Dasha Astafyeva

Dasha Astafyeva is an experienced public relations professional, content marketer, and digital strategist who has worked in government, non-profit, and private sectors. She is currently the Director of Marketing at Best Water Solutions, a company that provides safe, high-quality drinking water to communities around the world.

Dasha has worked in PR for almost two decades and has held positions at international organizations including the United Nations and the European Union. Through her experience working with businesses, non-profits, and governments, she has developed a holistic view of the working of PR and digital marketing to create strategy from the ground up.

Why Branding Is Key

If you’re new to PR and marketing, you might be wondering why branding is so important. For decades, businesses have been using marketing and PR to promote their products. In many cases, this has involved creating ads, sending out press releases, and setting up websites and social media accounts to name just a few of the traditional marketing and PR tactics.

But, in today’s world, marketing and PR evolve to become more organic, authentic, and interactive. This is especially the case when marketing to the public sector, where brand vision, values, and reputation are all factors that influence a business’ success or failure.

How to Create a Brand Strategy

To evolve along with changing trends and new technologies, a brand strategy must be developed. A brand strategy is the process of defining a business’ identity, values, and goals, and using this information to create a unique positioning and vision for the organization. This vision will then guide all future marketing and PR activity. A brand strategy will help to establish a common language, tone, and approach between all departmental teams, as well as provide a framework for measuring success.

During the process of developing a brand strategy, a company should consider the following questions:

What do I stand for?

Simply put, what is your company’s core values? What makes you unique and sets you apart from your competitors? What are your beliefs and how do they inspire your work? More importantly, consider how you can bring these values to life in your marketing and communications material.

Your answers to these questions will influence everything from how you present yourself to the world to the language you use. Furthermore, they will help to set the tone and tenor of your interactions with stakeholders, customers, and the media. A good starting point could be the corporate motto or epithet, which can be expanded upon and used as slogans, taglines, and the like. A motto or epithet that sums up your identity and what you stand for will help to inspire all your marketing and communications material. It will also provide you with a common language and approach with your teams, as well as new ideas for content and creative. Finally, it can be used to monitor and evaluate your company’s performance against the values you have defined.

How do I want my customers to feel?

Answering this question involves a bit of research. You will want to consider what your customer’s experience should be like when purchasing your product or service. Furthermore, you want to set the right tone from the beginning. From the point of view of the customer, your brand’s marketing material should be produced in a way that is clean, concise, and easy to understand. Furthermore, you want to ensure that all your marketing material, including digital and social media platforms, promotes the right feelings, beliefs, and outlook on life. In some cases, this could mean using slogans or tags that are light-hearted and playful, to establish a more relaxed and informal relationship with your audience. However, in other cases, it could be wise to avoid using words and phrases that are too informal or light-hearted, as this could come off as disrespectful or even offensive. Consider the customer experience, and ensure that your brand material promotes positivity, confidence, and warmth.

Where do I want to go with this brand?

This is a question that you need to answer for yourself, taking into consideration all the information you have about your target audience, their needs, wants, and expectations. Furthermore, you want to define what you believe will make you successful, both now and in the future. Defining this now will provide you with something to fall back upon, as you work your way through the process of defining your brand. Thinking about the future and considering the objectives you have set for your business, both short and long term, will allow you to craft a brand strategy that is both relevant and fitting for your needs.

How Do I Want My Audience to Feel?

Answering this question involves taking a step back and considering everything from your customer’s perspective. Who are you marketing to? What are they like? What do they need or want? How can your product or service help them to achieve their desired outcome? In most cases, this question can be quite challenging, especially if you’re a small business or an independent professional working on your own. To begin with, it’s important to consider your own identity, values, and beliefs. Your answers to these questions will influence the way you approach marketing and communications, as well as the products you promote. However, this is only the beginning. Once you have an idea of ​​the type of person you are aiming for your marketing and communications activity, you can begin to think about creating the right tone and approach for your material.

In general, you want your audience to feel that they are dealing with a welcoming, honest, and straightforward business. In some cases, this could mean using language and phrases that are similar to those often found in financial and business news publications. In other cases, this could involve establishing a more personal tone, similar to that of a friend or family member. Establishing this type of relationship with your audience helps to build trust, which in turn, will encourage action, and hopefully, lead to more business.

The Bottom Line

Whether you’re a consumer product company, a business-to-business marketer, or an agency representing one, a brand strategy is essential. A brand strategy will help to establish a common language and approach between all departmental teams, as well as provide a framework for measuring success.