Brand Planners: 3 Tips on developing a successful brand beyond research

As a brand planner, you’re constantly on the search for new consumer insights to drive your brand. Being an undergraduate at Northwestern University in the Medill School of Journalism’s Integrated Marketing Communications program with an interest in brand planning, I found two articles that tell what else planners can do to create a successful brand through the consumer’s experience.

The article titled “5 Five Ways to Build a More Valuable Brand” is by Juntae DeLane from the Digital Branding Institute. DeLane gives five tips for building a more valuable brand: “Be more convenient,” “be more personal,” “be more social,” “be beautiful” and “be part of a rising category.” He says valuable brands all have the characteristics of easy accessibility, continual evolution, and visual and social appeal.

Photo by Wikipedia via Creative Commons Google Images

The other article titled “4 Things Strategists Can Learn From UX Designers” is by Ben Malbon from the newsletter Think with Google. He writes how brand planners can learn from user experience (UX) designers to help bring the brand’s story to life during the user’s brand experience. Malbon says designers and planners work well together because designers create “actionable insights” from the planners’ “inspirational insights.” He writes that designers help develop the interface and deliverability, now part of the brand’s identity, while planners bring “lovability” and meaningfulness to the designers’ developments.

Drawing from these two articles and my experience in my IMC classes, I came up with three tips for someone who wants to learn new ways to develop a successful brand beyond research.

Ask Questions - Reach out to UX designers to see if your idea for a brand would translate well onto the company’s interfaces.

Think Visually - Think about the visual appeals that contribute to your brand’s story.

Be Simple - Think how your brand’s vision can be simple and understandable throughout the user’s engagement with the brand.

As a takeaway, the consumer experience is an important part of a brand’s identity. By understanding this, one can help build a brand’s story.

My name is Elizabeth Santoro and I am currently a junior in the Medill School Journalism at Northwestern University. I am studying Journalism and International Studies and pursuing an Integrated Marketing Communications Certificate. I am graduating in June 2017 and interested in a career in marketing. Feel free to reach out or connect with me at @elizs6






Citations:
DeLane, Juntae. "5 Ways to Build A More Valuable Brand." Digital Branding Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2016. <http://digitalbrandinginstitute.com/5-ways-to-build-a-more-valuable-brand/>.
Malbon, Ben. "4 Things Strategists Can Learn From UX Designers." Think with Google. Google, Apr. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2016. <https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/4-things-strategists-can-learn-from-ux-designers.html>.