Branding in the Digital Age

By Srishti Sawhney

This book is a guide to digital branding, covering all aspects of building a strong and effective brand presence in the digital world. From creating a clear brand message to leveraging social media and other digital channels to engage with your audience.

Whether you are a small business owner looking to establish a strong digital brand presence, or a marketing professional seeking to stay up-to-date on the latest digital branding trends and best practices, this book is a valuable resource. It is intended to help you build a digital brand that resonates with your target audience and drives long-term business growth.

This book is written for anyone looking to succeed in the digital age by building a strong and effective digital brand presence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Srishti Sawhney
• Release date: Jan 14, 2024
• ISBN: 9789393255532

Srishti Sawhney

Srishti, has three decades of strong Marketing & Brand building expertise in diverse categories, products, industries, and, work cultures. She has proven ability in building, turning around, and, scaling up Brands with a strategic focus on Digital transformation, innovation and a passion for growing Brands into Market Leaders.As a hands-on orchestrator of rapid growth, her width and depth of experience spans expertise in launching, building and transforming brands across Fashion and Lifestyle, Personal Care, Skin Care, Food, Retail Apparel, Wine and Spirits, FMCG, Airlines and Luxury Automotive.As someone who has managed brands as a marketeer, a mainline advertising and a digital marketing professional she thinks today digital has given a lot more power to the consumer than ever before. It educates, enables, and empowers people before they make a choice. Fascinated with the power of digital marketing, she is excited about working with brands to help them achieve their business objectives in this new world.Born and educated in New Delhi, Srishti currently lives and works in Mumbai, India.An avid reader, Srishti enjoys an active lifestyle with daily Pilates and frequent mountain hikes. The Monkey, by the Chinese horoscope, Srishti is all Yin. She like beautiful things: aromatherapy, karmic healing, artistic yoga, sushi and Ben Affleck. And in the midst of all her professional and personal activities she loves spending time with pets and nature.

Book preview

SECTION I

INTRODUCTION

The battle for consumers’ attention has moved online. Now, instead of filling shopping centres with posters and crowding magazines and mailboxes with ads, we shout over each other on our customers’ computers, tablets, and mobile devices.

We send email campaigns on a monthly or weekly basis. We run regular advertising campaigns on websites, social media channels, and search engines. And we market our products through Instagram, YouTube, and influencers. The problem is, with all the digital noise, consumers have started tuning out our marketing messages – labelling many as insincere, pushy, or irrelevant.

It is also the sheer volume of this data created by the soaring online population and the move towards more portable access, that has changed the game out of all recognition. More videos, more rich media, faster and faster access by more people in more parts of the world, change the fabric of the business. This can leave marketers and salespeople in a tough spot, as they still need to capture new leads and turn those leads into customers. Fortunately, the solution to this is really simple. All you need to do is incorporate Digital Branding and Marketing into your strategy.

Simply put, Digital branding refers to the use of digital channels and technologies to create and promote a brand image or identity online. It involves building and managing an online presence that resonates with the target audience, establishes brand recognition, and fosters trust and loyalty.

Whether you’re looking to start up your own home-based internet business, work for a large multinational or are anywhere in between, if you want to connect with your customers today and into the future, you need digital channels as part of your marketing mix.

Digital marketing – and mastering the art thereof – is now a prerequisite of any enterprise or individual planning to compete in the years ahead.

What is The Digital Age?

The Digital Age refers to the current era of human history, characterized by the widespread use of digital technologies and the Internet. It is also known as the Information Age or the Computer Age.

It began in the late 20th century with the advent of personal computers and the Internet, and has since transformed the way we communicate, work, learn, and live. Today, digital technologies are an integral part of daily life, with people relying on smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other digital devices to stay connected and access information.

The Digital Age has also brought about significant changes in various industries, including entertainment, media, advertising, and commerce. It has created new opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship and has enabled businesses to reach global markets with ease.

Overall, the Digital Age has had a profound impact on society and has transformed the way we interact with each other and the world around us; the way we live, work, and communicate with each other. The internet has become the medium of choice for a generation of consumers: the first generation to have grown up taking for granted instant access to digital information. This generation integrates digital media into every facet of their daily life, in ways we could never have conceived in even the recent past.

Today this generation of digital natives is entering the workplace and is spending like never before. This is the mass market of tomorrow, and for business people and marketers the challenge is to become fluent in this new digital language so that we can talk effectively to our target audience.

Television froze a generation of consumers to the couch for years, now digital media is engaging consumers and customers in ways that the early architects of the technology could never have dreamed. The advent of ‘two-screen’ or even ‘three-screen’ marketing is now becoming a real consideration – just look at how our own lives are changing and how we soak up data. How many of us regularly sit in front of the television with our laptops, tablets and mobile phones all on the go at the same time?!

When the Apple Mac came along it opened up the art of publishing and, as a result, print media boomed. Today the same thing is happening online, through the phenomenon of user-generated content (UGC) and social networking: ordinary people are becoming the directors, producers, editors and distributors of their own media-rich content – the content that they, their friends and the world want to see. But that’s only the start.

Let’s look at the key factors that define the Digital Age we are in:

Key factors that define the Digital Age

1. Digitization: The Digital Age is characterized by the digitisation of information and communication. Information that was once stored in analogue formats such as paper, film, and vinyl is now being converted into digital formats that can be easily stored, shared, and accessed.

2. Connectivity: The Digital Age has also facilitated greater connectivity and communication across the globe. The Internet has made it possible for people to connect in realtime, regardless of distance or geographical location. Social media platforms and messaging apps have further enhanced communication and enabled people to share information and ideas with each other.

3. Automation: The Digital Age has also led to greater automation of tasks and processes. Advancements in robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning have enabled machines to perform tasks that were once performed by humans, leading to greater efficiency and productivity.

4. E-commerce: The Digital Age has transformed the way we buy and sell goods and services. Online marketplaces and e-commerce platforms have made it possible for businesses to reach a global audience and for consumers to purchase products from anywhere in the world.

5. Information overload: While the Digital Age has made it easier to access information, it has also led to a potential overload of information. With so much data available at our fingertips, it can be challenging to filter and process the information effectively.

In this burgeoning and insistent new media, the one common factor is a hunger for data and knowledge: anything that would give our particular brand that elusive competitive edge.

Prime-time television audiences are falling, and print media is coming under increasing pressure to address dropping circulation figures. Consumers have grown tired of mass media marketing, and are turning instead to the internet. They want more engagement and more interaction. They’re starting to spend most of their leisure time in a digital world, and creative digital marketing is the way your business will reach them.

So, while the old school sits on the sidelines, digital media has transformed itself into a finely tuned engine delivering more power, opportunity and control than any other form of media could dream of.

In other words – it’s time to follow the smart money!

What is a Brand?

Understanding Brands

The term Brand refers to a business and marketing concept that helps people identify a particular company, product, or individual. Brands are intangible, which means you can’t touch or see them. As such, they help shape people’s perceptions of companies, their products, or individuals.

Brands commonly use identifying markers to help create brand identities within the marketplace. They provide enormous value to the company or individual, giving them a competitive edge over others in the same industry. As such, many entities seek legal protection for their brands by obtaining trademarks.

As mentioned above, a Brand is an intangible asset that helps people identify a specific company and its products. This is especially true when companies need to set themselves apart from others who provide similar products on the market, including generic brands.

People often confuse logos, slogans, or other recognizable marks owned by companies with their brands. While these terms are often used interchangeably, they are distinct. The former are marketing tools that companies often use to promote and market their products and services. When used together, these tools create a Brand Identity.

Successful marketing can help keep a company’s brand front and centre in people’s minds. This can spell the difference between someone choosing your brand over your competitor’s.

A brand is considered to be one of the most valuable and important assets of a company. Many companies are often referred to by their brand, which means they are often inseparable, becoming one and the same. Coca-Cola is a great example, where the popular soft drink became synonymous with the company itself. This means it carries a tremendous monetary value, affecting both the bottom line and, for public companies, shareholder value

This is why it’s important for companies to protect their brands from a legal standpoint. Trademarks identify exclusive ownership over a brand and/or product, along with any associated marketing tools. Registering trademarks prevents others from using your products or services without obtaining your permission.

Brands aren’t just for corporate use. In fact, they are now also commonly used by individuals, especially in the age of reality television and social media.

Key Takeaways

•A Brand is an intangible marketing or business concept that helps people identify a company, product, or individual.

•People often confuse brands with things like logos, slogans, or other recognizable marks, which are marketing tools that help promote goods and services.

•Brands are considered to be among a company’s most important and valuable assets.

•Companies can protect their Brands by registering trademarks.

•Types of Brands include corporate, personal, product, and service brands.

History of Brands

• Types of Brands

• Creating a Brand

• Benefits of Brands

History of Brands

Brands have long been used to set products apart over the course of history. The idea of branding may go as far back as 2000 B.C., when merchants used it to sell their wares in