So you’re building a brand and you’re thinking about the best marketing strategies you could use to raise your brand awareness right?
What better place to get inspiration than the 5 brands with the best marketing strategies this side of the twenties?
Look, there are many ways to skin a cat (apparently).
And just like anything that involves strategy, there are many potential ways to outmaneuver your opponents.
The best strategists aren’t the ones who crunch the numbers the best.
They’re the ones that use creative thinking to think outside the box and see what others don’t.
In this article, we’ll look at some of the genius creative thinking behind modern brands with the best marketing strategies.
Take Inspiration From The Brands With The Best Marketing Strategies
Marketing strategies are not the kind of tasks that come with a one size fits all step-by-step solution.
There is no one way that is “the best way” because every brand is different.
They solve different problems for different pain-points with different solutions for different people.
Crafting a marketing strategy therefore requires a different approach for each brand and the unique and potentially successful solutions are endless.
But one thing you absolutely must keep top of mind is that the best marketing strategies require a high level of creativity to find the most effective solution to land your brand in the minds (and potentially the hearts) of your intended audience.
Here are some awesome brand strategy examples for your inspiration.
Brand Example #1
Spotify
Lauded by interbrand who know a thing or two about branding, Spotify is the largest driver of revenue to the music business today.
Most of us are 5 seconds away from tapping into the value that this brand brings to the table because their app is sitting on our phone, which is sitting in our pocket… right this very second.
We all know who Spotify is, but what you might not know is A) they’re Swedish and B) why they’ve been able to grow so quickly.
Spotify know who their customers are and have used sophisticated algorithms to monitor listeners behaviour. Using this information they’re able to deliver music that is most suited the behaviours of those listeners and the characteristics associated with those behaviours.
This smart delivery system helps listeners to find fresh music and artists to expand their audience… winner winner chicken dinner.
OK, so you might not have a sophisticated algorithm at hand, but how can you use what you know about your audience to deliver them something fresh?
PRO Brand Strategy BluePrint
Build Brands Like A Pro Brand Strategist
Brand Example #2
Innocent Drinks
Innocent Drinks is the top brand of smoothies in the UK and have expanded into 15 countries across Europe.
When building a brand there’s a lot to be said for the “Logo”, the “Brand Identity”, the “Positioning Strategy”; all branding elements that are very important to any strategic brand.
“Brand Voice” on the other hand is rarely found at the top of the list of importance when it comes to the brand building process.
Sometimes it’s even an afterthought.
Innocent Drinks however, have leveraged large doses of personality with a unique brand voice, which has been coupled with storytelling, to capture the imagination of their audience.
Starting with an “empty space” on the packaging of their products, Innocent began to drip out small personality laced individual micro stories that were all part of the same overarching story of how the nectar inside this packaging came to be.
This unique approach to the brands communication strategy has helped them into the hearts and minds of their audience… along with their delicious smoothies of course.
Have you considered how you can use a unique brand voice to make a special connection with your audience?
Explore Brand Strategy
Programs & Tools
Brand Example #3
Slack
Firstly, if you’re a business owner and you work with groups of people and you haven’t tried slack, then get involved.
Slack is a business owners dream. It allows the teams within the business to more easily and efficiently share tasks, files and just generally get sh*t done.
Now not all brands have so much affection from their customers that they can create a “[brand name] wall of love” on twitter , but’s that’s exactly what slack have done.
This affection is a by-product of something Slack are passionate about; customer relations and support that goes above and beyond.
In a world of bots and delayed customer service replies, Slack have gone all in on making their customers feel special and that they have a team behind their team.
They view what they offer as an entire solution, not just a product and have built their brand communication framework around showing that to their customers.
Can you over deliver on your customer service so every last customer feels the difference between you and your competitors?
Brand Example #4
Airbnb
Airbnb, like all brands, started off small as a community market, which allowed people to post listings and book accommodation around the world.
It has since had a monumental rise leveraging it’s first mover advantage to full capacity and now boasts over 1.5 million listings in over 34,000 cities across the globe.
Today, Airbnb is considered one of the world’s most modern brands and have connected with their audience through a shared belief and desire to belong and make others feel like they belong.
Airbnb have leveraged social media and the strength of their audience with user generated content of hospitality, experiences and belonging.
They regularly launch innovative content sharing ideas such as the #onelessstranger campaign in 2015, where they incentivised their audience to perform and capture “random acts of hospitality” they could share across their platforms.
How can you make strong connections with your audience and promote a shared belief through user generated content?
Brand Example #5
Lyft
Lyft is a rideshare company that that was born as a campus-based idea, then called Zimride.
There are no shortage of offers when it comes to drivers willing to take you somewhere for a fee but Lyft have differentiated themselves from the rest as a “socially conscious alternative in a crowded cut-throat field”.
They smartly donated $1m to the American Civil Liberties Union during a New York taxi strike to protest a travel ban, putting them into the a conversation about an alternative to taxi’s.
Aside from their socially conscious beliefs, Lyft also leverage a very effective referral program. They incentivise drivers to act as brand advocates by providing referral codes for passengers’ friends in exchange for free rides.
Here is a rideshare brand that’s friendly in an unfriendly industry, hands out free rides, and thinks about the environment.
Yes, I’d love a Lyft thanks.
How can you be the nice guy in your industry? Can you offer generous and unique incentives to spread the word or can you just provide a “nicer experience” than what’s out there?
Conclusion
There’s a lot to be learned from brands that do things a little differently.
Of course, once a brand does something new for the first time, it seems kind of obvious.
But the best ideas make you feel “why didn’t I think of that?”
There is something simple, easy, unique and different that you could do in your industry right now… waiting for you to uncover it.
So go find it, and make your competitors think to themselves “why didn’t I think of that?”.
What’s the best marketing or branding strategy example you’ve seen in the market in the last couple of years?
I’d love to hear it. Pop a note in the comments and I’ll make sure to get back to you.
On-Demand Digital Program
Brand Master Secrets
Make the transition from hired-gun to highly valued brand strategist in less than 30 days. The systems, frameworks and tools inside this comprehensive program are all you need to level up.
Related Posts
Do you have any video of that? I’d like to find out more details.|
https://youtu.be/JgnBN1XYwjE
https://youtu.be/-riuatQMlww