MLM Tip: Brand Awareness

Do you know the top 3 most recognized brand names in the world? They are, starting with #1: Coca Cola, Budweiser, and Marlboro. Does anything stand out about these products? Is there anything that makes these products stand out above their competition? Not really. These brands got to where they are through effective marketing. 

Take another look at these 3 brands. In each instance, the product has been elevated to the point of having its own persona. From the Marlboro Man, to a team of Clydesdale, to a sugary beverage that seems to bring the world together, these are some of the most successful marketing ventures of all time. 

So, what lessons can we learn from these examples? 

 

1. Keep your brand in front of people. If you look at the old Coke vs Pepsi rivalry, one thing is clear. Coke got the message out better. Look back at old photos, antiques and the like. How many old soda machines or metal wall signs do you see that read Coca Cola and then how many Pepsi ones? Everyone knows of both brands, so why bother with all the advertising? It is simple. The next time people reach for a soda, they are going to have that image in their head. Hence Coca Cola has been the biggest lesson in branding of all time.    
2.  Evoke emotion. The 3 brands listed here are masters in this realm. Take a look at some of these examples:

·         Refreshing 5 cents

·         Have a Coke and a smile

·         The image of a rugged man, envied by men, desired by women

·         Images of Clydesdales or partying with bikini models

 

All of these slogans and images are designed to elicit an emotional response. This is because marketing specialists learned long ago that they must talk to the subconscious to affect a change in a person's thought patterns. Adding emotion to a message is how you reach the subconscious. This is the same way you can reach yours, and work at undoing the bad programming you have been fed all your life, but that is another topic for another day. 

3. These brands took full advantage of the media venues available to them, and continue to do so. In the early days, there was a Coca Cola sign in every drug store, gas station or anywhere else they could find a spot. Tobacco ads were banned from broadcast media in the 70's, so Marlboro took advantage of print advertising, and then they figured out a way around that law. They started sponsoring televised sporting events, particularly racing. The Budweiser model can only be described as an all out assault on sports. From TV sponsorship, to the venues, to in store marketing, Bud has successfully associated their name with sporting events, leaving all others to play catch up.

These 3 elements, I believe, are the key factors that made these brands what they are today. In my next post, we will look at how to apply these principles to the business of Network Marketing.

Catching My Breath (Literally)

I'm sure many of you have noticed that I have not been posting regularly. Others may not have, but are thinking, "Now that you mention it...". Well, there are a few reasons for this, and I would like to share some things that have been going on lately in my life and business.

For starters, the biggest reason I have not been posting lately is because of a significant change in my daily habits. The time that I used to spend writing was while I was taking a smoke break. Yes, I smoked for over 23 years until I was finally sick of it. Early last year I made the decision to quit before I turned 40. I am happy to say I had been quit fro 6 weeks on my 40th birthday, and now it has been almost 5 months. While this has had many benefits, I have yet to find a regular time to do my blog writing. If anyone would like to share some ideas as to when they find time to write, feel free to leave a comment below.

I have also shifted gears a bit. Rather than focusing so much on my blog, I've decided to get out there and get to know people more. I have met so many great people lately. I do plan to get back to blogging more regularly again soon though, so please bear with me.

Since I have not been blogging as much, I also have not been spending nearly as much time in my Facebook group, Syndication Elation. While the automation is still cranking away generating social backlinks for the members when they post, I have been remiss in my duties as group creator and have not been over there manually sharing posts much lately. I was sharing every post that came through the group, but as the group has grown, this became a logistical impossibility. To all of you great members, I will be around, and sharing, a great deal more in the near future. Hopefully others will follow my lead and once again start getting more manual shares, tweets and such from posting there.

On the plus side, I have been really busy lately, and business is suddenly growing quite rapidly. This too has served to keep me from my writing duties, but that's a good problem to have.

So, with that, I hope to be back to sharing here, and other places, real soon. I've got a few blog posts I've been working on lately, so be looking for them in the next couple of days.