How authentic is your brand?

One giant sweet fest for kids (and kids at heart) and one giant marketing tool for retailers, pubs, clubs and bars nationwide. Tomorrow we will recover the carved up, abandoned pumpkins outside our doors, wipe the white paint and fake blood off our faces, tidy up the “Do Not Enter” signs from the front door to replace with Catherine Wheels, rockets and Guy Fawkes. Over in our local shop, the net of chocolate pumpkins vye for shelf attention with the Christmas elves that are peeking their heads out from the aisles to remind us there is only 8 weeks to Christmas.

Meanwhile “consumers will be increasingly mindful of their purchases” so says Vend HQ Retail Trend Predictions citing that the future generations will choose products that are sourced responsibility and good for their bodies and the environment.

So, how does this dichotomy stack up? On the one hand we have more and more event based marketing opportunities – Caramel Apple Day, National Pizza month, Valentines and don’t forget the Christmas bonanza. On the other, the discerning customer shunning materialism for the better good of themselves and the environment. How does the average marketing manager navigate the line between staying competitive but being aware of its changing customer?

For us at Antelope, it is about authenticity. Understanding your brand and the consumers that are right for your brand and then making sure you communicate your brand with the passion and love you feel for it.

It isn’t about tacky tie ups around Halloween or Christmas. It isn’t about worthy hoo ha-ing about other brands. It’s about being the best brand you can and letting people know what you stand for.

It is easy to think everyone knows your brand mission, your ethos, why you are a disrupter, and want to change the marketplace you serve, the world even. However, most consumers won’t. By understanding which customers are likely to be your sort of people and then talking to them in their language about things that resonate with them, then they might want to engage with you.

So, if you are a local, ethically sourced provider of fruit and vegetables, then Halloween might be your time to invite the locals to a ‘Pick your own Pumpkin’ to show how home grown your produce is. If you are a wooden toy provider decking the halls with boughs of holly in October is going to be acceptable to most.

At Antelope, we help people understand their target audiences. We help them through the customer journey and we shape their customer message so they are authentic and heart felt. This gives them a point of difference, a reason for the customer to choose them in a crowded marketplace. Surely this is the way to build longevity in your customer base rather than attempting to get a bite of every promotional cherry the market has to offer?