Tag: Disney
My Favorite Brands and Why I Like Them So Much
Have you ever defined your favorite brands and questioned why they are favorites? It is a key exercise we often use with our clients. This exercise helps to evaluate what should be the heart of your company’s strong brand identity by examining the best of the best.
Feelings have a critical role in the way customers are influenced.
- David Freemantle
We like to quote from the book Funky Business Forever when we discuss brands or branding with our clients:
The ‘surplus society’ has a surplus of similar companies, employing similar people, with similar educational backgrounds, coming up with similar ideas, producing similar things, with similar prices and similar quality.
It is not easy being different, is it? But all the more important.
The key to a good brand is being different. There are 4 critical things to remember about brands and branding:
Every business has a brand, whether explicitly defined or not. The important question to be answered is how good is the brand?
Brands deliver an emotional connection to a business’ products and services. Most purchase decisions have critical emotional components.
Your brand represents a collection of your customers’ perceptions of how they see you, how they feel about you, and what they say about you.
Your brand communicates every time it touches a customer. This makes you, as a marketer, responsible for this communication ‘moment of truth’.
Most brands sell products or services. GM sells cars. Borders sell books. Real estate brokerages sell homes. The best brands, however, satisfy a desire to get at the emotional heart of the matter.
Let’s review my favorite 6 brands and why they stand out as the best for me. This is a great way to appreciate the importance of branding and emotion.
KLM Airline
I prefer brands that are most innovative and very eager to try lots of new and different ideas. And not afraid of a failure or two. KLM Airlines certainly deserves to be in this camp. Real social media marketing innovators. They frequently come up when marketers are discussing the best in social media marketing.
They have been successfully executing their social media marketing plan for over 4 years, and their strategies have played a key role in their marketing and customer engagement.
If you’re not familiar with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, known by its initials KLM, it is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. With headquarters is in Amsterdam, KLM operates scheduled passenger and cargo services to more than 90 destinations worldwide. It is the oldest airline in the world, still operating under its original name (Founded in 1919).
Their brand identity is built around a culture of innovativeness. Over the past four years, KLM has launched a number of social campaigns – some big, some small. They had a few failures along with great successes but they keep exploring and testing what consumers like the best.
LEGO
The Lego brand is another brand I like best for its ability to adapt and innovate by trying lots of things. They teach us many things through their stories, storytelling, and messages. The words and images they use, then, reflect who they are, what makes them distinctive, and the brand values they want to represent to all their stakeholder communities. The brand represents their ability to influence how people see them, feel about them, and talk to others about the brand.
It is human and emotional, and at that critical time when a customer engages with one of their employees or someone in their channel or even one of their products, their brand comes alive with engagement.
We are big fans of the Lego Company and its products. The LEGO brand is more than simply a familiar logo. It is the expectations that people have of the company towards its products and services, and the accountability that the LEGO Group feels towards the world around it.
When Lego tells its creative branding story, the Lego Brand experience teaches us to create a distinctive voice with unique words, feelings, emotions, and images … dare to create differences with our communities.
JetBlue
I like this brand for creating unique selling propositions that have real value for me. They are my favorite airline, no question. JetBlue’s brand success centers on the achievable – the simple things – they knew would make a difference for their passengers.
This set the stage for direct TV and XM radio, the provision of first-class seats to everyone, more legroom, great snacks, and high-end service at lower end pricing. No other airline offers this unique set of value propositions. They are different and their brand stands out because of those differences.
Simple. Attainable. Targeted. They delivered.
Zappos
Zappos brand is the top of my list for their awesome culture from the top to bottom of their company. They don’t sell shoes. They deliver that extra dose of love we all need from time to time. There is no secret here. Zappos became Zappos because of the fanatical customer support it offered. That is the company’s brand.
As Tony Hsieh, the Zappos CEO, puts it,
Back in 2003, we thought of ourselves as a shoe company that offered great service. Today, we really think of the Zappos brand is about great service, and we just happen to sell shoes.
Starbucks
A favorite of mine for their aggressive innovation style and the way they engage customers. Starbucks brings us a space to enjoy the products they sell, rather than just a product.
Some would say that it fills a psychological need that other companies have not had to do in quite the same way. The emotion is all about uplifting moments and daily rituals. Stimulating all our senses.
Disney
The Disney brand is a huge favorite because I love their products so much. Magical, fantasy entertainment. Being bringers of joy, affirmers of the good in each of us, to be — in subtle ways — teachers.
To speak, as Walt once put it:
not to children but to the child in each of us.
Disney’s brand does this through great storytelling, by giving guests a few hours in another world where their cares can be momentarily put aside and by creating memories that will remain with them forever. I love living in their world of imagination.
While there are many brands I like very much, this 6 qualify as my favorites. So what stands out the most for your favorite brands?
So what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you.
It’s up to you to keep improving your branding and brand marketing. Lessons are all around you. In many situations, your competitor may be providing ideas and or inspiration. But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.
When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your continuous learning for yourself and your team?
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way.
More reading on continuous learning from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
What Everyone Ought to Know About Rebranding a Business
How Creative Branding Helps Your Business Marketing
A Crash Course in Creative Branding by Using a Distinctive Voice
Visual Marketing Inspiration from Canva Remarkable Examples
Are you focusing on the use of the Canva remarkable examples and visual inspiration within your social media posts? Want to know how visual marketing can help you stand out online? Sure you do … we all do.
Because here’s the reality. If you’re not creating visual marketing inspiration that captures the audience’s attention, your competition is.
Graphics can tell your company story, boost awareness, and drive additional traffic to your product or service.
So how can you create content that helps you better connect with your fans and followers?
Join me in this look at 15 brands. I find them worthy of repeat visits for content marketing inspiration!
Canva visual marketing inspiration … Nike
Nike understands marketing on Instagram as well as the mentality of their target audience. They use this knowledge to showcase their brand effectively.
The brand loves to post inspirational photos showing everyday moments related to sports. The focus is on speaking to everyone who has a dream. Also encouraging them to ”Just do it!”
Canva visual marketing inspiration … Volkswagen
Volkswagen claims that all people and all things have a story to tell. You see this as evidenced in each of their Facebook posts.
Across their Page are visual stories about VW automobiles and their customers. This is true whether you want to learn about VW history or understand the heritage of the Beetle. Or perhaps just find your next car, Facebook is the place to do it.
Each image is designed to further the culture and experience around the Volkswagen brand. Watch (and learn) as they highlight important milestones within the company by weaving a powerful story into each post.
Canva visual marketing inspiration … Starbucks
Starbucks has a presence on multiple social media platforms. Each one successfully expressing what the brand is all about.
Their use of visual marketing is bursting with personality and originality. Although Starbucks often uses posts to advertise products, it’s done creatively and subtly. They rarely are in a sell mode.
This is a lesson many companies have yet to learn. Sometimes less is more… especially when it comes to visual content and selling.
Bud Light
Bud Light has an active and vibrant Facebook Page ripe with visual marketing.
From colorful graphics to native video, Bud Light has created an interactive Facebook community through visual media.
And they’re not afraid to let their fans join in on the fun. They consistently invite followers to submit personal photos.
Whether a day at the beach or an event Bud Light is promoting, audience participation gives the Page a unique “small town” feel.
Canva visual marketing inspiration … Target
Target uses several boards on Pinterest to market their store and products. Although each board exemplifies a different marketing strategy, all of them use engaging and informative graphics.
Target doesn’t just post photos of their products like many other brands do. They combine images with text to create fun and shareable images.
Grammarly Cards
Grammarly is an online proofreading and correction service with an excellent visual marketing strategy.
Their Pinterest page is filled with funny and engaging content that people enjoy and frequently share.
The humor and wit are coupled with attractive pictures the Grammarly Cards audience cannot ignore.
Canva visual marketing inspiration … Oreo
Oreo knows how to keep an audience happy and actively engaged.
The visuals the brand posts have it all. The focus includes wit, culture, and parodies. They take any popular event or entertainment update and work their cookie right into it.
This makes Oreo posts fun and shareable.
The time it takes Oreo to react to an unforeseen event is phenomenal. The brand’s fast response to the Superbowl (“You can still dunk in the dark”) won widespread recognition.
Home Depot
Home Depot knows its audience, and the brand effectively markets to them.
Their posts are made for homeowners and those who love creating something practical and good looking.
Their Instagram page is full of practical, original and creative ideas and visual marketing inspiration.
Canva visual marketing inspiration … Disney
The Disney brand knows better than most how to make their content appealing.
They have a talent for turning their creations into great visuals that are both unique and fun.
The content they post on their web page and other social channels are proof that design is just as important a factor as a written copy.
Coca-Cola
Coca-cola’s content marketing strategy is built on visual marketing. They provide their audience with fun, colorful and quirky visuals. They are easy to like and share.
The company concentrates its efforts on interactive content to keep their audience engaged.
Coca-Cola also has uniquely designed animated gifs and plenty of brand memorabilia that reminds the audience whose page they’re on.
Canva visual marketing inspiration … Aeropostale
Aeropostale knows its fashion-savvy audience and effectively caters to their tastes.
The brand posts simple, yet beautiful, images featuring an ensemble of clothes and accessories that feature one distinct look.
Through this strategy, Aeropostale advertises its clothes (which are at the center of the composition) gives its audience ideas about what goes well with what and creates a definite brand look.
Whole Foods
Besides offering their customers healthy, organic foods, Whole Foods also provides followers with exceptional and informative visual graphics.
This is a brand that knows how to tell a story visually and make it appealing to all.
Although they have some product advertisements, most of their posts include great images combined with valuable advice.
Canva visual marketing inspiration … Taco Bell
Taco Bell knows how to grab their audience’s attention and keep it.
The vibrant colors and artistic look of their graphics get their posts noticed.
Although some of the graphics they post on Instagram are advertising their products, most simply show off the product artistically and attractively.
GoPro
The very nature of the GoPro makes it the perfect brand for visual content marketing.
After all, no words are necessary to market their GoPro cameras. Their photos say it all.
The quality of the photos and their extreme setting help these graphics get shared like wildfire.
Canva visual marketing inspiration … Honey Bunches of Oats
This cereal company has long figured out the secret of visual content marketing through social media.
All of their posts on Facebook are visual, and humor is their best weapon. Honey Bunches of Oats creates funny and memorable visuals that are easy to share.
Most of their graphics have the brand’s logo attached to it, so it continues to remind the users who are for the great photos and the witty humor (even if the graphic is taken out of context).
The bottom line
To be effective in this new era, we as marketers need to see our jobs differently. No more just focusing on metrics like clicks, video views, or social media shares.
We must successfully integrate our function with other business functions to create entire brand experiences. Experiences that serve the customer all the way through their experiences throughout the business.
We can do better. Much better. But first, we need to stop seeing ourselves as crafters of clever brand messages. We need to become creators of positive brand experiences.
There can never be enough focus on continuous improvement in brand marketing, independent of how well the business is doing. It seems these exciting brands are looking to take their success to a new level.
This is an excellent time to make a statement with their brand marketing. Changing before you have to is always a good idea.
Need some help in capturing more customers from your marketing strategies? Creative ideas to help the differentiation with potential customers?
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy to improving your marketing, branding, and advertising?
Do you have a lesson about making your marketing strategy better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add to the section below?
Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way.
More reading on marketing strategy from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
13 Remarkable Visual Content Marketing Examples
What Marketers Need to Know about Personalization Strategies
Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.
Visual Marketing … 15 Remarkable Content Examples From Which to Learn
Are you focusing on the use of visual content within your social media posts? Want to know how visual marketing can help you stand out online? Sure you do … we all do.
Because here’s the reality. If you’re not creating visual content marketing inspiration that captures audience attention, your competition is.
Related post: Social Media Platforms … The Magic Every Content Marketer Needs
Graphics can tell your company story, boost awareness, and drive additional traffic to your product or service. So how can you create content that helps you better connect with your fans and followers?
Join me in this look at 15 brands. I find them worthy of repeat visits for visual marketing inspiration.
Nike
Nike understands marketing on Instagram as well as the mentality of their target audience, and they use this knowledge to showcase their brand effectively.
The brand loves to post inspirational hashtags and photos showing everyday moments related to sports. The focus is on speaking to everyone who has a dream and encouraging them to ”Just do it!”
Volkswagen
Volkswagen claims that all people and all things have a story to tell, and you see this evidenced in each of their Facebook posts.
Across their Page are visual stories about VW automobiles and their customers. Whether you want to learn about VW history, understand the heritage of the Beetle or find your next car, Facebook is the place to do it.
Each image is designed to further the culture and experience around the Volkswagen brand. Watch (and learn) as they highlight important milestones within the company by weaving a powerful story into each post.
Starbucks
Starbucks has a presence on multiple social media platforms, each one successfully expressing what the brand is all about.
Their use of visual marketing is bursting with personality and originality, and although Starbucks often uses posts to advertise products, it’s done creatively and subtly.
This is a lesson many companies have yet to learn: Sometimes less is more… especially when it comes to visual content.
Bud Light
Bud Light has an active and vibrant Facebook Page ripe with visual marketing.
From colorful graphics to native video, Bud Light has created an interactive Facebook community through visual media.
And they’re not afraid to let their fans join in on the fun. They consistently invite followers to submit personal photos.
Whether a day at the beach or an event Bud Light is promoting, audience participation gives the Page a unique “small town” feel.
Target
Target uses several boards on Pinterest to market their store and products. Although each board exemplifies a different marketing strategy, all of them use engaging and informative graphics.
Target doesn’t just post photos of their products like many other brands do. They combine images with text to create fun and shareable images.
Grammarly Cards
Grammarly is an online proofreading and correction service with an excellent visual marketing strategy.
Their Pinterest page is filled with funny and engaging content that people enjoy and frequently share.
The humor and wit are coupled with attractive pictures the Grammarly Cards audience cannot ignore.
Oreo
Oreo knows how to keep an audience happy and actively engaged.
The visuals the brand posts have it all — including wit, culture, and parodies. They take any popular event or entertainment update and work their cookie right into it.
This makes Oreo posts fun and shareable.
The time it takes Oreo to react to an unforeseen event is phenomenal. The brand’s fast response to the Superbowl (“You can still dunk in the dark”) won widespread recognition.
Home Depot
Home Depot knows their audience, and the brand effectively markets to them.
Their posts are made for homeowners and those who love creating something practical and good looking.
Their Instagram page is full practical, original and creative ideas.
Visual marketing … Disney
The Disney brand knows better than most how to make their content appealing.
They have a talent for turning their creations into great visuals that are both attractive and fun.
The content they post on their web page and other social channels are proof that design is just as important a factor as written copy.
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola’s content marketing strategy is built on visual marketing. They provide their audience with fun, colorful and quirky visuals that are easy to like and share.
The company concentrates its efforts on interactive content to keep their audience engaged.
Coca-Cola also has uniquely designed animated gifs and plenty of brand memorabilia that reminds the audience whose page they’re on.
Aeropostale
Aeropostale knows its fashion-savvy audience and effectively caters to their tastes.
The brand posts simple, yet lovely, images featuring an ensemble of clothes and accessories that go together to create one distinct look.
Through this strategy, Aeropostale advertises its clothes (which are at the center of the composition) gives its audience ideas about what goes well with what and creates a definite brand look.
Whole Foods
Besides offering their customers healthy, organic foods, Whole Foods also provides followers with exceptional and informative visual graphics.
This is a brand that knows how to tell a story visually and make it appealing to all.
Although they have some product advertisements, most of their posts include great images combined with valuable advice.
Taco Bell
Taco Bell knows how to grab their audience’s attention and keep it.
The vibrant colors and artistic look of their graphics get their posts noticed.
Although some of the graphics they post on Instagram are advertising their products, most simply show off the product artistically and attractively.
GoPro
The very nature of the GoPro makes it the perfect brand for visual content marketing.
After all, no words are necessary to market their GoPro cameras – their photos say it all.
The quality of the photos and their extreme setting help these graphics get shared like wildfire.
Related post: 11 Updates to Starbuck’s Creativity and Innovation
Visual marketing … Honey Bunches of Oats
This cereal company has long figured out the secret of visual content marketing through social media.
All of their posts on Facebook are visual, and humor is their best weapon. Honey Bunches of Oats creates funny and memorable visuals that are easy to share.
Most of their graphics have the brand’s logo attached to it, so it continues to remind the users who are for the great photos and the witty humor (even if the graphic is taken out of context).
The bottom line
To be effective in this new era, we as marketers need to see our jobs differently. No more just focusing on metrics like clicks, video views or social media shares. We must successfully integrate our function with other business functions to create entire brand experiences that serve the customer all the way through their experiences throughout the business.
We can do better. Much better. But first, we need to stop seeing ourselves as crafters of clever brand messages and become creators of positive brand experiences.
There can never be enough focus on continuous improvement on brand marketing, independent of how well the business is doing. It seems these exciting brands are looking to take their success to a new level.
This is an excellent time to make a statement with their brand marketing. Changing before you have to is always a good idea.
Need some help in capturing more customers from your marketing strategies? Creative ideas to help the differentiation with potential customers?
Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job.
Call Mike at 607-725-8240.
All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.
When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.
Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.
Are you devoting enough energy improving your marketing, branding, and advertising?
Do you have a lesson about making your marketing strategy better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?
Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed how reasonable we will be.
More reading on social media lessons from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:
Visual Marketing … 15 Remarkable Content Examples
Best Social Media Campaigns … How to Improve with These Tips
How Small Businesses Win Benefits of Social Media Marketing
7 Favorite Social Media Examples to Learn From
What the Heath Brothers Persuasive Techniques Teach Us
Like this short blog? Follow Digital Spark Marketing on LinkedIn or add us to your circles for 3-4 short, interesting blogs, stories per week.
What a Strong Brand Stands for; 10 Awesome Examples
Feelings have a critical role in the way customers are influenced. Yes indeed, David Freemantle. At the heart of a strong brand is the promise they commit to delivering to their clients.
No matter how clever or memorable their brand marketing, if they fail to deliver on that promise, they fail. And those promises represent what the strong brand stands for. Feelings and emotion, as Freemantle states, are critical in the way customers are influenced.
Check out our thoughts on creative marketing.
Failure to deliver on your promise or to be what you stand for is like a politician promising no new taxes. Mark my words. Those kinds of promises are a prescription for a marketing disaster.
Importance of branding
We like to quote from the book Funky Business Forever when we discuss brands or branding with our clients:
The ‘surplus society’ has a surplus of similar companies, employing similar people, with similar educational backgrounds, coming up with similar ideas, producing similar things, with similar prices and similar quality.
It is not easy being different, is it? But all the more important.
Here is a short video that will refresh a brand for you:
Beginning Graphic Design: Branding & Identity
The key to a good brand is being different. There are 4 critical things to remember about brands and branding:
Every business has a brand, whether explicitly defined or not. The important question to be answered is how good is the brand?
Brands deliver an emotional connection to a business’ products and services. Most purchase decisions have critical emotional components.
Your brand represents a collection of your customers’ perceptions of how they see you, how they feel about you, and what they say about you.
Your brand communicates every time it touches a customer. This makes you, as a marketer, responsible for this communication ‘moment of truth’.
Related: Here’s How to Make Your Brand Awesome
Most brands sell products or services. GM sells cars. Borders sells books. Real estate brokerages sell homes. Killer brands, however, satisfy a desire to get at the emotional heart of the matter. Let’s review 10 killer brands and what they stand for. This is the best way to appreciate the importance of branding and emotion.
Strong brand … JetBlue
JetBlue’s brand success centers on the achievable – the simple things – they knew would make a difference for their guests. This set the stage for direct TV and XM radio, the provision of first-class seats to everyone, more legroom, great snacks and high-end service at lower end pricing.
No other airline others these value propositions. They are different and their brand stands out because of those differences.
Simple. Attainable. Targeted. They delivered.
Nike
Ask anyone who works in marketing what Nike stands for and you’re likely to hear the same three words: “authentic athletic performance.” Their goal to be associated with customers that desire to be high performance, high notch athletes, achievers, and winners.
Nike is the name of the winged Greek goddess of victory and the logo represents the spirit of this goddess. Wrapped in emotional appeal.
Ragu
Super convenience in an inconvenient world. Simple as that. But it must achieve a taste appeal, so Ragu has increased its product offering to give the customer more sauce taste options. Super convenience with grandmother’s good taste.
W Hotels
People don’t go there to sleep. They go there to feel glamorous. Style and sizzle remain in the forefront of what this brand stands for. A hotel brand leader in contemporary lifestyle personality.
Strong brand benefits … Zappos
They don’t sell shoes. They deliver that extra dose of love we all need from time to time. There is no secret here. Zappos became Zappos because of the fanatical customer support it offered. That is the company’s brand. As Tony Hsieh, the Zappos CEO puts it,
Back in 2003, we thought of ourselves as a shoe company that offered great service. Today, we really think of the Zappos brand as about great service, and we just happen to sell shoes.
Intel
Look inside to find the best processor technology. The trust mark symbolizing customer trust and faith they are receiving the best in technology. Technology that is life-changing.
Ritz Carlton
Ritz Carlton’s desire is to create guests for life. Stories of extraordinary service. Acts of kindness. Ritz Carlton focuses their attention on impeccable service standards to separate themselves from other Hotels. What Ritz Carlton has done so well is operationalize it so that culture and brand are one.
FedEx
Simply put, the FedEx brand is synonymous with “reliability.” Define your benefit to customers in the most straightforward terms possible. If your promise is reliability, then you need to offer reliability in everything you do — from your products and services to your website and communications.
Peace of mind. FedEx famously built its brand around a singular idea: by coming through when something “absolutely, positively has to be there overnight”
Starbucks
Starbucks brings us a space to enjoy the products they sell, rather than just a product. Some would say that it fills a psychological need that other companies have not had to do in quite the same way. The emotion is all about uplifting moments and daily ritual. Stimulating all our senses.
