Here’s Why You’re Boring: How to Stop Playing it Safe on Social Media
We get it, finding new ways to help your brand stand out from the rest can seem like trying to solve a million-piece puzzle. But just sticking to the standard best practices is not enough when there are new innovation trends popping up every day on social media. So, how do you keep up with the constant ebb and flow of social media marketing? Let’s dive in to find out.
Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room; You just might be boring, but the first step is admitting the problem exists, right? While you can continue to play it safe with the basics of content branding, there are plenty of easy ways to spice up your social game.
Don’t Slack on Copywriting
The main ingredient every company needs when strengthening their social branding is exceptional copywriting. This is where you have the opportunity to show the world what makes your brand unique. According to Facebook for Business, the average person spends only 1.7 seconds on a piece of content before continuing to scroll through their feed, so creating content that immediately captures the viewer’s attention should be top priority.
Here are a few essential tips for writing copy that stops scrollers in their tracks:
Represent your brand in a way that is straightforward. Define yourself through your copy by depicting the brand’s core characteristics and essence.
Don’t be basic. If you feel that your copy is becoming too generic, turn it into something more personalized towards your brand while still conveying the same message.
Pathos, pathos, pathos. Write something that will resonate with your audience and possibly trigger an emotional response. Appeal to the reader with content that gives them a sense of nostalgia, joy or even frustration.
Capture Attention with Unique Posts
They say “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but in the renaissance of social media, imagine what your post would be worth given all the possibilities and creative freedom we’re given today. In order to separate yourself from the millions of posts uploaded on a daily basis, brands have to start thinking outside the box with how they present themselves on social media.
Try some of these simple tips to give your creative content a boost:
Experiment with posts. Create variety within your feed by using different types of content such as boomerangs, infographics, videos, reels, cinemagraphs, stories, or carousels. (Pro Tip: Instagram’s algorithm presents carousel posts twice as often to a viewer’s feed compared to single image posts, therefore doubling their potential engagement.)
Utilize image and video editing tools. While most social platforms already have editing capabilities, these free/low investment tools will dramatically enhance your branding by enhancing the quality and appeal of your posts.
Adobe Premiere Rush: Great for creating high-quality videos with easy edits on the go
Splice: Easy to use video editing app that creates customized, professional-looking videos
Canva: Editing tool for all things creative that provides limitless possibilities for users
Adobe Lightroom: Photo editing software that allows you to capture, edit and share photos in one place
Unfold: Story editing app that provides users with a variety of templates and editing tools
VSCO: Photo editing app that uses preset filters and editing tools
Create a foundational branding style. Once you have found the right tools for your brand, start developing a unique style that speaks to your overall messaging.
Just Be Yourself (Seriously!)
We know it sounds cliche, but the most important aspect of creating content that most brands sadly neglect is to simply be authentic to your viewers:
Experiment. We often forget that when we are in the beginning stages of building a brand’s social media presence, the stakes are usually fairly low. So, why not exercise your creative freedom? Test out a variety of different styles, formats and methods of representing your brand and just see what sticks with your audience.
Make it your own. Take note of what works from a best-practices standpoint and make it unique to your own brand.
Be human. These days, authenticity on social media is extremely rare and viewers are tired of the overplanned scripts and elaborate sets. Sometimes the best content is created on the fly, so try and capture candid moments within your brand. (Discover more on brand authenticity in our recent article, 3 Marketing Tips You Can Learn From TikTok.)
Share what YOU know. Consider topics that you’re truly interested in as a brand and create pillars to plan what insights you should discuss with your audience. (Learn about the benefits of brand personalization in our recent article.)
Let’s Recap
To begin creating a killer social branding strategy that will give you a competitive edge, start with these three major takeaways:
Create copy that stops scrollers in their tracks.
Create a one-of-a-kind branding style with editing tools and posting methods.
Be true to your brand by staying authentic.
By following these simple tips and being committed to your quality of content, there is nothing that will stop your brand from surpassing the competition and reaching its full potential with social marketing.
Shake our stARglobe to see what marketing goals you’ll accomplish in 2021.
Goodbye magic 8 balls, hello AR! Whether a big award-winning campaign or a huge celebrity endorsement is in store, the stARglobe knows all. Please use your phone to activate the augmented reality experience on Facebook or Instagram. Just give it a tap and find out what you can look forward to.
Businesses that are surviving the pandemic should ask the question: What will my customers want or need after this crisis subsides?
While industry associations may have research on recent changes in customer or client behavior and preference, the best source to answer this question is your own customer base. And, while your main question may relate to your current offerings, others can explore barriers and potential incentives that could help influence how you communicate with your customers in the near term.
As an example, we reached out to marketers in a variety of industries. We asked what they missed the most since Covid-19 restrictions were instated, and what they would want to do once everything has reopened.
We also wanted to know what had changed, in terms of their buying habits and preferences.
Of those who responded, nearly 70% were working from home, 20% on-site and the rest retired or furloughed. Overall, we gained some interesting insights about what may guide their future plans and purchases.
‘We gotta get out of this place’
Venturing out of state is the first thing these marketers want to do as the pandemic subsides. Most hoteliers have been reporting a majority of visitors from within a 100-mile radius, but our survey shows that a large portion of respondents want to get out of state. More than half want to travel to Europe or the Caribbean.
Among respondents, there was no crisis in confidence in flying or staying in hotels. These were the travel arrangements of choice. When asked how they would travel, less than 20% chose their own personal vehicle or a vacation rental property.
The respondents said they would feel most comfortable in places and communities that stressed mask wearing and following safety standards. While this may not be a surprise, it stresses the importance of community and industry safety standards for inspiring travelers to venture out.
‘And they’re always glad you came’
Restaurants and bars that are poised to reopen should plan for a resurgence of business. Keeping in touch with customers and takeout or delivery services helped many business owners squeeze by in these tough times.
However, our survey showed that the majority of respondents are missing happy hour, dining indoors and places that offer food they can’t make at home. Dining by the water, dinner parties with friends, coffee shop breakfasts, private clubs and business luncheons were among the types of gatherings desired soon.
‘You’ll be back, soon you’ll see’
Other places and event experiences that our respondents are putting on their post-pandemic wish lists are going to concerts or performing arts events. The arts have suffered a great deal during the pandemic, with fewer actual programs and a reliance on government funding, foundation and benefactor donations to host virtual art events. These organizations are on the comeback lists of more than half of our respondents. Spa visits, cruises and sporting events also ranked high.
‘I feel a change in the air’
Some experiences during the pandemic have opened our respondents’ eyes about their hectic lives. And, some businesses have found ways to make their customers’ lives less hectic by streamlining delivery of their products and services. The success of streaming movies, grocery delivery, subscription services and substituting hotel room keys with app-based keys show the benefit of such service improvements.
Knowing what your customers want and need after the pandemic may or may not change your product/service mix, but it can help you message or deliver in ways that encourage customers to come back quickly and build long-lasting relationships — definitely a competitive advantage.
Amelia Island “Moments” Campaign Brings Home SMARTIES Awards
The Amelia Island Convention & Visitors Bureau was awarded two esteemed 2020 SMARTIES Awards, the world’s first marketing award recognizing innovation. Presented by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), one Silver SMARTIES X Award and one Silver SMARTIES North America Award go to the Amelia Island “Moments” campaign in the AR/VR and Pivot Marketing categories.
The entries were part of the destination’s Welcome Back campaign from COVID-19, which Starmark developed and implemented. We refreshed their campaign assets, crafted strategic messaging and deployed new technologies. Fully integrated, the “Moments” campaign was able to sustain visitation and economic growth for local businesses, vacation rentals and hotels.
“My team and I are delighted that this campaign was honored on a global scale. Amelia Island continues to push the envelope in the travel space, and we are very grateful that Starmark has helped us innovate on a whole new level, especially this year.” — Amy Boek, Chief Marketing Officer at the Amelia Island Convention & Visitors Bureau
About the SMARTIES X Awards
The SMARTIES X Award is the highest achievement across the globe honoring and awarding outstanding innovation resulting in significant business impact for brands, agencies, media companies and technology providers. A highly competitive and coveted award, SMARTIES X was only awarded to three entries in the world in the AR/VR category in 2020. Winners are among the best in the modern marketing community: Gold in the AR/VR category went to the LA Rams, while Gold for Pivot Marketing went to Cadillac.
“We are particularly proud of our latest win. It was so rewarding to help Amelia Island take 2020 into their own hands and come out on top.” – Dale Baron, Executive Creative Director at Starmark
About Amelia Island
Located just off the coast of northeast Florida, Amelia Island is easy to reach, but hard to forget. With 13 miles of beautiful beaches, abundant native wildlife, and pristine waters, this barrier island has long been a beloved destination for visitors and residents alike.
Starmark is thrilled with this distinction and our Amelia Island partnership. We are excited to create more mobile-friendly campaigns and lead-gen strategies for the destination in the future.
Three expert tips to improve digital marketing ROI
Even in the midst of a noisy political season, a time of cord cutters and a plethora of pandemic news, you still can—indeed you still must—market your products and services. And if, like most businesses, your media plan includes digital media—search, streaming and social—the following advice from a variety of media experts will help you get the most bang for your buck in each medium.
No. 1: Search-optimize content for current popular keywords
Online searches for many product categories have spiked in recent months. At the same time, businesses have more data than ever before to tell if their products and services fit the needs and wants of online searchers.
Search experts say you should look to Google Trends for the most popular search keywords at any given moment. This free tool allows you to filter by topic or industry—as well as compare the performance of different keywords over time. Currently, most industries are finding a surge of keywords focused on sanitation and safety.
In the hospitality industry, a term rising in popularity is hotel sanitation. If you are a hotel, it makes sense to optimize for this search trend by adding content to your site with relevant information on the sanitation measures you are taking. The operative term here is relevant information. Search engines are in the business of sending people to the right answers to their questions, and if your content doesn’t have credibility or match the searcher’s intent, this will undermine your SEO efforts. Adding content such as the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau Safe + Clean Pledge and safety messaging from the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance Supporters of Broward (SOB) campaign to your pages are two ways to add credibility.
To maximize your ROI from search optimization, it’s important to revisit the trends and how your content aligns with them—as well as your plans to bring searchers into the sales funnel—at least every few months. If you haven’t revisited your site content and optimization in the last few months, it’s time for an update. Tools that can help include Google Trends (of course), but also Moz, SEM Rush and AHREFS.com. These sites can help you perform keyword research, examine search volume, see what the competition is doing and help with site audits. But, like any tool, these only work if you use them diligently.
No. 2: Stream short videos more effectively with OTT
When cord cutters are watching their favorite shows on ad-supported streaming services like Hulu, Amazon, YouTube and CBS All Access, how do you get the attention of your target audience? For these viewers, it makes sense to bypass the traditional television networks in favor of buying over the top (OTT) advertising. OTT allows you to reach your target audience with a strategic campaign across multiple devices in specific geotargeted areas that matter. This means you’re spending dollars where they count the most. Additionally, videos on these platforms give viewers the opportunity to take an action by clicking, which can become an important part of your lead generation program that adds prospects to your sales funnel.
OTT buys allow for more control over your campaign, frequent changes to keep messaging fresh and relevant, high-view completion rates, in-stream only and non-skippable content—so you only pay for actual ad views and not mere placement.
Digital partners such as iHeartMedia, Effectv and Entercom offer OTT advertising. They provide a great starting point for investigating the possibilities of OTT.
When setting up your paid social media strategy, think about the behaviors that are truly valuable to your business. For instance, if you are still paying money to boost Facebook posts, now’s the time to redirect those dollars. Instead of paying for likes and comments, choose a consideration objective, like video views, to pay as low as a penny per view.
You should also consider running an always-on retargeting campaign. By using your Facebook pixel on high-value website pages, you can recapture visitors to serve them a unique message on social media to multiply your ROI. It’s a great way to close the gap for lead recapture and conversions at lower cost than a prospecting audience.
On the organic side of social media, consider that your employees can be successful micro-influencers when they distribute and promote your business content on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. An example could be a thought leadership piece written by your CEO and distributed by your employees to their networks. It’s quite possibly the lowest-cost way to expand your content reach to those who already have a connection to your company.
Right now, taking smart actions pays even greater dividends
Marketing during a downturn means you enjoy less category competition and greater return on your digital spend. Whether you can use one or all three of these affordable digital marketing strategies, you can expect to see greater ROI now, when every dollar invested in marketing matters more—and that’s definitely a competitive advantage.
3 Marketing Tips You Can Learn From TikTok
With over 2 billion downloads worldwide, TikTok has become the largest growing social media network. Whether it aligns with your content goals or not, there are some serious learnings all marketers should pay attention to.
1. The Riches Are in the Niches
TikTok is more than dance videos and lip syncing. Creators that have seen viral success by finding their tribe through creating consistent niche content. This allows the algorithm to work in your favor to easily be discovered by like-minded people, which validates that TikTok is for everyone.
2. Tell a Short Story
Just like all social platforms storytelling is a must, but getting to the point is key. Creators have up to 60 seconds to do a quick welcome, introduce a topic, deliver usable actionable info and sign off.
Creating a template style format will establish a replicable format that will save time and establish a consistent style for a beginning, middle and end.
3. Perfect Isn’t Authentic
There’s no elaborate set or background. Creators are making videos on the fly and posting them as often as every day. Videos don’t need to be perfect. Users value relevance and timeliness. Over-editing videos can waste time and miss opportunities to connect to your audience. Get your video up and learn and optimize as you go.
Advertisers on TikTok are required to change their creative every two days. That might sound like a lot, but TikTok is really staying true to it’s authentic nature by challenging advertisers to create and distribute content that’s always new and relevant.
Things You Can Do Today
Find your niche and stick to it.
Less is more. Get to the point, and position your most important message to the front.
Stop overthinking and over editing. Set an editing limit, and turn-around creative faster.
Whether we acknowledge it consciously or not, most of us are revisiting the power of words. More time at home means more conversations with friends and family. And nearly 50% of consumers report they are spending more time on social and other online media than they did before the pandemic. During that same time period, nearly 50% have changed brand preferences, as well.
With this new emphasis on conversation, both online and offline, it’s time for every company to renew its focus on brand voice. Broadening your approach to branding beyond just colors, graphics and brandmarks is the key to capitalizing on shifting brand loyalties during this period.
Every brand strives to create a feeling
Carving out a place in a consumer’s mind is a function of how you make that person feel. That’s a core tenet of branding. Brand voice is a critical part of establishing that feeling and, therefore, that place in the mind of a consumer.
Whether you are talking about creating a brandmark or a brand voice, both the personality (how you express outwardly) and the identity (your internal values and company culture) of your brand should merge to create the desired feeling.
Understanding and documenting brand voice
Whereas brand messaging tells you what to say, your brand voice dictates how to say it. This tone and personality aspect of brand voice is what creates a feeling for consumers. Unfortunately, this exercise is often buried or entirely left out of many brand guidelines.
Most branding agencies agree that choosing three or four words or descriptors can help companies guide brand voice. An easy-to-understand example is Coca-Cola. Its three voice descriptors are “positive,” “friendly” and “down to earth.” Its desired place in a consumer’s mind is the happy place that stores positive life experiences. Coca-Cola’s guidelines document those three descriptors and provide written examples of how to use them. This is core material that has guided an almost 130-year-old brand.
Writers love having a well-documented brand voice because it saves a tremendous amount of creative energy and time by creating focus. By demonstrating how the communication should sound and how it should make a consumer feel, you’ve provided effective direction and a way to measure whether that communication is effective. More importantly, it creates messaging consistency that supports brand loyalty, which is so critical today.
Applying brand voice to human-computer interactions
One of the fastest growing human-computer “voice” interactions is guided by a chatbot. And this rapidly growing communications vehicle is a perfect place to demonstrate the power of brand voice.
When you interact with a chatbot when visiting a website or after clicking an ad, the conversation is mostly text—perhaps punctuated by a few emoji. Here, brand voice must stand alone with no graphic support. A great chatbot execution will feel like a human interaction. A bad one can feel robotic and out of sync with your expected brand experience.
Both AI and scripted bots must be “taught” the brand voice to have successful interactions with consumers. Well-written chatbots answer FAQs faster than a link for customers to search. They also help brands learn more about their audiences and define personas.
A well-executed chatbot can become a high-performing sales or customer service representative for your company. A poor one can cause drop-off without finishing the chat. The key differentiator is creating a conversation that feels human and consistent with the brand.
Meet the Virtual Health Care Coordinator
Chatbots are used in almost every industry that needs sales and service. A local example is NSU Health Clinics, which has locations throughout Broward and Miami-Dade counties. It recently launched a chatbot through Facebook to help connect patients with the services they require. A friendly robot inside an animated in-feed ad gets their attention, and patients are introduced to the Virtual Health Care Coordinator.
The Virtual Health Care Coordinator follows the NSU voice of “confident,” “direct,” “smart” and “conversational” while helping patients request appointments, learn about services and explore locations. It also gives the clinics more information about prospective patients’ interests when they arrive at the clinic.
Brand voice is the key to effective, efficient communication
The time is now to update and strengthen your brand voice and continue to carve out that place in your customer’s mind. It’s the key to helping them feel your brand when they hear or see your messages—which is definitely a competitive advantage.
Virtual reality can take higher education to new heights
Hybrid and remote learning are here to stay at U.S. colleges, universities and grade schools. And while these new teaching modalities pose some challenges for professors and students, they also offer opportunities for new interactive educational experiences. In particular, virtual reality provides a perfect platform to erase the distance from distance learning.
For this article we spoke with VR experts, Bryan Yee and Jay Miolla. Jay is a VR veteran and Managing Director of The Cuttlefish, a company that specializes in immersive, location-based experiences. Bryan is a VR developer who is teaching a Cornell University summer workshop entirely in virtual reality. The workshop title Curating the Future is part of the Millstein Program series that encourages students to investigate the social and political context of technology.
Lose your misconceptions about VR in higher education
According to Bryan Yee, “The first misconception you have to get over is that you can’t be effective as an educator in VR. When you understand the medium and tailor your content to it, you can teach in ways that weren’t possible before.”
“Every teacher is figuring out how to be a virtual professor,” says Jay Miolla. “The notion of a virtual professor is changing on the fly. But virtual teaching is absolutely more successful for the people who look for new ways to use the tech.”
Both Bryan and Jay said one of the biggest missteps they see when educational institutions jump into VR is that they try to recreate previous educational experiences in the new space. On the flip side, they recommend embracing once of the best things about VR: that it allows experiential teaching in a new way. You just have to be willing enough to let go of the old so that you can embrace the new possibilities.
When you understand the medium and tailor your content to it, you can teach in ways that weren’t possible before. — Bryan Yee, Workshop Lead at Cornell University
VR allows students to get hands-on
At Cornell, Bryan’s students meet in a VR space called The Platform. The space allows students using an Oculus Quest to interact in VR using their real hands instead of controllers. Immediately, seminar participants began to hug or high-five when they got together—much-needed social connections during a summer of lockdown.
When Bryan realized his students were responding to this pent-up need for physical interaction, he actually modified elements of the curriculum to be more physically interactive. He took greater advantage of the tactile capabilities of the Oculus Quest, and, to introduce the concept, he created a jukebox students could bang to turn on the music, in the style of Arthur Fonzarelli of “Happy Days”. While the cultural reference might have been lost on his Gen Z students, the fun certainly wasn’t.
Put students at the center of the VR education experience
Jay Miolla says, “Zoom is only effective for announcements. Collaboration is a challenge. But there’s potential in creating individualized experiences that can be delivered in education.”
Putting students at the center is one of the core tenets of active learning, and it’s one way that VR excels. Because VR in a shared space is about collaboration—not one-way monologue.
Zoom is only effective for announcements. Collaboration is a challenge. — Jay Miolla, Managing Director, The Cuttlefish.
Bryan’s Curating the Future workshop for Cornell is all about helping students develop skills creating for Unity 3D, the most widely used 3D rendering engine.Following the rollout of the interactive object feature to The Platform, students can now curate their own space and fill it with their own objects created using Unity. This self-guided approach to creation allows them to teach themselves and teach each other — while building confidence in their skills. Bryan joked, “I think they actually teach each other more than I teach them.”
Get ready to experiment
No one has all the solutions at this moment for how to best deliver remote and hybrid learning. It’s about experimenting and adapting. And that means getting comfortable with trying new things. For instance, Bryan Yee and his fellow lecturers started holding faculty meetings in VR to get more people comfortable with the technology.
You’re not just teaching, you’re also learning. — Bryan Yee
Jay Miolla says, “We’re very early in the adoption curve for immersive tech. The pitfall to avoid is using it solely for the whiz-bang value. The real, lasting uses of VR are not the attempts to replace existing classroom experiences, they’re about doing things that you can’t do any other way.”
Bryan adds, “The most important thing to remember is that you’re not just teaching, you’re also learning. You’re learning and exploring how to reach and teach your students. You can modify and be responsive to what you’re seeing. AR, VR, virtual platforms give you more flexibility to shape the experiment with your students.”
Here’s what you can do right now
Both Bryan and Jay recommend that any college, university or grade school interested in offering VR educational experiences should prepare by getting hands on with the technology now. “Getting the equipment is the key,” says Bryan. “Tech equality is an important aspect of making this work. When creating or meeting in VR, it’s about providing students an even playing field.”
Start experimenting now to find your fit. — Jay Miolla
There are many different hardware offerings and scores of software solutions that can be adapted for VR education. “You have to build your curriculum to account for the technology, and that takes some pre-work,” says Bryan Yee. Jay Miolla adds, “Start experimenting now to find your fit. Keep the outcome in mind—it’s about delivering something new and better, rather than replicating what you used to do in the classroom.”
Starmark and our friends, Bryan and Jay, have tons of experience developing and deploying AR and VR experiences that solve modern problems. If you’re not sure where to start, get in touch with us. And definitely check out our eight-step guide to getting your first AR project off the ground.
Five tips for adapting your brand personality to new tech and new media
”They may forget what you said, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel.” That Maya Angelou quote comes to us from voice artist Mindy Baer, and it underlines what this entire article is about. Because brand personality, more than anything else, is the way to carve out a space in the minds of consumers by creating an emotional connection.
The future of digital marketing offers space in emerging tech, like voice assistants, and new media, like TikTok. Now, it’s time for companies to consider how well documented and consistent their brand personalities are — because these new opportunities come at the expense of many of the crutches relied upon in the past by logo and design-driven legacy brands.
In this article, a panel of experts offers their advice on what any brand steward or marketing professional needs to know to stick the landing when taking the leap into emerging digital marketing trends and new channels. Because whether 2020 has you looking to take your brand to TikTok, augmented reality, immersive video, voice assistants, chatbots or virtual trade shows, defining your brand personality is the key to getting it right.
What is brand personality?
This is one topic that deserves its own article, which is why we wrote one. But to keep things simple here, think about this: What defines you as a person? Your interests, your mission, your appearance, your voice, your actions and your demeanor — just for a start. A brand is no different. The best, most successful ones are driven by well formed personalities.
Jennifer Whetzel of Ladyjane Branding says, “With my clients, I try to make it simple and fun. I have them take a short quiz that helps me understand who they are, and then we talk through different types of brand archetypes within the cannabis marketplace to help them fully define their brand personality.”
Three of the brand archetypes used by Ladyjane Branding — the Eternal Child, Explorer and Socialite, respectively.
Tip #1: Define your own space in new media
”One misstep we see are companies trying to define themselves purely in relation to their product or service category. When you think about it, those product categories aren’t meaningful to real people out in the real world. They aren’t forming a relationship with your laundry detergent because of how different you are from your competitors,” says Dave Berg of Shepherd. Shepherd specializes in using data-driven audience analysis to help clients uncover new growth opportunities by uncovering the passions that unite people.
Dave adds, “That kind of category-comparative thinking is a relic of a world where you could buy people’s attention. It’s just not the world we’re living in today.”
They aren’t forming a relationship with your laundry detergent because of how different you are from your competitors.” — Dave Berg, Shepherd
The takeaway here is to find your own brand personality that’s authentic and matches your common interests with audiences. Focusing too much on what the competition is doing is a trap.
”We always try to find the clear space in the sports market for our clients,” says Bill Wollert, Managing Director of Optimum Sports, the dedicated sports marketing division of Omnicom. “With a clear brand focus and personality, it’s easier for our team to find the ways they can add value to the space in ways others couldn’t or wouldn’t,” he added.
“With a clear brand focus and personality, it’s easier for our team to find the ways they can add value to the space in ways others couldn’t or wouldn’t.” — Bill Wollert, Optimum Sports/Omnicom
Tip #2: Use your brand personality to eliminate waste
Let’s face it; there’s a cost to creating an AR experience or diving into a new social channel. “Even if it’s not a big deal to fund the up-front development or the ongoing costs of content, if you’re investing in a tool or a channel that doesn’t fit your brand and audience, you’re never going to get the value out of it,” says Sarai Nuñez, social media consultant and professor for University of Miami’s School of Communication.
“One of the first things I work through with many clients is getting past the idea that we’re for everyone. One of the most powerful things about defining your brand personality is it tells you who you’re not. And that helps you make real business decisions about where to invest and what to avoid,” adds Jennifer Whetzel. Ladyjane Branding specializes in helping cannabis brands find their personality and voice in an emerging market.
One of the most powerful things about defining your brand personality is it tells you who you’re not.” – Jennifer Whetzel, Ladyjane Branding
Eliminating the irrelevant is one critical but overlooked function of a documented brand personality. It will help you figure out what audiences aren’t going to be relevant targets. And it will also help you figure out what media just aren’t a good fit for you and the value you offer.
This is a powerful tool for helping you avoid missteps in new media and failed experiments in new tech. Sarai Nuñez says, “Trust the people you’ve hired to help you with your brand. If they’re steering you away from a certain medium or steering you toward something else, it’s because they’re trying to find what fits.” Because for brands, as with people, there are absolutely different strokes for different folks.
Tip 3: Brand development can help you find your tribe
Part of the brand personality process helps you uncover what’s important to you. And those brand passion points are the key to making real connections with new communities. For instance, if you’re a tool brand that values ingenuity, it’s easier to see how you might look beyond your audiences of craftspeople and DIYers to find a shared passion with PC builders and IT professionals.
”When a brand understands who it is, it’s easier to find new growth audiences that make sense. The big data part of what we do helps find those tribes united by a strong shared interest,” says Dave Burg. “A brand that knows itself is going to be able to build authentic relationships in those communities,” he adds.
”As we’ve seen cable TV penetration rates decline and entertainment viewership shift to OTT and VOD services, traditional cable and broadcast sports programming viewership has remained relatively stable — or gone up in some cases. Sports is still a way to deliver massive reach, and these consumption shifts have given advertisers a second chance to rethink their sports strategies. As we’ve seen cable TV penetration rates decline, women’s sports is now one of the more efficient ways to reach female audiences,” says Bill Wollert. “And you’re part of the conversation that you know the audience is passionate about,” he adds.
Tip 4: Figure out what value your brand can provide
According to Bill Wollert of Optimum Sports, the clients who’ve figured out how to add value to the communal experience for sports fans are the ones who’ve benefited most. He went on to say, “When an advertiser is looking to enter into the sports marketplace, we push them to think about how they can bring value to the fans. Sports fans always want to get closer to the game, so figuring out how to do that can unlock new opportunities. It’s all about having a fan-first mindset.”
“When an advertiser is looking to enter into the sports marketplace, we push them to think about how they can bring value to the fans.” – Bill Wollert, Optimum Sports/Omnicom
Credits: Sophie Robbins and Francesca deWeerdt, University of Miami
“The students in my Advanced Creative Development class are great at this because they’re so much closer to emerging trends,” says Sarai Nuñez. “For a COVID-related brief, they came up with an idea for Goodwill; a TikTok challenge to try on everything in your closet and have friends tell you what to keep or donate. We dug into the audiences, really got to know their struggles, and this was a great use of TikTok to escape boredom in quarantine in a way that helps Goodwill restock.”
These service-minded questions are absolutely the crux of any good branding endeavor, and defining those values should be part of your brand personality process. The important thing to remember here is to approach any new marketing technology or new media channel with an idea of how you can make the space better. What fun can you add for users? How can you address a pain point? How can you amplify their passion?
Tip 5: In the world of marketing technology, it pays to make your brand more human
”I have to evaluate every opportunity by considering if I can portray this honestly,” says Mindy Baer. “When I’m creating a promo for a new show, I have to think about the experience of watching it. Does it need to feel like curling up next to your friend on the couch with a glass of wine or is it a late-night true crime nail-biter?”
”The first thing we do is start talking about human characteristics and archetypes, and that’s no accident,” says Jennifer Whetzel. “I really need my clients to think about their brands as real people with real personalities and dimension.”
Developing a real human personality is what allows you to relate to an audience in a way that’s meaningful and authentic. But don’t overcomplicate it. Start by defining the very small number of things that should always be true about any interaction with your brand. Are you absolutely always cheeky and joyful? What about uplifting and supportive? The goal isn’t to define everything you can be, but instead to outline what you must always be to maintain consistency. If this sounds tough, it’s because self-examination always is. And while it’s totally possible to outline your brand personality within your own company, the process is much easier with the help of an outside perspective from an agency partner or consultant.
Your brand personality gives you the power to go forth and conquer
If you haven’t defined your brand personality, we hope these tips have shown you how much you stand to gain by getting real before diving into emerging media or tech. Knowing who you are, definitively, will save you immeasurably in the long run by helping you determine how, where and with whom to play.
This group of experts — from the emerging market of cannabis branding to sports marketing to professional commercial voice work to higher education to audience segmentation and analytics — hopes this article will help you understand and document your brand personality so that you can step more boldly into new spaces. If you want to know more about developing your brand personality in new places, check out our articles on developing your brand personality the easy way, finding your brand personality in your favorite TV characters and how to bring your brand to life in augmented reality.
Thanks again to Jennifer Whetzel of Ladyjane Branding, Voice Artist Mindy Baer, Bill Wollert of Omnicom’s Optimum Sports, Dave Berg of Shepherd and Sarai Nuñez of University of Miami for lending your expertise.
How to show off your brand personality in AR marketing
Brands that want to wow their audiences need to make bold marketing decisions.
Referring to the latest technological trends is always a great place to start; it shows you are progressive and not afraid of change.
However, just because the words “augmented reality” scream, “Cool factor!” doesn’t mean your brand’s AR activation will automatically connect with your audience. A truly great AR execution needs to be driven by your brand personality. The magic is in the little details and touches that make the world you’re creating uniquely you.
So, here are our top tips to bring your corporate identity and brand personality to life in AR — paired with some examples we’ve produced for our clients.
1. Gamify your AR experience with key brand elements
It’s called an AR “experience” for a reason! Give your audience a chance to explore, interact with — and enjoy — the space you’ve created.
The big benefit of AR is you can get audience members absorbed and involved. Use your brand voice to entertain them with quizzes, videos, captions and more brand elements filled with information about what you have to offer. This turns what people may think of as an entirely visual production into something much more.
To promote the FlyGreen MIA sustainability project, we developed the “ARport” app. With a model of the airport itself – complete with patrolling helicopters and a monorail—ARport was an augmented reality trivia scavenger hunt passengers used to uncover all the ways MIA was saving energy and water while also picking up helpful tips for home.
Users could learn who the first U.S. president to install HVAC in the White House was (*cough* President William Howard Taft *cough*) and then gain a fun fact about the new air conditioning system FPL installed at MIA.
The entertaining trivia game backed by strong statistics and brand videos made FPL’s “green” brand personality stand out, even persuading the audience to maintain sustainable lifestyles of their own.
2. Infuse your augmented reality creation with your brand’s reality
Is there something big coming up for your brand? Or maybe there’s just an event next season where you want to make a splash? They say timing is everything, and they’re not wrong.
Tying your AR experience around a specific moment in time will give your audience a good idea of where you’re at as a brand. You can give them something to look forward to, like a portal to a vacation in paradise or a sneak peek at a new building. Either way, you’re letting them in on a secret and getting them excited for what’s next.
The Greater Fort Lauderdale / Broward County Convention Center District is undergoing an epic $1 billion expansion project. Since the construction is expected to take several years, the Group Sales team needed help laying the foundation and maintaining momentum for a successful opening.
Starmark created an AR portal to the newly renovated convention center. Utilized as a sales tool, the portal essentially transported potential bookers to the future. It debuted at the groundbreaking event for the convention center, where attendees could see what’s to come and share in the brand’s anticipation. The portal even had little people roaming the grounds — a small brand personality detail that would make any user smile.
3. Sum up your brand personality using an iconic visual cue
This part of the article is for those that say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” While they clearly may not have met a Copywriter before (no shade), this is one cliché that deserves more attention.
Instagram or Snapchat AR filters can emulate your entire brand personality and tone of voice — especially if they fall into a more playful category. Filters will engage consumers, stand out among the noise and spread like wildfire. All you need is a visual that encapsulates your corporate identity.
AR Marketing Real World Example: Starmark International
We produced an Instagram AR filter to entertain our clients at our annual holiday party. Starmark is all about creating BIG IDEAS that make an impact. So, when the time came to select our filter’s visual cue, a light bulb was a (pun intended) no brainer.
Users could make the lightbulb grow bigger the more and more they opened their mouths, as if experiencing the moment of a big idea. Including movement in AR filters is an immediate attention-grabber and plays well to our light-hearted brand personality. The lightbulb perfectly sums up what we do and who we are.
Tell your brand’s story through AR
Augmented reality is a surprisingly easy and inexpensive way to offer immersive digital experiences that engage consumers. Just remember what really makes them memorable is what makes you memorable. You’re your own cool factor. So get out there, and let it shine.
The success of the annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, its first fully virtual event, was evident last month. Over two days, Apple enjoyed a global audience of developers that reached far beyond its previous in-person annual conferences.
Versus a webinar or typical online meeting, the live nature and interactivity of virtual trade shows can replicate the essential business functions of in-person conferences. It’s a chance for exhibitors to showcase new products live. It’s a chance for buyers to ask questions of the experts. And, as in Apple’s case, it’s for businesses to reach an audience that extends far beyond what you could draw to an in-person trade show.
Technology adds advantages to virtual trade shows
Jim Grove, VP of marketing with McVeigh Global in New York, says the technology for virtual trade shows has been around for nearly a decade. “Today, virtual event technologies have advanced significantly, and the investment pales next to the ability to stay in touch with your target customers and build relationships with new prospects.”
“The plus of the virtual technologies is that you can also create an environment that will specifically appeal to your audience targets. Exhibitors can also build content for their virtual presentations that are merged with multiple technologies to allow them to be present in-person at trade shows,” he said. “After the trade shows have ended, attendees can go back and view the products that have interested them and contact organizations for more in-person conversations. So, virtual trade shows can keep on selling for longer periods of time.”
Virtual investment offers better information
Grove also points to the information side of the business being enhanced online by companies like Atlanta-based Avolio. A registration and event management software company, Avolio’s global clients include some exhibitions owned by Informa Markets, which has North American offices in Fort Lauderdale.
Avolio CIO David Fattahian says: “Trade shows and conferences are about information. So, for us, getting that information out for the right people at the right time is what’s important.”
“With virtual trade shows, companies realize a tremendous cost savings from airlines, shipping, even saving on the many gallons of coffee they purchase at physical events,” he said. “However, with a hybrid of the physical and virtual exhibition, companies will not only connect with the 10,000 attendees to the show; they will be able to see 10,000-plus more attendees virtually from the same show investment.”
The future of trade shows
Physical costs aside, Fattahian and Grove agree on the future of trade shows.
“Physical trade shows aren’t going away,” Grove said. “In fact, people are clamoring for the interaction they offer. But really well-produced virtual trade shows are going to have all of the same aspects expected with live events and more. We strive for human interaction, even if the touch has to be virtual.”
Renee Jacobs, executive VP of McVeigh Global in San Diego, said virtual meeting plans for 2021 are a contingency for the company’s clients. Additionally, McVeigh is continuing to offer 2D and 3D virtual technology for events like product demonstrations and workshops. They also offer opportunities for attendees to book online meetings with product experts at exhibit booths.
When the word “virus” was breathed in the media in early 2020, John Cotter, COO of American Meetings in Fort Lauderdale, told me his company was supporting a growing demand for virtual meetings and conferences. Hopefully, his company and others will help businesses come out of the shadows and thrive with these virtual technologies.
We are all living in the online world more than ever before. And we will soon be able to take what we have learned about virtual online technologies and make a hybrid of virtual and physical world experiences to gain more exposure for our businesses globally—definitely a competitive advantage.
How your favorite TV show characters can help you define your brand personality
So you have a brand. You have your tagline. You have your logo. You have your primary and secondary color palettes.
Now what?
Well, just ask the question: “WWDDD?” (What would Don Draper do?)
Ok, maybe the self-described digital Mad Man isn’t the best advertising role model. But the way he carries himself is what we’re really hinting at. Personality, or in his case “confidence,” is everything when it comes to a successful brand.
Defining your brand personality is a necessary step in making your brand memorable, especially if you carry it consistently in everything you do. At Starmark, we use a brand attribute exercise called a “North Star,” where we determine a key phrase for marketers to keep in mind during all creative decisions. Just like Don Draper, brands should use their personality and North Star to power through campaigns, especially in certain types of new media.
Using TV show characters to explain brand personality
In case you haven’t caught on, Starmarkers are huge TV fans, and we decided to highlight some of our beloved TV characters, like Don, to explain just how brand personality works. We took these iconic characters — each known for their unique quirks and epic behaviors — and exhibited why any company should follow their lead.
And…action!
1. Michael Scott, “The Office”
Michael Scott was a boss for a reason. He was proud of his company, always tried to prove himself and committed to a gag no matter how cringey it could be. Most of all — he had a big heart. If your corporate branding is like Dunder Mifflin’s Michael, you’d always surprise your audience with sporadic advertising that is never the same. You’d shamelessly tout your product/service, make people laugh in an uncomfortable silence and show a bit of lovable compassion here and there throughout different types of media.
Brand Attributes:Childish, Dedicated, Vain, Sensitive, Awkward
North Star:Delusional creative
Best Media Fit:Paid Instagram Stories
2. Eleven, “Stranger Things”
At first, Eleven was perceived as a scared, timid child. As time progressed, she grew into her own and became the fierce, caring hero she is today. If your brand is like Eleven, you would keep things understated — with small, brief words in your copy. When the time is right, you would be bold, be unafraid to speak your mind and stand up for what you believe in. Teaser campaigns will be your new best friend (second best to waffles, that is).
Best Media Fit:Teaser guerilla marketing and social media campaigns
3. Tyrion Lannister, “Game of Thrones”
Tyrion has been mistreated his entire life, so he was someone you rooted for to succeed. People underestimated him. He used his sharp tongue to talk himself out of just about everything. If Tyrion resonates with your brand personality, you would write long advertisements disguised as editorial articles with clever videos to prove your brand is a knowledgeable one. Let’s just say your content strategy would be the iron throne in the eyes of your competitors.
First things first, you don’t cross Miranda Bailey. She started out nicknamed “The Nazi” after all, but grew into a well-respected, mothering Chief of Surgery. She’s the epitome of tough love: compassionate to a degree, but unafraid to tell it like it is to teach you a lesson. If Miranda is close to your brand personality, you would interrupt people at just the right time to check up on them, educate and expand their awareness of your brand.
Brand Attributes:Smart, strong, sassy, focused
North Star:No-nonsense mentor
Best Media Fit:Retargeting digital banner ads
5. Barney Stinson, “How I Met Your Mother”
Barney Stinson was a character you’d love to…wait for it…hate. He was the ultimate bro, a shameless womanizer and an uber loyal friend. He also loved playing games, like slap bets and laser tag, and basically had his own brand-isms every episode. Barney was a man of the people, and your brand would have recognizable headlines and legendary activations at every big event in town, plus a surprisingly likable tone of voice. So suit up, and take over the next big thing.
Sue Sylvester’s bright red tracksuit wasn’t her only memorable characteristic. She was brazen, loud and gave insulting monologues that put even Shakespeare to shame. She also had a soft side when it came to her sister, her trusted sidekick Becky Jackson and, yes, even the glee club. Her fearlessness and desire to outshine others makes her willing to take risks. Your brand’s reign as Sue Sylvester would go above and beyond to get your point across — even tackle newer technologies like augmented reality.
Brand Attributes:Entitled, cold, ambitious, conniving and (sometimes) soft
North Star:Proud agitator
Best Media Fit:AR app
Make Your Brand Personality Debut
Flaws and all, these characters are consistently endearing and true to themselves. Strong brands are the same. We’ve determined brand personalities for major companies who were looking to strengthen their voice and newbies who were only just finding their footing. Defining your brand personality doesn’t have to be a drag. It’s as easy as turning on your preferred streaming service and getting to know and love your favorite character. So, let’s uncover your inner Don Draper and get to work.
