Beltrame Leffler Advertising

As a branding agency, we at Beltrame Leffler follow branding trends and innovations. We've found Branding Strategy Insider to be a great blog for this. Recently, they had an article on branding trends for 2010 that we found very informative and helpful for our agency and our clients. It's titled "10 Branding and Marketing Trends for 2010" and focuses a lot on the "value" and authenticity of your brands and what you bring to your customers, and brand engagement. Here are some highlights.

#1 Value is the new black
Consumer spending will continue to be replaced by a reason-to-buy at all. So, your brand better have an authentic meaning and real value.

#2 Brands increasingly a surrogate for "value"
What makes goods and services valuable will increasingly be what's wrapped up in the brand and what it stands for.

#3 Brand differentiation is Brand Value
The unique meaning of a brand will increase in importance as generic features continue to plague the brand landscape. Differentiation, more than awareness, will be critical for success.

#4 "Because I Said So" is over
Your brand values must believably exist in the mind of the consumer. Consumer will now decide if you stand for something and must see measures of authenticity to support it.

#5 Consumer expectations are growing
Consumer expectations are growing every day with new technologies and innovations. You will need to understand where the strongest expectation exist in order to survive - and prosper.

#6 Old tricks don't work/won't work anymore
Consumers are on to brands trying to play on their emotions for profit. This may be especially true for insincere or doubtful pairings of celebrities and brands.

#7 They won't need to know you to love you
Front-end awareness is becoming less important. In this online-driven and international market, a brand with the right street cred can go viral in days, with awareness following, not leading the conversation.

#8 It's not just buzz
Conversation and community is all. Your brand "community" is very important. If consumers trust the community, they will trust the brand. This indicates a new era of customer care.

#9 They're talking to each other before talking to you
Social Networking and exchange of information outside of the brand space will increase. Look for more companies to set up a Facebook page and use Facebook connect with their websites, and to use LinkedIn and Twitter.

#10 Engagement is not a fad; It's the way today's consumers do business
There are four engagement methods:
- Platform (TV, online)
- Context (Program, web page)
- Message (Ad or Communication)
- Experience (Store/Event)
But there is only one objective for the future: Brand Engagement. To attain real brand engagement, you need to be using new attitudinal models.

Dealing with these trends may require some big changes on your part. But, this is the marketplace you will be competing in, so prepare for it.

At Beltrame Leffler Advertising, we're all about building solid brand to create awareness, earn trust and in the end, create a loyal following. With appropriate messaging and a consistent image across relevant mediums, we'll take your brand where it needs to be.