Brand Marketing might be the most important thing you're not doing.
May 2024
If you're service-based, developing a Brand Marketing strategy is critical to your long-term success.
You probably know what "branding" is. You probably know what "marketing" is. But "Brand Marketing" isn't just smashing those disciplines together. It requires a strategic approach, leveraging your history, expressing your vision, and making the most of your people If you’ve ever felt like people don’t really understand how your organization is different than others, this is for you.
Branding is important every five to ten years.
Branding is a lot of fun, but it's not brand marketing. It’s the process of uncovering and expressing your organizations true value – your strengths that separate you from your competitors and it usually results in very tangible assets:
- Your Name
- Logo and Iconography
- Brand Statement or Talking Points
- Design Standards
It’s a strategic endeavor that delivers a creative and hopefully valuable product. Branding is done once and then revisited every few years.
Brand Marketing is something that you need to do everyday.
Brand Marketing is how you set your organization apart from everyone else. It's typically not product- or sales-based. Brand marketing is about your mission, vision and values.
Brand marketing is focused on your position in the marketplace and it sets the foundation for how people perceive you.
Customers buy "the why" before the they buy "the what" and this is how you communicated your why to the world.
It's not simply your DNA, it's how your DNA is manifest to the world.
Brand Marketing solves these kinds of challenges:
“Nobody really knows us."
“We’re different than we were a few years ago, but people don't know."
“The public confuse us with others too often.
At Highline, we do 36.7% Branding vs. 63.3% Brand Marketing, and we've done it for nearly every type of client.
It’s critical for:
- Civic organizations
- EDCs
- Public agencies
- Cultural institutions
- Healthcare organizations
It’s NOT important for:
- Toilet paper
But super important for:
- Service-based companies, such as architecture, engineering, real estate firms
- Cities or regions
- Real estate developments
- Educational institutions
We create brand marketing programs that work. We’ve helped dozens of clients shape how they’re perceived by your key audiences, which can win new clients, drive sales, and attract talent. We’d love to share examples and see if we can help you.