Every full-service marketing team will tell you that a well-orchestrated brand growth strategy is vital to the success of any private-label or white-label product. In fact, there are so many multifaceted aspects to modern digital marketing that it takes an entire team of experts to develop your unique brand properly.
That being said, what exactly do we mean when we say ‘brand development strategy,’ and how can you successfully navigate the nuances of an ever-changing digital marketing world? More importantly, how does this broad marketing term apply to you and your product?
Let’s review these nuances and further define what it means to have a brand development solution.
From this, it will be easier for you to identify a successful full-service marketing team and wisely use the precious time, effort, and (of course) dollars it takes to go from a no-name, private-label product to a widely recognized, meaningful brand.
What do we mean by ‘brand’?
The idea of branding is so intrinsic to our modern economic system that it is easy to overlook exactly what we mean when we say ‘brand’ or what it means to develop a brand. According to scholars, we can trace commodity branding back to ancient Mesopotamia during the fourth millennium BC. These cultures originally used seals and standardized packaging to represent their culture and the efficacy of their emerging economic systems. Generally, this was intended to guarantee the quality of their agricultural products and build their reputation in the ancient world (Wengrow, 2008). Centuries later, these very concepts still apply to modern brand development strategies: your brand should represent the quality and efficacy of your unique product, while also representing the values of the company producing the product. If we look at quintessential modern brands such as Nike or Coca-cola, their names not only conjure up a specific product, but rather, what their product represents.
Not only the Tangible
With the strong influence of social media, politicians and groups calling for social change have been so successful in their brand development that they have changed our culture significantly.
Think of the Black Lives Matter Moment who used the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting of African-American Trayvon Martin and the death of George Floyd by Minnesota police. They have since become the will of an international movement to change systematic racism in the Black community.
The collective consciousness now recognizes this brand as a representation of social change. In turn, the people who decide to become a part of the movement and ‘wear’ their brand have an emotional connection to what this brand represents.
This branding of an ideology embodies the saying, “People don’t buy products; they buy brands.”
Brand Development
Even if your product doesn’t represent a wide array of social change against systemic racism, you originally brought this product to market because you believed it would improve the lives of your customers. The good news is that people are constantly searching for these products, and the potentially great news is that it is up to you and your brand development team to build trust with your clientele. Recognition of your brand is what breeds loyalty and sets you apart from the competition. With the proper full-service marketing agency, you can gain the trust of your customer base and prove that your product can truly improve lives.How do you build your brand?
You’ve probably heard the technical marketing jargon used by marketing professionals such as SEO, PPC, and other expertise of your brand development team. While the technical aspects of digital brand development are vital to the success of your product, some modern marketing professionals overlook the one thing that hasn’t changed since social media and the internet came into existence: the importance of long-term, effective relationships with your customer base. While large manufacturer and retail brands have already established a viable product, many private label retailers are fighting for brand loyalty with an emerging customer base. With all the changes in modern advertising, 46% of customers are now purchasing from private label manufacturers. It seems that now is the time to take a piece of the pie with a trustworthy, private label brand
Building a Brand Development Strategy
Like it or not, there is a difference between brand development and a brand development strategy. The way we see it, brand development is working on the key ideologies of what you want your brand and product to represent. This can be a very personal, introspective process that most people can probably accomplish on their own. In fact, this introspective process is encouraged because the more emotionally involved you are with your brand, the more potential there is for others to emotionally connect with your overall image.Brand development strategy does not work the same way as the personal relationship you develop with your brand.
While workshopping the brand you’ve developed is part of the process, brand development strategy involves an entire team of marketing and advertising professionals to create a plan of attack to garner some of that emerging consumer base.How do I Choose my Team?
Most full-service marketing agencies use a team approach to the strategic development of your private label brand. Marketing firms that you might find on Clutch, use every aspect of the digital marketing world to bring your brand to life. For example, the recently established Unhinged creative team provides graphic designers, copywriters, SEO and PPC experts, and much more to launch your multi-pronged attack plan for your private label product. Like any successful marketing firm, they have a single point of contact with their creative director, who can help facilitate all the aspects of a successful marketing campaign, using brand strategy workshops to ensure your marketing campaign is as effective as possible prior to launch. This will help you align your brand with the personal core values that you hoped to convey during your introspective brand development process.
Conclusion – Time takes Time
Without the proper brand development strategy, you miss out on improving the lives of your customer base and making an emotional connection with the like-minded people who purchase your product. That being said, it does not happen overnight. Everyone needs a strong marketing and advertising team behind them to harness the power of modern digital marketing. They will work with you to ensure your message is properly conveyed to the world. Make your brand better than just a name. Make it representative of who you are and the message you stand behind with your private-label product. Not sure which marketing agency to choose? Check out Unhinged! They’ll help you write that break-up letter with ‘boring’ so you can start writing your success story.References: Miquel-Romero, Maria José, et al. “Relationship Marketing Management: Its Importance in Private Label Extension.” Journal of Business Research, vol. 67, no. 5, May 2014, pp. 667–72. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.ezproxy.uvu.edu/10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.11.025. Wengrow, David. “Prehistories of Commodity Branding.” Current Anthropology, vol. 49, no. 1, Feb. 2008, pp. 7–34. EBSCOhost, https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.uvu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=31769306&site=eds-live. Cass, Jacob. “How to Run a Brand Strategy Workshop.” JUST, 13 July 2021, https://justcreative.com/how-to-run-a-brand-strategy-workshop/ Hall, Niki. “Council Post: Social Media’s Important Role in Creating Long-Lasting Digital Connections.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 22 Dec. 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2021/12/21/social-medias-important-role-in-creating-long-lasting-digital-connections/?sh=5760cd743c42 “HUSL Library: A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States: The Black Lives Matter Movement.” The Black Lives Matter Movement – A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States – HUSL Library at Howard University School of Law, https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/BLM Maria José Miquel-Romero a, et al. “Relationship Marketing Management: Its Importance in Private Label Extension.” Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, 26 Dec. 2013, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0148296313003950?via%3Dihub “Mass Communication and Para-Social Interaction.” Taylor & Francis, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00332747.1956.11023049 McLaughlin, Jerry. “What Is a Brand, Anyway?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 9 Jan. 2012, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jerrymclaughlin/2011/12/21/what-is-a-brand-anyway/?sh=49196e432a1b School, EU Business. “Branding Strategy: 5 Reasons It’s Important for Any Business ?” Blog | EU Business School, Blog | EU Business School, 9 Mar. 2022, https://www.euruni.edu/blog/branding-strategy-reasons-important-business/ “White Label vs Private Label – What’s the Difference?” THAT! Company, 20 Jan. 2023, https://www.thatcompany.com/white-label-marketing/white-label-vs-private-label
