Conceptualizing is an integral part of defining a brand or communication strategy and a plan. Conceptualizing is based on various factors like client brief, market research, competitive analysis etc.
Basing concepts on the concrete study is validation for authenticity. Obtaining deep customer insight and business insight is a critical component of successful marketing, and is often a source of competitive advantage. Conceptualizing is defining creative and ingenious ways to advertise a product or a service. The secret sauce is when you work methodically to express and substantiate each step carefully.
It begins with understanding the brand promise or the value proposition. Your brand promise is a specific promise to a specific group of people. To get behind a brand promise is to measure. Conducting customer and employee surveys to determine how well your brand promise resonates with customers. Up next, monitor. Keep regular tabs on how well you deliver on your brand promise and create standards that operationalize it. Then flows the brand positioning and brand development, which is defined as the conceptual place you want to own in the target consumer’s mind — the benefits you want them to think of when they think of your brand.
If the steps are followed systematically, the cause of ambiguity reduces. This clarity results in clever creative thinking, which is also result-oriented. A brand promise is best defined by the client as they know their product/service best. An effective brand-building strategy will maximize customer relevancy and draw a distinct image thereby maximizing brand value.
To cite a case study of our client Godrej Interio, where Bay Leaf was the partnering agency for Modular kitchens, we had brainstormed with the client as to what the brand promise or value proposition would be. What came out of all the discussions with the marketing, product development and sales team was one common USP -‘ERGONOMIC’. The kitchen was scientifically designed to enable the user to be highly productive while working in the kitchen. For example, 26 feet rule of design, active-passive storage, termite-free materials etc
While later the brand positioning was derived from this unique promise. Our research showed that while 6% of people in India chose branded kitchens, 96% still opted for a carpenter-made kitchen. This became a great insight for us to define our positioning to that was – ‘Carpenter vs Modular’ a series of campaigns were designed focused on this subject to communicate pros of modular kitchens which no carpenter could do justice to.
