A Right Media Mix Can Make the Difference

 

A Right Media Mix Can Make the Difference

A brand's visual appeal is no longer the only thing that matters (or the cherry in the apple pie example, as given in my earlier article). Unfortunately, many graphic design firms that market themselves as advertising agency mistakenly believe that branding your corporate identity is solely about generating visually appealing solutions to communicate your message.

However, branding entails much more than just appearing attractive on the outside. For example, in this web 2.0 era, where having a strong web presence has become a critical component of your branding strategy, choosing the correct media mix is critical to establishing and maintaining strong brand equity over time.

In other terms, a proper media mix would include of the following elements:

Design solutions that are innovative (the design, color, and content of your ads, marketing collateral and website enhance your brand equity, attract customers, and generate sales)

Internet site development (these days, every product or service worth its salt has an online presence, and some sites are actually interactive, animated, and designed to encourage client participation).

This is particularly crucial in today's age of social networking, tagging, podcasts, blogging and other discussion forums and wikis (and other similar tools).

Commercial production for television, as well as print media advertising (traditional media cannot be overlooked)

Films with a strategic purpose (have become necessary elements of roadshows, exhibitions and other promotional campaigns)

Video production for business purposes (a very important tool for branding your corporate identity)

Direct marketing is a type of marketing that is done directly to the consumer (marketing collaterals need to be just as effective and resonant with the overall branding scheme as the communicate directly with the customer)

Advertising on the street (hoardings, roadshows, participations in business fairs, exhibitions, etc)

The requirement for producing creative design solutions that incorporate user-centric investigation as well as analytical and systematic thinking has been acknowledged by various interactive advertising companies in recent years. Understanding the demands and goals of the end user, including the clients' customers, their channel partners, users, and brand communities, is essential to user-centric design.

For example, if you want to establish your brand as one that is synonymous with customer loyalty, you must create a comprehensive package that places the customer first and organizes product stories around the ways in which they prefer to learn about, compare, select, and confirm purchases, as well as connecting brands and their experiences, among other things.