What comes to mind when we hear the term marketing strategy? Do we consider a specific portion of our marketing efforts or the entire chunk of marketing campaign needs to be acknowledged? If your answer is in favor of the latter scenario, then you are on the right path. How you position yourself, your visibility plan, your pricing plan, and much more is included in your marketing strategy.
In the current global market scenario, it has become exceedingly important to associate your brand with actual human faces and personalities and doing so provides guaranteed results towards the success of your company. Let us consider some important aspects of how a consumer mind works and how humans make a brand more relatable to their audiences.
1) Connecting as a human being
We human beings are designed in such a way that we yearn for human interaction. When we can associate an individual with a brand, it becomes much easier to connect with them. A number of NGO’s associate individuals with their brands who have done related work in their lives and this gives the audience the opportunity and incentive to connect with them. The same goes for other any other business. A food-related brand would benefit from employing a food connoisseur in their marketing strategy as this also increases its credibility in the mind of the consumers. We can observe how Nike and Adidas employ their logos to brand with their consumers, but when their adverts contain actual personalities like David Beckham or Cristiano Ronaldo, the connecting process becomes all the easier and practical.
2) Personalities and identities have traits associated with them
Marlboro portrays the picture of the perfect man through their marketing campaigns. The core objective behind that is to make the audiences relate with the personnel shown in their adverts as well as with their “manly” traits. Consumers also associate traits and personalities with their brands in order to connect more effectively with them. Reebok and Nike employ successful athletes in their ad campaigns so that their consumer segment can relate with their personalities and in turn become loyal consumers to the respective brands which are the core objective behind global marketing efforts. Comcast employs face marketing techniques by depicting active modern families benefiting from their Xfinity internet deals in their adverts which makes their offerings quite relatable.
3) Pictures and faces are easier to remember and recognize
It is a proven study that our visual memory for faces surpasses that for text. There must be numerous brands in your mind whom you can associate with an individual and vice versa. That is definitely the goal behind employing and associating those individuals with the company’s name and personality in the first place. Your subconscious mind can easily bring back faces to the conscious memory and seeing a particular face would instantaneously bring a brand or a certain commodity to mind, which greatly benefits the companies. From a consumer’s perspective, it is quite helpful as well, as the market saturation is increasing by the day and making the right decision is becoming ever more difficult.
4) Trusting individuals is always easier
Trusting a corporation sounds much less viable than trusting an individual. If certain individuals with likable and friendly traits represent a company, people feel more comfortable putting their trust in them. Once the trust is developed, that would establish loyalty between the customer and the company, which goes a long way towards the company becoming successful. A relationship based on trust with customers would also reinforce positive word of mouth for the company which will, in turn, bring in more potential buyers for your business.
5) Identifying yourself with your audience
A brand needs to establish such an image and position where their audiences can identify themselves with it. Every consumer has a personality and preferences, and if they can somehow identify those with a certain brand, that would lead in a long-term relationship with that brand and its products. People will be able to visualize how the offerings from that certain brand would fit in comfortably within their own lifestyles and thus would end up buying more from it. Individuals can thus easily relate to other human beings which might be promoting the brand and their lifestyles and if your brand can achieve that, then voila! You’re on the right path.
6) It is easier talking to a human being rather than a company as a whole
Communication is an important element for developing a long-term relationship with your consumers. Putting your concerns in front of a corporation or a company sounds like a difficult task but if you can pinpoint an individual who can address your concerns, that tasks become a whole lot easier. Consumers will feel more comfortable communicating with individuals who can respond to their queries plus they can form an image in their minds of whom they are talking with. This not only facilitates increased buying but also promotes more active participation by them on various social platforms which are a huge plus for the company.
Remember that the face you incorporate in your marketing strategy doesn’t necessarily have to be an actual character, rather it could easily be a fictional one, as we can see various children-targeted brands come up with fictional characters to form relationships with your audiences. Whether you use a fictional character or an actual one, face recognition and association would definitely help your company stay alive and stay ahead with the ever advancing and cut-throat market competition.
7) Establishes brand repute rapidly
Every brand aims to become relatable; to become a status symbol among their target audience, that is the end goal. We have seen how different brands developed over time. Motorola at one time had that position with their Moto Razer series. Later on, with Steve Jobs appearance Apple won that slot with their various offerings. The personality of the Management helped these companies a lot, Apple in particular to achieve that position. Global reach helps you establish your brand more rapidly.
