The Changing Faces of Branding: Technology, Audience, Trends & Tastes

Branding can be hard at the best of times, especially when there are so many different elements to consider. It can also become a little overwhelming when the market is constantly changinging. With new technologies entering the market and trends starting weekly, brands are having to adapt rapidly.

In this blog, we’ll take a look at some of those changing elements that have the biggest impact on brands.

Technology

Ten years ago, digital marketing was very different. For many brands just having a social presence was enough as the market was still developing. And when it came to choosing your social channels, only a handful of popular options were available. However, there are now over 2.4 billion active users of social media around the world and this has meant brands are now having to compete more fiercely for just a few seconds of an audience’s attention.

Today’s consumers now expect to be, and are, engaged with brands on many different digital channels and touchpoints. This has made the customer journey a more involved one and with wearable tech such as the Apple Watch and Google Glass becoming more mainstream, marketers once again have to grapple with new technology. Declared as the next big thing, wearable technology can help reduce the time between intention and action.

Given how quickly the wearables market is developing, marketers need to start preparing to target consumers through this new channel. Currently 1 in 7 people in the UK own wearable technology and the trend is set to continue. As a result, consideration needs to be taken into making marketing messages more glanceable so that messages can be delivered on smaller screens with enough relevant information to encourage someone to discover more by clicking through on their smart phone.

This is just an example of things to come but the point is, technology is constantly evolving so marketers need to be constantly aware of how they are going to reach consumers through these new channels.

Audiences

Every brand has an audience but as any good marketer will tell you, audiences evolve constantly. Everyday their needs and wants will change and people today don’t have the same concerns or needs as they did say  5-10 years ago. This can make it increasingly difficult for brands to target their consumers in the same way that might have appealed to them last month.

After major events such as the 2008 recession and more recently Brexit, people are becoming more savvy with their money. There have also been wider divisions in politics, culture and taste across generations more recently.  Therefore, brands need to consider the value of their products more than ever before. Not just in terms of money, but also in terms of what their brand represents.

In the past, consumers have been broken down into “lazy” segments such as ‘millennial’ or Gen Z’ but there are potentially 15 year age gaps within these segments. To get a better understanding of audiences, these segments need to broken down even further. Brands need a clearer understanding into the nuances that make each consumer an individual. By understanding their consumers beliefs, values and needs; they can effectively reach out to their audience in the most appropriate manner.

Tastes

As consumers, we are a very fickle bunch. Our likes and dislikes are constantly changing resulting in endless new products hitting our shelves to help feed our appetites.

When certain goods go out of fashion or people’s tastes and preferences no longer remain favourable to them, the demand for them decreases. The level at which a customer desires your product not only affects your demand curve, but essentially your overall success as a brand. One way to stay ahead of the curve is by altering the product or service. This ensures the demands of consumers are always met meaning they don’t have to look towards other brands to get what they want.

Apple is a brand that is very good at “reinventing” itself. They very quickly realised that to stay at the forefront of technology development, they needed to listen to their customers and adapt. With Apple bringing out a new iPhone more or less annually, they have been able to add/change/remove the elements that their customers like and dislike about their products. They have blown all competition out of the water and now you will struggle to find a household without an Apple product.

Trends

Trends come and go and it can sometimes be difficult to work out which ones are going to stick around. As we discussed in our previous blog post (5 Trends that Should be Shaping your 2017 Marketing Budget), live video is one trend that we think will be making waves in the next couple of months.

Another trend that has stuck around is documenting every waking moment of our days. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and all the bits in between documented on Facebook, Snapchat or Instagram. As they say, a picture paints a thousand words and brands should embrace this power.

People like to get to know the ins and outs of a brand – they’re not interested in just seeing the curated marketing content that has been planned for the past 6 months. By sharing moments as they happen, brands can start building a personality that their consumers can relate to. In turn, this turns consumers into advocates and they begin sharing your story. John Lewis is one brand that has nailed this and they are constantly producing share-worthy visual content – no wonder they are one of the UK’s leading brands.

Brand Centurion

With the elements of branding changing constantly, it can be difficult to manage your brand successfully. With Brand Centurion, you can create marketing and branded-materials in-house and distribute them in a timely manner, allowing you to react quickly to these changing elements. To find out more or to request a demo, call us on 01293 660722.


 

Written by Liam Beauchamp for Burst Digital, 26/09/2016

The Evolution of Print – Technological CPR

Technology is constantly evolving and believe it or not, traditional print media is getting a technological overhaul. There is some hearsay in the industry that print is outdated but by combining print with some digital wizardry, print is being brought back to life. As a result of this, we are seeing big brands re-embracing print and incorporating it back into their marketing strategy.

With strong evidence to support the fact that engagement with print is now much higher that with ‘new media’, is print becoming the new ‘new media’? We believe so. With a little bit of technological CPR, print is now a multifaceted media that is making its comeback. Here is a quick look at the future of print as we see it:

volkswagen-polo-the-polo-principle-2-600-52358

3D Printing

3D Printing has been on the lips of a lot of people for the past 2 years. It has rapidly grown momentum and is set to be the next ‘big thing’ in the print industry. As 3D printing has become more viable, big companies are now starting to utilise the tool. Customers now have the ability to produce completely bespoke products such as personalised clothing, accessories and toys.

Volkswagen recently encouraged its Danish fans to design their dream Polo through the Volkswagen website. Forty of the best ideas were created using a 3D printer and displayed at a Copenhagen exhibition. An overall winner was then selected and the winning design was turned into a real, full size car.

3D printing still has a long way to go before it becomes “main stream” but with the number of applications, materials available and scales, the possibilities with 3D printing really are endless.

Augmented Reality

This is another big player in combined print and digital technology with marketers as it is currently one of the most accessible and it can offer customers the immersive experience they are looking for from brands. It also makes everything in the world seem way cooler! AR works by overlaying digital information onto the real world. Using your smartphone camera, a target image is detected and your phone can then project digital information onto that target image. This essentially brings the image to life.
layarar

Domino’s Pizza is one brand that has successfully adopted augmented reality in its marketing efforts on its billboards. By encouraging passer-by’s to view the billboard ads through their phones, customers were privy to special deals. These were then automatically uploaded to the Domino’s mobile app on their device. Customers were then able to order pizza directly from their phone.

Conductive Inks

Although this technology is still in its early stages, its applications offer marketers the opportunity to do something truly exciting. Conductive inks work by combining ink with metals such as carbon, copper or silver. When printed, this serves as a wire for an electronic device. Eventually conductive ink could be used to bring print to life by generating a noise, pulling up an app on a smartphone or even turning on a light. This will essentially turn printed paper works into a touchscreen.

conductive inksA collaboration between the University of Central Lancashire and leading newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror explored the future of publishing using conductive inks. In celebration of Steven Gerrard’s career at Liverpool and his 8 most memorable moments, an interactive print supplement was produced. Users connected a clip to the supplement and it allowed users to listen to audio snippets from momentous games. When the clip was connected to the edge of the print, pressing a printed button triggered online interactions. This CMS also gave publishers a dashboard view to monitor the analytics data from the supplement.

Final thoughts…

Technology is now altering the way customers interact with brands and their marketing. The take up of these technologies is still in its infancy but it is believed that by 2018, there will be over 200 million users of augmented reality apps. The challenge for marketers is to offer interactive editorial content that is exciting and relevant. This can only be done by converging the physical with the digital. The most holistic way for this to happen is for marketers to re-embrace print and the possibilities it can now offer.

Written by Liam Beauchamp for Burst Digital


At Burst Digital we are constantly pushing the boundaries when it comes to print marketing. Although these technologies are currently beyond the reach of many, with our expert knowledge in print, we can help you identify ways to ensure your print marketing stands out.



Direct Mail: A Vital Tool in Your Marketing Strategy

Personalised direct mailIn this digital marketing revolution, there has been a rapid change in marketing and communication planning. There are now many marketers who will dismiss direct mail and accuse it of being obsolete. The fact is though mail is still thriving! With the introduction of modern technologies, the way mail can be used has transformed and direct mail no longer has to be considered as just a piece of “junk mail”.

With the availability of refined personalisation techniques and carefully targeted data, a highly creative DM piece should play a vital role in any integrated campaign. You may be surprised to hear it but many people actually miss receiving personally addressed mailings. Customers like to feel that they’re engaging in conversations directly with a brand and this can be done through DM.

A well-crafted piece of personalised mail is hard to ignore and can be a direct entry-point into the consumer’s consciousness. As a result, it can create a pivotal moment in the customer journey. According to the Royal Mail, over 92% of all personalised mail in the UK is opened. Furthermore, a DM piece is essentially delivered directly to the customers’ hands so they’re virtually guaranteed to see your message.

This fact shouldn’t be taken advantage of though. Time still needs to be spent ensuring that a personalised message is relevant to the individual. The more relevant the DM, the more likely it is a consumer will engage and respond. On average, 79% of people will act on a DM if they feel like it is personal and of value to them. However, only 45% of people said they would act on an email, so are you really willing to miss out on potentially reaching that other 34%?

We are not saying that DM is the “silver bullet” and should be sent out as a standalone, but incorporating DM into your overall marketing strategy can act as a pull-through to get your customers talking to you. In conclusion, hitting them with a well thought out DM campaign could be the first step to breaking down walls for closer communication with your potential customers.

Written by Liam Beauchamp for Burst Digital – 11/04/2016


Burst Digital

We believe that combining print media with smart technology creates better campaigns. Using DM to compliment your campaign will allow you to open up channels to prospects and nurture them into a customer. In short, it can mean more conversions, more enquiries, and more sales. Using our digital printing capabilities, we can create those high-impact pieces that will stand out on the mat.

Ready to up your marketing game? Talk to us today!

Data from Royal Mail, ‘It’s All about Mail and Email’, 2016:
http://www.royalmail.com/corporate/marketing/insights/mail-and-email