PDA

View Full Version : Branding consistency



ashlen
06-27-2014, 07:18 PM
How do all of you address branding consistency when it comes to social media? Example..

There is a yoga studio that has an overall serious and knowledgeable tone to its web presence, there is not much personality to the website and the studio actually wants to develop an online school for people around the globe to attend (online courses). Do you think it is okay to post in FB communities a picture of cats in a yoga pose and ask "Which is your favorite?" - it is a bit silly for the status quo of the yoga studio but it is a great way to increase engagement. How would you address this situation? The cat pic is very unique compared to content in most yoga communities but again a bit silly when it comes to branding consistency.

Pic example: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-N-FD9lo_gf0/U6wkIYiByDI/AAAAAAAAAW0/NvHUQ_czy-Q/w419-h505-no/yoga-cats.png

kamilagornia
06-28-2014, 09:28 AM
Haha those pics of the cats are adorable and hilarious at the same time.

I would say, it might be a little confusing if all of their voice & tone is serious and all of the sudden they come out with this super silly post. It is not only brand-inconsistent, it might also lose some credibilty. If some people love the yoga studio because of it's serious and knowleagable tone, and then they see something they this - they might feel confused, like it's obvious that the yoga studio is running out of ideas and trying to resort to strange ways to get engagement. Branding should always be consistent, at least in terms of voice.

I would suggest looking at the brand strategy (or creating one, if none exists) and seeing how you want it to be perceived. What it offers. And from there think of some ways to create social media posts that would also get engagement without compromising the credibility and authority of the business (as established by the prior branding).

If the business simply thinks it's time for a re-brand, then do it. No issues. It's okay if they change their voice. But again, be consistent from there on out if that's the case as well.

Paul
06-28-2014, 02:58 PM
I think the “yoga cats” are brilliant! Some companies pay big money to agencies to develop memorable identifiable characters or logos.

I wouldn’t be too concerned about the kittens conflicting with the seriousness of yoga. Look at Geico, AFLAC and Progressive. Can’t be much more serious than insurance and they have lizards, ducks and Flo as their mascots/icons/logos.

Brand consistency is important but first you need brand recognition. I don’t know how well established your business is but often small businesses don’t have the “brand recognition” they think.

I can’t imagine existing clients being upset or confused by the cats. It’s clever and cute and who doesn’t love kittens. What’s the alternative, a fit gal in a yoga pose, like every other yoga business? Companies battle to differentiate themselves from the competition. So unless you’re strictly teaching top level advanced yoga I’d embrace the kittens. Work those kitties to death in your marketing.

Davidl
11-21-2014, 01:46 AM
I may be wrong, but Car insurance companies wants to not be looked at as having a stern, strict "negative corporate" atmosphere to them, so they use mascots to get people off their perceptions. If geico was to go the other way on one commercial to not use the mascot and act corporate then it wouldn't be a good move. The above situation (exact opposite image as Geico) they want to be taken seriously, yet they put something a bit silly. It could subconsciously influence people to believe a change in quality of service or change has taken place because of a different approach in their image = different service.

MikeyBW
12-21-2014, 12:53 PM
Every now and then something like that is fine I think. For a Friday Funny or something like that. Generally speaking though you should be looking to create content that is relevant and useful to your audience. This can be just as engaging as a silly cat picture but have far much more weight behind them and also be entirely on brand.

Harold Mansfield
01-14-2015, 10:30 AM
If you don't have a marketing department that sits around crunching numbers and running focus groups, you have to test market your ideas yourself. Try the funny cats for a while and see what kind of response it gets. If there are any comments. Shares. Feedback.

If it doesn't seem to be working, try something else.

I'm not suggesting that you jump around every 5 days trying to see what sticks, but the only way you're going to know if something works is to prepare yourself as best you can with knowledge, and properly execute it. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Most times it's the execution. We've all seen companies fall flat on their face with advertising gimmicks. Learn from their mistakes and successes and give it a shot.

We're talking about funny cats here. The internet's junk food. The worse that can happen is that no one cares. It's not like you're making a funny video of chunking babies from rooftops. Now something like that is a risk. Funny cats on the internet is not much of a risk. Give it a shot.

ryantc
01-25-2015, 05:06 PM
Great examples of businesses that nail social media branding consistency.
8 Businesses That Nail Social Media Brand Consistency (http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/34231/8-Businesses-That-Nail-Social-Media-Brand-Consistency.aspx)

BradyArevalo
01-26-2015, 09:09 AM
You are right, but I think that you can deviate from your brand a little, as long as it is OK for your specific industry. For example, people in the mortuary industry would not get away with cat pictures. But the yoga industry, people are far more likely to accept that.