Brands with benefits can be a winning formula

Picture this: A hoarding displayed across the street you live by. Ads that you encounter in newspapers each day.

Banners which flash online while you browse. Events that demand your attention at malls. The scratch card you receive during the shopping spree.

The ads that hit your television screens. There are so many ways for a marketing strategy to reach out to you; for the sole purpose of creating the inevitable need for that particular brand in your life. But how many of you turn into consumers for such brands? Marketing does play a crucial role in transforming a product into a brand — giving it a personality, an attitude of its own and building its image. But before a brand enters the consumer market, it’s well-groomed with marketing insights and powered by advertising strategies.

A brand uses its communication skills in the most innovative manner possible, to talk to the consumers about its features and how it should be a part of a consumer’s life.

But how do consumers perceive such brand communications? Offers? Deals? Temptations? Considering the UAE population which is diversified in terms of age, gender, nationalities and culture, it is natural to receive a mix of response from the consumers here. People have different preferences and choices, providing a larger platform for agencies/companies to cater to different needs with myriad strategies.

Marketing a brand is not enough; how consumers interpret its message is equally important. Often, questions like ‘Can a brand’s special feature make people buy it?’ or ‘Can a brand ambassador generate the needed leverage?’ and ‘Will an innovation raise one brand above others?’ seek insights into a consumer’s mind.

Let’s see marketing through the eyes of consumers. Consumers may be in awe of a brand’s advertisement on TV, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are constantly thinking about that brand and wish to buy it anytime soon. They find marketing collateral as a source of brand awareness and seeking more information about that brand.

They look for brands high on quality, comfort and style and meet their needs. There are many consumers who are after ‘brands’, to simply put ‘brand conscious’. As per a study, 46 per cent of respondents are willing to spend more to buy branded things because they believe a brand name swears by quality and durability. While there are 56 per cent of people who look for uniquely designed brands, when it comes to the purchasing pattern of consumers, they rank their priorities on certain parameters — price (29 per cent), quality (26 per cent) and brand name (20 per cent) to be the most important factors. Design (13 per cent) and after-sales service (12 per cent) are the least important ones.

Today, where all consumers are constantly ‘online’ through mobile devices and laptops, it is easier to communicate with them and push them to go for a certain brand. It is observed that around 91 per cent of online consumers in the UAE have taken action after seeing a message from a brand that is relevant to them.

The constant connectivity has provided consumers with infinite choices and influenced their purchase decisions. When a consumer sees an ad, he or she can immediately search for more information about the brand on the web and take an action accordingly. There are times when special discounts and offers are announced by brands. During this period, consumers happily indulge in ‘brand-buying’.

Consumers actively take part in promotional events for these brands at malls, etc. In some way or the other, brands influence consumer’s choices. The bottom-line is that marketing initiatives are well-received by consumers and advertising does have an impact on their buying behaviour. Now this is good news for any marketing agency or brand for that matter. Take every opportunity to win consumers by developing a relation with them and retain them by sending occasional greetings and gifting treats.

Always offer them quality products coupled with benefits, because consumer perception is your reality.

The writer is managing director of BuyDoBuy Advertising LLC.