Saturday, July 18, 2015

How to keep your brand relevant

In today’s society, trends can come and go in the blink of an eye. Cellphones that sold out on their release dates 2 years ago are now distributed for free with a prepaid data plan, and music artists that dominated the top 40 radio stations last summer are now struggling to sell copies of their albums. With such a rapidly changing environment, relevancy is the most powerful tool a brand can possess in order to remain successful and continue to grow. Here are three techniques that companies have used and continued to use in order to stay in the public eye.

 

1) Jump onto new trends as soon as possible

Many companies focus their efforts on being as unique and different as possible in an effort to differentiate themselves from their competitors. However, it can be just as beneficial to keep an eye out for the newest trends and use their popularity to your advantage. Snapchat is a great example; the social media app has become increasingly popular, so artists and companies in turn have created Snapchat accounts as a newly emerging method of marketing. Celebrities might use their Snapchat story it to show their fans an interesting behind-the-scenes look at their daily lives, while magazines such as Cosmopolitan and People use the new Discover feature to reach out to a different audience.

 

2) Use popular news stories to your advantage

A smart, unique way that companies have been able to stay relevant is by referencing current pop culture events; as a company, this is a great way to relate to your audience and appear up-to-date. The team behind the Oreo cookie Twitter account, for example, made headlines during the 2013 Super Bowl for their quick, improvised marketing efforts. Many sports fans remember the sudden blackout that put Super Bowl XLIX on hold for a good 15 minutes. Oreo took advantage of the confusing moment to tweet out an advertisementwith the tagline “You Don’t Have to Dunk in the Dark” The spur-of-the-moment ad was retweeted over 10,000 times, leaving many wondering how Oreo managed to make it all happen.

 

3) Don’t be afraid to try new things

Many people have heard the saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” This rule does not usually apply in the business world; in a world with constantly evolving technology, it is not always a good idea to stick with the same old methods. Instead, it is more important to continuously adapt in order to keep up with your competition. This is a mistake that has caused the downfall of many different companies. Blockbuster, for example, was knocked out of existence when more convenient alternatives such as Netflix started to appear, allowing customers to watch and order movies without ever having to leave their house.

 

By adapting to new technology and paying attention to what is popular within the market, a company will be able to prevent themselves from being forgotten in a world where new and modern companies are constantly emerging. Any brand that is able to stay relevant will be sure to have long term success within the market.


This guest blog post was written by PRowl staff member Dylan Rhudd. 

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