I’m not normally a fan of reality TV, but Keeping Up with the Kardashians intrigues me — this family embodies the luxury Californian dream… A-list parties, private jets and shoes worth the average monthly mortgage repayment. The show seems ridiculous… these people seem to spend their days doing nothing but pouting for photo shoots, shopping on Rodeo Drive, lounging by the pool and squabbling over dinner. That, however, is just a surface appearance — the reality is that the Kardashians are a brand, cleverly designed by “momager” Kris Jenner, and their show is simply “a 30-minute commercial,” as daughter Khloé Kardashian Odom told the Hollywood Reporter. Four years of “commercials” and three spin-offs earned the family $65 million last year, endorsing everything from perfume and incontinence pads to cupcakes and diet pills. Kim Kardashian, the most famous of the “klan” even earns up to $25,000 to mention a product or business in a tweet!
What is a brand?
Branding may be powerful, but it’s also one of the most confused “buzzwords” around. This is because brands are intangible — they’re not objects you can pick up — instead, they’re perceptions, reputations, personalities… and good ones are so pervasive that many people aren’t consciously aware they exist, let alone that they’ve been devised in a boardroom. Think of Coca-Cola or denim jeans, for instance, which have represented “cool” for decades or Glad Wrap, which is so all-pervading that most of us use the name to refer to any type of plastic cling product. A brand is simply how people perceive you (whether a business, product or service)… the characteristics or values that spring to mind when they think of you. It’s not to be confused with marketing or advertising, but it is one of the tools in the marketing toolbox and it is something you can compellingly influence. Now that we know what a brand is, how do you create one? Three steps: research, define and build.
Research your brand?
Before you can create a brand, you need to know not just who you are, but also who your customers (current and ideal) are. To work out who you are, ask yourself:
- What are the qualities of my company, product or service?
- What are my core values?
- What is my company’s mission?
- How do I want to be seen?
You find the answers in your business plan… this is a good time to put the kettle on, sit down for a couple of hours and read/revise this document. Next, analyse your target market:
- Who is your target market?
- Where do they live?
- How do they currently perceive you?
- How can you attract them?
- Who else is competing for their attention?
Knowing your target market takes more than guesstimation… as the most successful businesses demonstrate, it’s often a matter of careful, formal research. Magazines are sticklers for surveying their readers and Vogue Australia is no exception. As you can see in their advertising specs here and here, the magazine has sourced externally audited circulation and readership statistics and has categorised their readers by the classic demographic indicators of income, education, occupation, age and sex.
A tip: give customers an incentive to do your survey… a “thank you” gift or entry into a prize draw.
Define your brand
Use your research to write two paragraphs, each a biography, as if you were creating a character for a TV show. Start with the easy one, the one about yourself. Then write one for your target market, picturing the ideal person who buys your product or service. You may need to ask yourself a few more questions:
- What does this person need and want?
- How does he or she want to be seen?
- What drives them?
- What do they aspire to?
Getting back to Vogue Australia, I’d describe the magazine’s ideal reader as a professional female, aged 20-49, who loves fashion and appearance, is savvy and discerning, wants to keep up-to-date and has a high, disposable income. You may find you actually end up with four biographies, two reflecting reality and two that outline your future ideals.
Build your brand
Aligning your “personality” with your customer’s is the cornerstone of a successful brand and that “personality” must be reflected in everything you do, own or produce. Appearance, or visual identity, is the most obvious way to communicate your brand to your target market. This includes:
- Logo
- Stationery
- Product packaging
- Website and email
- Marketing materials
- Dress code
- Signage
- Sound and smell (not visual, I know, but still part of appearance)
Actions, or customer service, are another way… this is the “human” part of your business and includes how you:
- Answer the phone
- Respond to queries
- Deal with stress and conflict
- Meet deadlines
- Run meetings
- Treat your staff
And finally, you need to engage with your target market and the community as a whole to get your brand “out there.” This includes:
- Using social media (including leaving comments)
- Blogging
- Writing press releases
- Search engine optimisation
- Networking
- Speaking at events
- Taking on roles with industry associations
- Giving back through philanthropy, sponsorship and volunteering
In all these things, if you want to gain loyalty and trust, you need to communicate your brand to your target market in a way that is honest and believable.
Back to the Kardashians
Some people scorn reality stars because they’re famous for doing nothing, but that’s actually not the case at all — the top echelon of reality stars, like the Kardashian family, are famous because they have water-tight branding strategies, which, as you know from the above, requires considerable effort. So next time you’re caught watching a reality show, don’t feel guilty… these “personalities” and the people behind them have worked hard to gain your attention. Besides, you’re not watching trashy TV; you’re undertaking important branding research!
