Show Don’t Tell: How Visuals add to Brand Communications in the Home Market
Building awareness for your brand in the Australian home market need not cost a half a million dollars, but it does require repetition, and a consistent visual message.
Even a business with a product range that is similar to other competing product ranges out there can achieve distinction by branding well, and repeating that brand to the right audience.
There are certain tools in in the marketer’s tool kit that help establish a brand…
- Consistency of colour and logo
- Typeface
- Consistency of one or two unique selling propositions
- Premium positioning
- Repetition
The primary tool in a brand marketing campaign is a unique colour and logo. A lot can be achieved with these devices alone. If your colour and logo stand out from other offerings in the market it will come to dominate, once repeated to the target audience. Audience members will start to recognise “the purple appliance company”. Use this not only in your advertising but in your point-of-sale, showrooms or delivery vans – these things make up part of the brand experience.
Typeface is important in communicating connotative values. There are upmarket typefaces, and cheap & cheerful typefaces. Work with your designer to set the tone right for the message that you are trying to convey.
A key message, or unique selling proposition, is also important to communicate more broadly who you are and what you stand for. Some businesses with multiple products will do this for the company itself, but if you are still establishing your products you may wish to communicate aspects of product with in this. Examples are “Australian-made Shutters”, “Simply Solid BBQ’s & Smokers”, “Cladding that won’t cost the earth”, “Luxury stone surfaces”.
In the home market, the addition of visuals goes a long way. While not possible with all products, if you are lucky enough to have a product where the benefits can be seen, then let them be seen. Show the elegant shutters as a background to your banner ad. Have picture of the BBQ in your M-rec, use the stone surfaces as a backdrop to your ads, or take advantage of content marketing opportunities to get images of your products out there.
In the home market showing your product in the context of use is particularly powerful. An image of a benchtop goes so far, but a benchtop in the context of a stunning project says it all. This adds a connotative benefit to your marketing. You are communicating not only who you are, and what you do, but what it looks like in the context of use.
Consumers won’t buy something if they aren’t aware of it, or don’t understand it. Visuals help consumers understand what you have that is relevant to them.
In a transitory market like the home market, good visuals can be repeated for a decade. If they communicate the value proposition well, then there is no need to change every few years, as new audience members enter the market every few years.
If you would like a consultation about building brand awareness to an audience of people with projects click here.
At Universal Media Co, we are passionate about brand reputation and love helping businesses create marketing programs that are meaningful and relevant. Click here for more info.