Branding

1. Ask yourself what void in the market you are filling or the problem you are solving? Be honest.
2. What unique approach are you taking to do so?
3. Ideate and create a prototype that you are proud of. Make something that you believe in. Don’t settle because you will spend money trying to obscure the fact that your product is below standard.
4. Find an authentic cause to support.
5. New brands don’t have to solve the world’s most “unsolvable problems.” There are plenty of locally important causes that brands can support where they can actually make an impact and solve the issue.
6. Leverage your own superpowers instead of outsourcing them to others.
7. Tackle brand awareness the old-fashioned way. Creating awareness for a new brand is challenging when you don’t have a big budget.
8. Friends and family.
9. They believe in word of mouth. That is, words coming out of a mouth and not out of a device.
10. Organic social media is not effective without media amplification. It’s a pay to play ecosystem, but if you can align your content strategy with a social network’s goals, your money will go further.
11. Go analog: catalogs, outdoor advertising, etc. There are amazing ways to blend sophisticated digital targeting data into older mediums, like Programmatic Direct Mail and TV or radio’s transition to Podcasting.
12. Surprise and delight your existing customers when they least expect it — you wouldn’t be here without them.
13. Do invest in strategic and targeted digital marketing to reach your ideal customers.
14. Use analytics and common sense to empathize with your customers and tailor your communication tactics. For example, we know you use your junky email just to sign up for offers — so don’t be surprised when subsequent emails go unopened.
15. Never invest in envy.