Shwetank Bhargava’s Post

Marketing doesn’t own the brand. The entire company owns the brand. Marketing might help craft the sharpest expression of the brand, but it does not own the brand. That’s because the brand isn’t merely the logo or the website. It’s a perception created by the sum of all interactions people have with your company. Like a movie, it exists only in the mind. That perception is shaped by… • customer support interactions • the product onboarding experience • what the exec team talks about on social • how candidates get treated during hiring process • what customers say to their friends …and more This means every person in the company is responsible for the brand. So then how do you create a brand that’s consistent and loved? My belief is it has to start from the beginning, with the founders, and flow through the company from the bottom up. Let me explain… A brand doesn’t materialize out of thin air, it’s tied directly to the unique perspective the founding team has on the market and the very reason for starting the company. It comes from your “reason for being.” That POV is then articulated into a set of beliefs and values that inform how the company operates and behaves. This set of beliefs is then translated into brand values that are outwardly expressed. In this way, what the company represents (who we are) is consistent with how each person and team in the company makes decisions (how we act). When you can do this well, consistently, over time, you end up with Apple or Nike. But it’s certainly not easy. Which is why there are only so many iconic brands.

Traditionally, marketing has revolved around the brand. This strategy concentrates on strengthening the brand’s voice and identity. It’s about crafting a strong, cohesive message that broadcasts who the brand is and what it stands for. But now, there’s a powerful shift towards the customer, at the centre. Customer-centric marketing prioritises your customer's needs, preferences, and feedback. It’s all about creating an empathetic approach where every interaction is tailored to enhance your experience. But a strong brand identity is still important! It helps you stand out and connect with your audience. The key is finding the perfect balance. How do you keep this balance? We help businesses navigate the marketing landscape, identifying the perfect balance between brand building and customer focus. Send us a DM or read our latest blog here: https://lnkd.in/gmMr5irh

Maybe brand shouldn't live with marketing. If "brand" is supposed to be an organizing force that shapes the experience, then it stands to reason that the function leading it should be able to, at minimum, influence and, ideally, direct the experience. I'm not talking about brand expression or identity. I'm considering what you relatively differentiate and how you uniquely bring that into the market. Shaping the experience you deliver across product, pricing, distribution, and, yes, marketing. Leading to bigger and more durable gains. This isn't academic. Brand can help companies become more efficient by clarifying what's in and out. Brands can help companies be more effective by focusing on the right things.  It impacts both the P&L and balance sheet (intangibles). So the question becomes what functions have the customer centricity, business acumen, and political clout to develop a brand strategy that can work across the business as well as manage the execution of it. And even if multiple functions meet this requirement, are some better suited for it simply because their function has a more significant impact on both the revenue and profit line? What do you think?

High-quality customers (those with the highest average order value and those who purchase repeatedly) do not come from performance marketing. They come from brand marketing. Performance marketing focuses on direct, short-term tactics to drive immediate sales, leveraging data to optimise conversions. Whereas brand marketing operates on a different plane. Brand marketing taps into the cultural, psychological, and emotional dimensions of human behaviour. ↳ It crafts narratives and builds identities that resonate deeply with people. When done effectively, brand marketing doesn’t just sell a product; it sells a story, a lifestyle and a set of values. ↳This is what wins over the hearts, minds and longevity of your customers. The purpose of brand marketing is not just to prompt a purchase but to foster a sense of belonging and identity. It’s about creating a connection that turns a casual customer into a loyal advocate. Investing in brand marketing is a long-term strategy. ↳ It requires consistency, authenticity, and an understanding of what truly matters to your audience. But the payoff is substantial. While performance marketing amplifies results, brand marketing cultivates the enduring relationships that sustain a business over the long haul. Balancing both performance and brand marketing is key to achieving both short-term gains and long-term growth.

What Is A Brand? A friend and I had been talking about this new post-pandemic economy and how marketing is now distinct from branding. The next day, out of nowhere, my friend texted me a simple question: What is a brand? Usually, I would have a long answer, but texting forces pithiness. After a lot of thought and consideration, I arrived at what I believe a brand is: Brand is the reputation of something you sell. Full Article:

"Performance [marketing] without brand [marketing] is randomly waving at people and hoping that they converse with you. Sometimes they might, but you’re fighting an uphill battle." So many brands want to bypass the brand building and hop right into performance marketing. Wrong move! Brand marketing primes your audience for your performance marketing to work. Great read on what it means to "balance" brand and performance marketing.

Comparing branding with marketing is akin to comparing a car's engine to the car itself; one is a crucial component the other encompasses the entire system. Branding is the strategic process of creating a unique identity and image for a product or company in the consumer's mind. It involves defining values, mission, vision, and overall personality, and it is aimed at establishing a lasting emotional connection with the audience. Marketing is the broader practice that encompasses all activities and strategies used to promote, sell, and distribute a product or service. It includes advertising, market research, public relations, etc. While branding is a fundamental element within the marketing mix, marketing extends beyond branding to include every tactic and tool used to reach and engage the target audience. The fallacy in comparing the two lies in their inherent relationship: branding is a subset of marketing. Without marketing, a brand may struggle to gain visibility and recognition, and without a strong brand, marketing efforts may lack coherence and emotional impact. Therefore, comparing branding to marketing is not only a category mistake but also overlooks the interdependent nature of these two critical business functions. Copied from Arie van Loopik

BrAnD MarkeTiNG iS eXpEnSiVe. Wrong. Brand marketing without a proper strategy is expensive. Don't hate the game. Hate the poor players.

Marketing's tricky. It's necessarily done by creative people 🎨 , but brands build their strength through consistency 🔁 . The challenge, for me, is to think of a brand like a Beckett play. (You have your homework, everyone. Go read the stage directions in a Beckett play, and understand the estate will SHUT YOU DOWN if you do not follow them to the letter.) You have to find ways to be creative within real constraints—what we Beckett lovers call "finding infinity on the end of a pin." ✨ The bottom line? (And what I have to remind myself every day?) 📌 Resist reinvention unless you're actually reinventing. Define your brand world carefully and completely. Standards and messages, voice and behavior, point of value and point of view, all of it. THEN you can free your creativity—without weakening your brand's foundation. 💪