The driving core of brand planning and promotion!

In the era of mobile Internet, visualization of brand planning is an inevitable trend of market environment change. Global brands are developing towards visualization from human physiological factors to psychological factors. Not only because the brain's natural ability to process vision far exceeds hearing and touch, but also in experimental environments, people's ability to recognize and process images is tens of thousands of times faster than text.

The names, logos, standard colors and standard characters of many brands in the market today are developing towards more visual forms that are easier to identify and remember. The main reasons for this include the increase in the number of market competitors, serious publicity homogeneity, difficulty in spreading ideas, and increased speed in consumer decision-making.

The key to the success of Internet companies is to integrate 4Ps and 4Cs and develop a user-centric thinking framework. From the consumer's perspective, before making consumption behaviors, they need to go through complex decision-making processes and costs such as identifying brand logos, identifying product functions, comparing similar prices, comparing product appearances, and evaluating product experience.

Visual Hammer

The concept of "visual hammer" was first proposed by marketing strategy master Laura Reese. As the president of Reese & Partners, a world-renowned brand strategy consulting company, she provides brand strategy consulting services to Fortune 500 companies. Just like the naming of this concept, brands should follow the principles of simplicity and directness, allowing for convenient and easy-to-understand communication of information, and avoid complex and self-indulgent brand planning, especially in the highly competitive business field.

1. Definition of Visual Hammer

l Visual Core

The concept of "vision" means to attract attention, quickly understand, generate interest, and deepen cognition through human vision. Because the efficiency of visual information processing is high enough, people can more easily form memories in the same amount of time and more easily understand visual information in depth under the same conditions . For example, when people are looking for a parked car in a parking lot, they will subconsciously pay attention to the surrounding environment first, and then press the button to accurately locate the car. When people see other vehicles, they will first pay attention to the car logo and then recognize the brand name. The continuous development of new shapes and appearances by manufacturers also exists to facilitate the public to quickly identify brands during a period of serious homogeneity in the market.

Corresponding auditory recognition is also a convenient way to transmit information, but due to processing efficiency and scene limitations, it will reduce the possibility of public attention and understanding in a short period of time. Hearing will have special effects in a specific time and space environment, such as the representative music in Microsoft Windows system startup and Intel advertisements, but the formation of this effect requires "very harsh" influence conditions and training time.

Brand identity

Brand identification is not just about logos and symbols. Modern brand design has included elements such as deformed characters, colors, and product packaging as brand identification marks, including LV's product appearance design, Coca-Cola's red packaging, and Starbucks' mermaid.

Representative brand identification elements are important clues to the public's memory and association of the brand. So will the standard color of Coca-Cola be confused with the standard color of Ferrari? First of all, people with keen vision will notice the existence of color difference, and the product areas of the two brands are too far apart , so the public will only have associations, and there will definitely be no confusion between brand and product dimensions.

Non-verbal information

Scientists have confirmed that the human brain processes visual information tens of thousands times faster than language information. This is because the human brain processes visual information in a "parallel" mode, processing visual information such as the shape, movement, color, and interactions of objects simultaneously in different brain areas. And the division of labor between the left and right brains also shows that the left brain is responsible for processing language, while the right brain does not process language information, so the visual hammer also makes a full comparison between language and non-verbal information.

Strictly speaking, brand standard characters belong to text information, but after printing and artistic processing, they become non-verbal information. Their fonts and colors are identifiable and distinguished information elements. The visual hammer uses a similar principle to produce differential memories of cognitive characteristics at the conscious level through a specific combination of non-verbal information elements such as standard colors, symbols, signs, fonts, etc. For example, if a bottle of Coca-Cola in a red-wrapped package with the word "Javanese" printed on it is placed in front of people, almost everyone can identify it as a Coca-Cola product with a probability of more than 90% based on its appearance and a series of visual elements. Therefore, the cognitive and comprehension effects of text and language visual information are weaker than those of non-verbal visual information .

2. Development method of visual hammer

When developing a brand’s visual hammer, it is necessary to consider the visual positioning triangle , namely, whether the target group’s mind is easy to identify and perceive, the differences in the competitors’ visual types, and the company’s own ability and determination to support the visual hammer. When the company considers it acceptable and establishes the visual positioning, it will develop a unique brand visual hammer from seven dimensions on this basis.

Shape

For example, the shape of an apple with a missing piece is used by Apple on almost all of its products, stores, packaging, and promotional materials. The brand name and logo are not only highly consistent with common objects in life, but also incorporate artistic elements. The gap that was originally blocked by the initial letter a has been retained to reflect the concept of technological innovation (derived from biblical stories). The design of these shapes and the stories behind them make many consumers very happy to talk about and spread them.

Symbol

A brand symbol is usually more than just a shape or text. For example, the Nike logo is a combination of a shape and the text NIKE. Among its global competitors, Adidas' brand symbol strength was almost unmatched in the early days. When consumers saw the two brands at the same time, Nike was always recognized first . This won Nike more opportunities to freely allocate funds and resources during the early competition in the sports shoe market.

Another global classic example is McDonald’s deformed yellow M symbol, which is not only clearly distinguishable from the relatively complex KFC, but also easier for consumers to identify and remember . This gives the two "love-hate" brands an innate publicity advantage in regional competition.

Color

Long-term promotion using a single color will create a color empowerment effect on the brand . For example, the golden “Golden Arches” symbol of McDonald’s mentioned above, although its background color varies in different regions, the golden arches have never changed. Although Ferrari sports cars also have paint in other colors, for a long time when people around the world mentioned sports cars, they would just mention a touch of bright red. And even now, many people will subconsciously think that a red sports car is a Ferrari when they see it.

Most importantly, in the visual hammer, the definition of color and the brand name are both very important public relations elements. The public opinions and hot events associated with the colors will become the brand’s natural topic attributes.

Packaging

The visual hammer concept believes that the visual effect of packaging is a particularly important factor . For example, when fast-moving consumer goods are displayed among products of the same category, the packaging will directly affect customers' attention and their consumption decision tendencies. The most classic example is "Paris Water", a natural carbonated mineral water. Its unique packaging style allows consumers to clearly see the natural mineral water and bubbles in the bottle, and the visual effect of the bottle is designed to be very similar to the shape and color of champagne, and it has been widely recognized and loved.

Products

As the visual hammer factor that has the most profound impact on consumers, the product itself is a real visual hammer. For example, Rolls-Royce and Tesla are brands that attach great importance to the visual effects of their products.

The design planning of both the exterior and interior of Rolls-Royce accurately demonstrates the identity and status of its customers. Tesla's product visual presentation has always maintained a leading sense of technology and futurism in the market and has never disappointed. Moreover, just like the two car brands mentioned in the example, they have never deviated from the effect of their brand visual presentation in terms of product performance and experience, maintaining a unified perception area of ​​the brand's overall vision and performance.

Founder

As the founder of a company or brand, he or she is a highly symbolic visual hammer element. For example, Apple's Cook and KFC's Colonel Sanders are both world-renowned brand founders, and they are also the spiritual leaders or brand identification elements of the company.

 Dynamic

Dynamic visual information can transmit more information with more depth and layering in a unit of time. Especially in the era of mobile Internet, the transmission of all visual information has not only been dynamicized, but has even been filled with dynamic fragments. Therefore, unlike the dynamic visual display in the television era, companies need to present their brand positioning, product selling points, concept resonance and other elements to the target public group in a clear and concise manner within an effective time, and "nail" these elements into the minds of consumers .

Visual Merchandising

Visual marketing is a method of display and sales that combines product display and brand awareness using display and visual presentation techniques. Through visual presentation of brand elements, displays, advertisements, etc., the brand's product and service information is conveyed to the public and consumers, and consumers recognize and understand the brand culture and concepts in the process of visual presentation, thereby achieving the ultimate goal of sales targets and brand image building.

1. Visual marketing function

Attract attention

When people observe things, they form a focus. Different people focus their observations on unique shapes, bright colors, symmetrical and asymmetrical appearances, and easy-to-understand images . The focus of attention generated by stars in the celebrity effect is a kind of visual attraction, and when stars are shaping their personal IP, they are also very concerned about the visual focusing effect of their external image. The principles and functions are basically the same.

 Stimulate interest

After the observation period of things, people will begin to quickly analyze the information contained in them. First, they will identify whether it contains the existing focus of interest. If the answer is no, their enthusiasm will be reduced. But then they will re-examine the things because of their new and unique attributes to determine whether they have elements that are in the direction of their own interests . Whether to explore deeper interests depends on whether the information displayed by the things can quickly convey accurate information about the interest identification elements to the audience.

Cultural communication

The content, form, characteristics and other elements of brand display, no matter in what scenario they are presented, are all for the purpose of inspiration and guidance, and enable consumers to easily focus on and extract the brand's cultural concept by receiving simple and easy-to-understand information. For example, Wanglaoji’s slogan “Drink Wanglaoji if you’re afraid of getting a sore throat” and Pepsi’s packaging design convey infinite vitality and positive attitude.

2. Visual marketing strategy

l Products are displayed according to brand tone

All visual displays must be consistent with the brand strategy and be reasonably planned and designed within the scope of the brand tone. Product visual displays that deviate from the brand will not only fail to support the brand, but even if they bring considerable sales and profits, they will actually consume the brand image and value that was previously built with a lot of cost.

Imagine the same handbag product, but what would be the effect if GUCCI's double G logo was suddenly placed on a Louis Vuitton product with a clear brand pattern. This would create confusion about the difference in style and tone that the brand has always been shaping, and consumers would immediately determine that it is a counterfeit or a spoof.

Unified visual presentation planning

In the Internet age, advertising channels are becoming increasingly diversified. Different media have the same type but different audiences, or even the same type but with some duplicate audiences. Therefore, brands will need to invest higher advertising costs to promote their products. When doing visual promotion on the Internet, television, outdoor, print media and other media, although it is possible to place advertisements with certain differences based on factors such as different channel characteristics and audience segmentation, the core content displayed cannot be significantly different, because in the product display, terminal display and other links, a unified visual presentation effect must be formed with the core content of the advertisement, so as not to cause cognitive and comprehension deviations or mislead consumers, as in the example above.

l Aesthetic value of visual presentation

In visual marketing, the way products are presented and the environmental design have corresponding aesthetic values. The display of goods, advertising presentation techniques, soft text illustrations, video content implantation, etc., if they appear particularly abrupt and rough, will make the audience very disgusted. Exquisite displays, mature image processing, and friendly decorative embellishments can not only make the audience feel visually comfortable, but also gain their stronger focus and longer attention time, thereby achieving the effect of delivering more and more complete information.

summary:

High-quality visual marketing effects will bring consumers a good "scene" experience, and this experience will guide and promote the formation of consumers' subconscious needs, and further complete the catalysis of demand to purchasing behavior in a series of marketing display processes.

Marketing Aesthetics

A systematic marketing strategy proposed by American corporate identity management experts. In today's world where experiential marketing (including online content experience) is prevalent, consumers are pursuing not only brand image but also the "value for money" of the product. That is, when consumers choose goods, they are more concerned about whether the product experience in front of them meets their own needs, and whether it meets their needs in terms of quality of life, style, etc.

The impact of information explosion and fragmentation not only challenges the business philosophy of traditional brands, but also poses a new challenge to all current brand planners. Abundant media resources, excessive information flows, and public opinion with mass participation are constantly making it difficult for brands to have room for product cost-effectiveness, brand recognition, and association. At this time, the only marketing space that can form differentiation and have the advantage of occupying the high ground in consumers' minds is short-distance marketing with low decision-making costs, strong sensory experience, and highly consistent brand and product positioning .

1. The value of marketing aesthetics

l Generate attraction

Today's society is full of all kinds of true and false information, and this information is severely fragmented. In this environment, many brands want to break through this walled garden to gain the attention of target consumers, but they are troubled by the increasing advertising investment in exchange for attention. However, the media available for choice in public life are no longer the leading media. This phenomenon is particularly evident in Internet information media. According to a survey, on average, each terminal in China will install 2 to 3 information applications, and new groups in society will install at least one niche information application.

How brands can stand out from the information flow and attract the attention of the target audience has become the primary issue for companies. According to research on the consumption behavior and characteristics of online shoppers by major e-commerce platforms, consumers will spend longer browsing time and have a higher click rate on images and video information with aesthetic design. For similar visual experiences, consumers prefer exciting content that can be quickly understood, highlights highlights, has fewer and clear texts, and comfortable color matching.

The annual big data reports of major information platforms often mention what kind of content different audiences will invest more enthusiasm in. Among them, only data related to interest areas and visual experience are considered by all platforms to be the core content of creation. Not only can this type of content gain more clicks and attention, but the bounce rate of embedded products will also be several times higher than that of content with general designs.

l Seize the mind

In the past, domestic consumer experience has never been valued as much as it is now, simply because domestic market competition was not as fierce as it is now, and the products and services available for consumers to choose from were very limited. The Internet is used to enable potential consumers to enter the experience stage more quickly. International clothing brands such as Very Moda and Uniqlo will display very distinctive and beautiful display images on the Internet and set certain quantity limits on product inventory. Uniqlo often has zero inventory but still displays it on the shelves. The intention is very simple and clear. They hope that consumers can go to the store to experience and buy more products.

In recent years, the red ocean trend in various industries in China has been very obvious, especially in industries related to people's livelihood. Products and services have become transparent and homogenized in terms of cost-effectiveness for consumers. Therefore, the experience through the Internet and in-stores has become the key to winning the favor of consumers. Big brands have spared no effort to capture the minds of consumers more quickly and effectively.

Improve pricing

One of the functions of the brand effect is to bring more benefits to the enterprise, that is, the product premium generated after being labeled with a brand. Many people know that the high prices of luxury goods such as Louis Vuitton and GUCCI have long exceeded the actual value of the goods. Even if it is not clear which designer created the product, consumers are still willing to consume the series of elements represented by the brand. Like all luxury brands, they carry information related to social identity, status, and nobility.

Brand premium is not limited to the luxury goods industry. Even the most common and often overlooked fast-moving consumer goods in our lives can achieve the purpose of brand premium through aesthetic design. For example, Starbucks coffee, Haagen-Dazs ice cream, Dyson hair dryers, etc., the price increase of these products is not only due to the successful brand image and promotion, but the brand also represents the popularity, consumer group background, quality of life and concepts, unique or rare technology, and its brand planning and product design The unique concept of visual aesthetics has been widely recognized and supported.

l Differentiated competitive advantage

In a business environment with serious homogeneity, corporate brands and products are pursuing differentiated competitive advantages, but there are still only a few brands that have grasped the essence of marketing aesthetics and design aesthetics, which can be seen from the leading brands in various industries.

Design aesthetics requires not only mastering visual experiences such as appearance, packaging, and color matching, but also optimizing the interaction between people and products during use, the scenes people are in, and the relationship between products and scenes . That is, the performance and design of the product in the actual use environment can meet the aesthetic requirements.

Marketing aesthetics is not only about delivering aesthetically pleasing information to the public, so that consumers and potential consumers can truly feel "pleasing to the eyes and heart", and then develop from being moved to having interest and demand, but also about giving full play to the aesthetic requirements that influence emotions and thinking logic in the subsequent tangible and intangible processes. If the potential consumer's intention is already very clear, but due to rough or erroneous marketing process design, poor communication, or even unpleasant pre-sales service, it is almost impossible to make them make their first purchase.

2. Implementation of the strategy

Marketing aesthetics and design aesthetics are involved in every link of marketing activities, such as new product research and development, brand planning and management, product management, service management, advertising planning and management, as well as promotional activities, packaging management, media communication, public relations planning, etc. Marketing aesthetics, as an important part of marketing strategy, not only determines the business capabilities, organizational structure, and development model of an enterprise, but also covers all visual and design-related content in the implementation of marketing, and expresses the company's culture, strategic goals, social responsibility, and brand mission through visual, auditory, tactile and other senses , thereby achieving the ultimate goal of a differentiated brand image recognition system.

Product Design

Industrial design is an indispensable secondary core technology in the product research and development stage. For example, many well-known automobile, furniture, electrical appliance and other brands have invested a lot of costs in testing performance, appearance, and experience during the product design stage. The main purpose is to be able to more scientifically improve product quality and attract more consumers' attention. The industrial design competitions that were widely carried out and promoted in first-tier cities and coastal areas in China more than a decade ago, as well as competitions and bidding projects organized or sponsored by major brands, the market changes brought about by such changes in corporate concepts all show that marketing aesthetics have long been deeply penetrated into the leading companies in various industries.

Space design

The spatial design of terminal stores (booths) is a key link that all brand planners pay special attention to. It is also an especially important key point in the ecological environment that forms brand aesthetics . The display of products, the presentation of CI image, the attire and behavior of staff, and even the environmental "comfort" such as video, audio, smell, humidity within the space, etc., must fully consider the feelings and needs of consumers in the planning and design of the terminal. That is, the stacking of product packaging, the location and direction of product display, the matching of space color and brand identification image, the sense of harmony of service staff in the scene, as well as lighting, sound effects, smell, and humidity will all enable consumers to experience relevant information, deepen brand cognition and association, and form an effective differentiated experience and memory.

l Integrated communication

Integrated communication in marketing aesthetics is mainly reflected in improving communication effectiveness and enhancing the audience's perception of advertising aesthetics. In terms of communication effectiveness, it is different from the one-to-many model of mass communication. It uses factors such as scenarios, channels, and technologies to differentiate more precise audience groups in a targeted manner, which is the segmented communication model. The opposite side of advertising aesthetics is to reject all crude advertising "creativity" and reduce the cost for the audience to feel the product and experience the design aesthetics .

For example, CISCO once made a public relations advertisement in which the content showed that the babies born by pregnant women were very healthy and the pregnant women received comfortable care after delivery. The pictures were beautiful and exquisite, and not only did women feel the warmth when watching them, but in later surveys, most men who watched this advertisement were also infected by the pictures and events. At the end of the advertisement, only a little time was used to explain that all this was due to "the use of Cisco's smart hospital solution." After Cisco placed advertisements on television, the Internet, and in specific outdoor scenes, it quickly attracted the attention of the media and medical institutions. It not only gained public relations and news dissemination opportunities in some regions, but also received a large number of inquiries and orders from many countries.

3. Based on the art of integrated marketing

Not only have major international brands deeply felt the increasingly fierce competition and the increasing demand for consumer decision-making, but although the rapid economic development in China has skipped many necessary paths for the market, only the market's requirements for aesthetics have experienced a relatively complete development path in online marketing and well-known brand stores, and it has been concluded that marketing aesthetics is not only reflected in the appearance of the product, but also requires the product to have intrinsic quality and aesthetic requirements of marketing concepts.

In its overall marketing strategy, a brand should be consumer-oriented and take into account social interests as well as the public's aesthetic awareness, interests, and values. Aesthetics reflected in every aspect of marketing and every system branch will affect marketing strategies, product design, brand image, services and behaviors, and will also have a positive impact on all brand symbol systems and information systems of the enterprise.

The core idea of ​​marketing aesthetics in the integrated marketing system is the pursuit of product cost-effectiveness and brand image. At the same time, it is also the persistence in implementing experiential marketing, continuously delivering experiences and information that are in line with the lifestyle, taste, and quality of the public and target consumers, or enabling potential consumers and loyal consumers to obtain continuously innovative high-quality experiences. As for the information that the brand needs to convey, how to quickly make the public identify it and guide them to generate interest and attention from the diverse communication channels that lack accuracy and various types of information that cause interference, is the creation of a differentiated and personalized segmented model and a dazzling visual environment or ecology .

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Author:Leon360k

Source: PR Home