The Brand Communications Cycle

With the shift from ‘mullah’ to ‘marketing’, and from 'being there' to 'brands' - the companies feel an increasingly compelling need for 'Communications'.

The companies need to communicate to an array of external stakeholders comprising the customers, the prospects, the media, the suppliers, the dealers, the board of directors, the investors, the share-holders and the other financial community. An interesting trend, however, is the evolution of Communication and the key messages with the growth of the company.

Based upon my observation, and limited experience, I have categorized it the Communication in four different phases and mapped them back to the Brand Cycle!

Phase 1: Sell the damn thing, just get me mullah!

So the communication is centered around selling the product, and may even directly talk about the product benefits. It would especially be used to announce discounts or offers, bascially to give the user an incentive to buy.

Phase 2: Product Branding, to foster a top-of-mind recall, and the right associations with the product.

Usually done by way of advertising and events, at this stage the key message is centered around the product's USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and may also incorporate and stress upon aspects like service, technical support, quality, etc. These factors go a long way in building the product as a brand by way of differentiation in the clutter, on the basis of intangible but important factors. And the biggest advantage of a buidling the product as a brand is that it increases the profit margins considerably.

Phase 3: Corporate branding, by way of Advertising or Public Relations.

If there are more than one brand under a single corporate umbrella, in related fields, then most often corporate advertising results in a rub-off effect from the successful to the not-so-successful brand. However, if the brands are in diverse fields, then the rub-off effect would more be in the form of brand associations.

The corporate PR, on the other hand, brings in third-party credibility into picture. For example, a mention in an industry article is a subtle and credible way of imposing ‘We are also here - big, strong & steady!’

Phase 4: Positioning the company as a ‘thought-leader’ for the whole Industry.

It’s typically the last stage of Public Relations, mostly inbound. The higher management of the company, particularly the CEO, is invited of his own accord, to share his thoughts on economic (or even social) issues, eg. Industry trends, Employment Opportunities, Inflation, Infrastructure, etc.

This kind of a situation may get tricky if the company comes to be associated with a particular face. However, if the quality of these contributory articles, usually written by the Public Relations professional, doesn’t suffer, then even a change in personnel can be pitched-in for with the media.

-Namrta Batra