Edward Boatman • Feb 13th
When you stroll down the aisle of a grocery store, each product on the shelf is vying for your attention. Maybe you gravitate toward a brand of cookies you recognize from your childhood, reach for a bar of soap branded with green text that says “all-natural ingredients,” or toss a bottle of expensive artisan water into your cart because it has a trendy, minimalist design.
In these situations, you’re being persuaded by the branding of each item. From the custom font of a logo, to the color and design of a product’s packaging, these factors can make the difference between whether a customer chooses your brand or a competitor’s.
But how exactly do you create a successful product branding strategy? Below, we’ll guide you through product branding, its benefits and examples of successful strategies.
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Product branding is the blend of visual, verbal, and experiential elements that differentiates your product from competitors. This includes the colors and designs applied to your product packaging, your logo, the materials your product is made of, and anything else that people associate with your product.
The end goal of your product branding strategy is to build rapport with your customers and persuade them to choose your product over the competition.
Here are some of the benefits of a strong branding strategy:
A strong branding strategy helps your product stand out from competitors. You might capture your audience’s attention with a creative logo, unique packaging or a catchy product name. Think about major brands like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s — the visual elements of these brands immediately catch your eye no matter where you see them. When you’re looking at a row of fast food restaurants or a stocked grocery store shelf, these are the types of brands you typically gravitate toward.
Branding is more than just visuals — it’s also experiential. If you deliver a quality product, customer trust will build organically as people begin to associate your product with positive feelings. As your product rises in status, people might be willing to pay more just because they trust in its quality.
There are countless examples of customer trust elevating a brand. Because Apple computers were commonly used by artists, designers, and musicians, many average users began to view Apple as the “creative” or “professional” competitor to Microsoft. In the same vein, people trust car manufacturers like Toyota because of the trust consumers have in them.
The more unique your product’s identity is, the more likely people are to discuss it with others. Maybe you impress customers with your sleek product design, sustainable materials or a catchy jingle. These factors help your brand stick in the minds of customers, which helps spread brand awareness.
The main difference between corporate branding and product branding is your audience.
While corporate branding targets stakeholders, investors and employees, product branding primarily focuses on customers. However, sometimes brands place their corporate logo onto their products, which blurs the line between the two types of branding.
Corporate branding has more longevity than product branding. While products may come and go, the company that creates them often sticks around. For example, while products like the original Macintosh and iPod are no longer in production, the Apple brand stands strong and continues to release iconic products today.
Product branding is influenced by visual assets and the messaging associated with your product. Since people’s perception of your product can make the difference between commercial success and failure, it’s important to think carefully about each element of your product’s brand.
Here are the main product branding factors you should consider:
As you brainstorm how to execute on each of these factors, think about the feelings you want your customers to associate with your product.
For example, say you’re selling a Bluetooth microphone aimed at appealing to white-collar professionals. You might choose a minimalist logo with a chrome font and neutral colors, while your messaging would be delivered in a professional voice. All of these factors align with one another to create a feeling of elegance and civility.
Creating an effective product branding strategy will help sell more of your product and nourish your customer relationships. Below are some important steps that you should take to create an effective branding strategy.
Before you create your product brand, you need to do your research. Take a look at the tactics other companies are using and take note of what’s successful and what’s not. This knowledge will lay the foundation to inform your strategy.
The way you market your product will vary depending on who your target audience is. For example, if your product is aimed toward high-level executives, you might use more neutral colors and minimalist visuals in your packaging to showcase your brand. If your product is aimed toward kids, you might use more vibrant colors or feature a cartoon mascot to attract their attention.
Once you’ve determined your branding strategy, consistency is key. If you brand with inconsistent colors or the tone of voice in your messaging varies from playful to professional, it may confuse your audience. But when you align your visual assets and brand guidelines, you’re better able to make a lasting positive impression on customers.
Before you create your strategy, it can be helpful to reference the successful tactics of other brands. Check out some of the strategies below to see how brands launched iconic products.
Tesla was founded by two engineers who wanted to prove that electric vehicles are “better, quicker and more fun to drive than gasoline cars.” Today, that sentiment rings true as Tesla is the most valuable automotive brand worldwide.
Tesla distinguishes itself from other vehicles by way of unique product branding. For one, the messaging behind Tesla products emphasizes the importance of sustainability and a green future.
Image Source: Tesla Fans Schweiz
Additionally, the visual assets that Tesla uses goes perfectly with its brand values. The company’s logo and the dynamic design of its cars communicate a futuristic feeling that reminds users that electric cars are contributing to a better tomorrow.
Why it works: The design, purpose-driven messaging and quality behind Tesla cars differentiates them from competitors. While electric cars have been around since the 1800s, Tesla is the first brand to make them mainstream.
Liquid Death launched as a small business in 2019 and grew into a multimillion-dollar company within its first year of sales. The company’s flagship products are water and sparkling water, and its branding strategy helped it stand out in one of the most competitive industries.
Image Source: Liquid Death
While the product itself is just water, Liquid Death is sold in tallboys adorned with skulls featuring the slogan “murder your thirst.” This makes it instantly stand out amongst its competitors in plastic bottles that describe themselves with words like “pure,” “crisp,” or “artesian.”
Why it works: Liquid Death was able to release a product that goes against the grain in a creative way. With a punk design and edgy advertisements, the product sticks in people’s minds as an anti-hero among healthy drinks.
Coca-Cola has been around since the late 1800s. Since then, its product branding has shifted and its packaging has changed, but it remains one of the most popular caffeinated soft drinks in the world today.
A great example of Coca-Cola’s innovative branding strategy is its Share a Coke campaign. The campaign altered the packaging of Coca-Cola bottles to feature the words “Share a Coke with” followed by a name such as “Mark” or “Nicole.” Since Coke markets its product as something to be shared with friends and family, this succinctly ties into the theme of the brand.
Image Source: Coca-Cola Australia
Campaigns like Share a Coke are powerful because they create a unique customer experience. Whether you received a Coke with your name on it as a gift or bought one for a friend, you’ve likely started to associate the brand with the warm feelings of gift-giving.
Why it works: Coca-Cola is different from other brands because it understands how to connect emotionally with its consumers. Through campaigns such as Share a Coke, it becomes more than just a soft drink and begins to represent the connections you make with friends and family.
While Oreo wasn’t the first brand to release a chocolate sandwich cookie, it’s by far the most iconic. A contributor to the brand’s success is its ability to keep up with trends and stay exciting.
For example, Oreo has released red, white and blue Oreos in celebration of the Fourth of July, Oreos with orange creme for Halloween and Oreos with designs inspired by “Game of Thrones” for the show’s 2019 finale.
Image Source: Adweek
One of Oreo’s biggest strengths is its ability to relate to the interests of its customers. Whether the brand is celebrating National Elvis Week with Oreo-themed artwork or acknowledging Pride with an Oreo that contains fillings with every color of the rainbow, Oreo is always communicating its fun but progressive identity to its audience.
Why it works: Oreo is successful because it’s not afraid to take risks and get creative with its branding. Its strategies blend creativity and humor to create a unique product voice that grabs the attention of its customers while staying trendy.
While flushable wet wipes aren’t a new product idea, Dude Wipes differentiates itself by marketing toward a previously untapped market: men.
The brand was established after its founders went to the store to look for wet wipes and found that, while there were options marketed toward women, there were none for men. By creating a brand catering to this untapped niche, Dude Wipes was able to achieve over $40 million in sales in 2020.
Image Source: Dude Products
Why it works: Dude Wipes is successful because it recognized an untapped market for wet wipes. Since other wet wipe brands feature brighter, softer colors with visuals marketed toward other audiences, Dude Wipes stands out with its more masculine company image.
What started as one man selling shoes from the back of his car grew into one of the most influential sports brands of all time. While huge competitors like Puma and Adidas stood in Nike’s way, its ability to create strategic product partnerships helped it find success.
One of the ways that Nike differentiates its basketball shoes from other brands is by creating custom shoes associated with its sponsored athletes. For example, Nike features shoes named after basketball stars such as Lebron James, Kyrie Irving, and Michael Jordan.
This strategy creates an association between the success and athleticism of these players with the Nike shoe that has their name. The best example of this is Nike’s Air Jordan brand of shoe.
Source: Enfnts Terribles
Because of the shoe’s association with Michael Jordan and its level of exclusivity, it has become both a status symbol and collector’s item. For this reason, while Jordans were first released in 1984, they continue to be sought after by self-proclaimed sneakerheads today.
Why it works: Nike understands how to create desirable identities for its products through endorsement. By connecting shoes with world-renowned athletes, the shoes begin to represent the success and work ethic of said athletes.
Strong product branding strategies help you build customer loyalty, spread brand awareness and differentiate your product from competitors. By using the strategies outlined above, you can create a unique identity for your product that resonates with your audience.
To start, Lingo can help you align your visual assets to create a cohesive brand identity to go with your product. By providing you a seamless digital asset management solution, we can help you better store, communicate, and share your brand guidelines and digital assets, helping you to become more effective in your day-to-day asset usage. Start a free trial today.