by Brand awareness is a marketing term that describes the degree of consumer recognition of a product by its name. Creating brand awareness is a key step in promoting a new product or reviving an older brand. Ideally, awareness of the brand may include the qualities that distinguish the product from its competition.
Brand awareness is the level of consumer consciousness of a company. It measures a potential customer’s ability to not only recognize a brand image, but to also associate it with a certain company’s product or service.
Brand awareness is best spread through both inbound and outbound marketing efforts. When competition in an industry is high, brand awareness can be one of a business’s greatest assets.
Importance of Brand Awareness
With the vast amount of products options, having a differentiated message and an audience that can distinguish a company’s brand from its competitors is crucial. It can mean the difference between success and failure for a company.
Entire marketing campaigns can be constructed around promoting awareness of a brand. Spreading brand awareness is especially important during a company’s first few years, when they are trying to make a name for themselves.
When consumers are aware of the product a company offers, they will more likely go straight to that company if they need that product, instead of researching other places that they can acquire that product. Businesses with strong branding are viewed as accepted by the market. Therefore, they are trusted more by consumers who are looking to purchase a new product.
How Brand Awareness Works?
Products and services that maintain a high level of brand awareness are likely to generate more sales. Consumers confronted with choices are simply more likely to buy a name brand product than an unfamiliar one.
Consider the soft drink industry. Removed from their packaging, many soft drinks are indistinguishable. The giants in the industry, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, rely on brand awareness to make their brands the ones consumers reach for. Over the years, these companies have employed advertising and marketing strategies that have increased brand awareness among consumers, and that has directly translated into higher sales.
This higher rate of brand awareness for dominant brands in a category can serve as an economic moat that prevents competitors from gaining additional market share.
Other Ways to Create Brand Awareness
Print media is not the force it once was, but there are still consumers who read newspapers and magazines. Advertisements placed strategically, such as in targeted locations in the appropriate section of a newspaper or in specialized publications, can attract the viewer’s attention and create brand awareness.
For example, a new company that will be trading on the forex (FX) may advertise in a magazine that focuses on global trade and currencies in order to create brand awareness among investors.
Advertising in physical locations such as inside stores is also used to create brand awareness. Impulse purchase products are well-suited for in-store distribution and advertising. A company marketing a new candy bar may distribute the product at a point-of-sale (POS) location to create brand awareness.
Event sponsorship is another effective way to create brand awareness. Charitable events, sporting events, and fundraisers allow for prominent visibility of a company’s name and logo.
For example, a health insurance company may distribute complimentary company-branded health packs at a charity marathon. This associates the brand with an act of goodwill and community feeling. Awareness of the brand has increased, and its image has been burnished.
The Importance of Building Brand Awareness
Brand awareness is all about what the mind state your ideal clients enter when they see or hear your company’s name. It helps you to:
- Promote your business
- Successfully introduce new products or services
- Build your business reputation
- Differentiate yourself from competitors
- Find and retain loyal customers.
Keeping tabs on where your business stands in the eyes of the buying public can go a long way toward becoming the brand of choice. If your business doesn’t have a strong brand identity or brand voice, people won’t think much of your business, as they don’t have much to work with. It is extremely important to identify and strengthen your business brand so that you can harness it for success.
How to Build Brand Awareness?
So how do you create brand awareness or recognition in your local market? Sure, you can plaster your business name on every billboard in town, but most business owners don’t have the budget for high priced advertising. Plus, increased exposure doesn’t necessarily equate to increased brand awareness. For some more meaningful and effective ways of building brand awareness, you may want to:
- Create a custom hashtag
- Participate in or sponsor local events
- Maintain uniformity across your social media profiles
- Post regularly to social media using your voice
To effectively execute on your strategy, be sure to identify ways of measuring your brand awareness so that you can make necessary adjustments and improvements along the way.
Examples of Brand Awareness
In addition to the Kleenex and Dunkin Donuts examples above, here are some more companies that have a high level of brand awareness.
- Coca Cola
- Johnson & Johnson
- Visa
- Nike
Most people can identify these brand and feel their unique atmospheres from merely catching a quick glance at their logo or a snippet of their jingle.
Using eye catching visuals, investing in advertising in the right places, and developing a distinct voice in your content, you too can build brand awareness for your company. The key is to be consistent so that you can strengthen your image in the eyes of your audience with every encounter.
