Do It Properly – Our Thinking
Do It Properly – we live in a world where we have instant access to almost everything, an abundance of communications that we receive and respond to almost instantaneously, and where attention spans are reducing to the point where a 6 second gif is becoming the norm.
So it’s no great surprise that brand communications is often driven by a desire (or a sense of need) to simply get something done. To put action before strategy. To ‘just do it’.
We think it’s still more important to do it right.
The principles of good brand and marketing strategy have often been summarised as ‘Ready – Aim – Fire’. In that order. And without missing out any of the stages!
That’s not ‘old school’, it’s just ‘school’, and too many people are bunking off at the moment. It’s the right way to get to a proper, well-targeted, distinctive, and effective brand proposition and campaign.
‘Do It Properly’: Our Rules
- Understand what you are seeking to do, and why. Begin with clarity on your objectives and the role for brand communications and you’ll set off on the right track. It’s remarkable how often this obvious first step is ignored
- Think carefully about who you are communicating with. Not just a lazy demographic profile, or buzz-word (yes – I do mean ‘Millennials’), but what they want, what interests them, how they feel about your brand and your competition, what will persuade them to choose you. If you can’t answer those questions, do some research so that you can
- Identify what sets your brand, product, or service apart from your competitors. Capture it in a proposition that defines what makes you different and better. Be focused. Be clear. Be succinct
- Find an interesting, engaging way to turn your proposition into a compelling brand story. Own something that sets you apart and makes you interesting
- Deliver that story well. If you believe in it you should invest appropriately behind it. A swift flurry of social media postings probably isn’t going to do the job
- Find out how well your campaign worked, why it worked, how you can improve upon it. Yep, that means you will need to do some research
- If it’s a good idea, a strong proposition and an engaging story it will bear several tellings. Don’t be tempted to jump too quickly to do something else. Finish what you have started
Click on the links below to see some great examples of our work where we have ‘done it properly’.