The power of brand.

Branding is imperative to building a successful business. It creates value in the market, influences reputation and loyalty, and holds significant sway in sales and profit. It is what customers and prospects hold to be true – something which permeates through products and services.

A good brand is the culmination of proven values, arresting creative ‘look and feel’ and a strong proposition. Ever-present and unwavering, a brand is key to a business weathering constantly changing markets and withstanding macro-economic influences.

As we begin to unpick the potential impact of a recession in the coming months, the strength of many brands will be evaluated – but perhaps more importantly, relied upon.

Core elements of powerful brands/campaigns:

1. Proof-points | Evidence for Pillars and/or reasons for customers to believe
2. Pillars | Values and characteristics
3. Positioning | Aligning the brand with target audiences
4. Proposition | Single-minded takeaway

Core attributes of powerful brands:

1. Consistency | Delivering the same message in the same way across all channels
2. Potency | Having cut-through in the market, and a strong differentiating focus
3. Clarity | A refined direction that customers understand and can recall easily
4. Purpose | A reason why it exists – an emotional connection with customers

At Fountain Partnership, we are experts in Performance Marketing, covering organic optimisation (SEO & Digital PR), online advertising (Paid Media) and conversion rate optimisation (CRO) for websites. We build marketing messages and find audiences for them, helping businesses boost awareness, drive people to their sites and make sure as much traffic as possible converts once there.

We know what the power of a brand can do. Just as a brand without a message or audience is limited in its effectiveness, Performance Marketing can be elevated by a powerful brand and an understanding of its use throughout customer relationships.

Though each purchase journey is different and not linear, striking the right balance between empowering a brand and focusing on optimising performance at every touchpoint is key.

There is a variety of tools and techniques that can be utilised to support brands through Performance Marketing. We review industries, markets and competitive sets, looking at keyword visibility, channel and platform presence, spend and messaging to identify challenges and opportunities, and to guide us in our strategic approach. Aligning this insight with the brand enhances performance, and avoids the two heading off in different directions.

The need for a good brand is heightened in times of uncertainty, and integral to success when these times near an end (and customer confidence returns). But this long-term objective needs to be balanced with short-term optimisations, and the security of measurable impacts Performance Marketing can bring.

The two key ingredients for iterative performance improvements and continued business growth are a good brand and effective digital marketing. These form the foundations on which powerful marketing plans and communication strategies can be built.