You can follow her at The Embiggens Project.