07 February 2019
The Joys of Brand Planning
Brand Planning. That time of year where the teams have a chance to take a step back from the daily treadmill of delivery, identify new exciting opportunities and plan to grow.
Below are our top five tips for surviving brand planning which will hopefully inspire an injection of freshness and new thinking into the process.
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."
1. Speak to the Experts
Speak to a range of potential experts to get their perspective on your category, brand, competitors, and how they see the future evolving. We often talk to our customers but looking through the lens of experts gives you a different angle. Customers, can’t always tell you what they want or will want in the future. Experts could be journalists, chefs, personal trainers or farmers!
2. Moment of truth
Take a look in the mirror. Start with the point of purchase, and a harsh critique of how your brand fares here; relative to competitors across measures such as standout and navigation. How closely does the packaging design and format represent the desired brand positioning? How are private label and key competitors evolving their look?
3. Look beyond the obvious
Look at what is happening in store and above the line within adjacent categories. What is going on in inspiring categories? What can the soft drinks market learn from gin? What can sauces learn from soup? What can popcorn learn from crisps? Random but perhaps less so than first thought!
4. Bend the rules
Once you have really looked both inside and outside the category, then ask yourself what rules of the road could we bend a little (or a lot), to create a new opportunity? What rules can we take from other categories that inspire new thinking? Because bending the rules, at least a little is important! Look at what Uncle Bens did to rice and Method did to cleaning products.
5. Stand out in a crowd
Write down a list of your brands distinctive assets and how unique, ownable and visible each one is. Write down a list of competitors brand assets. Don’t have any brand assets? Then maybe it is time to create some!
Please get in touch for an informal chat.
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