In today's competitive marketplace, building and nurturing strong brand relationships is essential...
Welcome back! We're diving into part two of leveraging brand relationships for success. If you haven't read part one yet, it's linked here, and we encourage you to do so! Now, let's dive into part two, where we'll cover four additional opportunities to leverage brand relationships in your business to help enhance your reputation, reach new markets, and drive value.
- Licensing: A Powerful Tool With Careful Monitoring Required
Licensing involves granting another company the right to use your brand's trademarks, logos, or other intellectual property. This can be a fantastic (potentially lucrative) way to expand your brand's reach and generate revenue. However, it's crucial to carefully monitor the quality and consumer response to the licensed products. If licensed to products of subpar quality or worse, your reputation and trust among customers can free fall, taking your sales with it. A good example of licensing done right is Ralph Lauren, who licenses their name and brands like Double RL and Polo for various clothing lines, maintaining strict quality control to protect the brand's image.
- Spokespersons: Choosing Wisely For Maximum Impact
Did you know that celebrities appear in 15% of ads in the United States, 24% in India and 45% in Taiwan? Celebrity endorsements can significantly impact brand perception, help you reach new customers, and drive sales. However, because they are usually expensive, selecting the right spokesperson for your brand is even more important.
Your ideal spokesperson should be highly visible, trustworthy, credible, likable, and relevant to your brand. Imagine Tom Cruise endorsing Sleepytime Tea – what a jarring mismatch! His action-hero persona clashes with the tea's focus and calm message. This is exactly what you don't want to do. Now, if you want to work with him or another action star to promote your energy drink, that partnership makes sense. A word of caution: a spokesperson can get tangled in a scandal or fall from grace overnight, doing unforeseen damage to your brand's reputation. This is why you'll want to choose a spokesperson who is as reliable as they can be and aligns with your brand well.
- Sponsored Or Branded Events: Creating Memorable Experiences
Gooooal! Who doesn't love the energy and excitement of a fun sporting event with family and friends? Sponsoring events like sports can increase brand visibility, getting thousands of eyes on you and your products while establishing positive associations from the experience customers have at the event. Sponsoring sporting events is big business! You'll often see companies sponsoring football stadiums like the State Farm Stadium in the United States, Adidas sponsoring Manchester United in the United Kingdom, or Coca-Cola sponsoring the Olympic Games. Sponsored or branded sporting events can offer a global reach from some brands, making a big impact on customer awareness and sales.
It's not only sponsored sporting events that you can participate in. You could sponsor a festival, parade, concert, or holiday event. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a classic example of successful event branding! The parade creates a lasting impression and associates the brand with holiday cheer. You don't have to go big every time; investing and sponsoring smaller local events or sports teams can also pay off, especially in the towns you're doing business with (no matter if you're headquartered there or are employing people in the area). Investing in local community activities builds goodwill and will enhance your reputation.
- Awards & Reviews: Building Trust And Authority:
To build trust among customers and stand out in terms of quality, securing third-party endorsements and quality ratings is key! These two external reviews can significantly influence consumer trust. Look for opportunities to secure industry awards, seals (like the EuRA Global Quality Seal Plus), positive reviews from reputable sources, or certifications from recognized organizations to build credibility and demonstrate your commitment to quality. These endorsements act as powerful testimonials, assuring customers that your brand is reliable and trustworthy.
By strategically leveraging these four brand relationship strategies, you can create win-win scenarios that elevate your organization's reputation, expand market reach, and ultimately drive business success. The only question left is, which one will you try first?
