News

It’s that time of the year again; when temperature shifts, schedules are packed, and frequent social gatherings result in you catching a cold. Like so many others, I have been pushing through feeling less than 100% recently. In addition to the antibiotic, I’m using some OTC cough drops. As I popped one in my mouth and looked at the wrapper I saw one of the greatest examples of branding.

No one likes being sick. We all have things in our lives we’d rather be doing than just sitting on the couch feeling terrible. Halls knows this, no matter what your end goal is, they’re encouraging you toward it.

• Buckle down and push forward!
• Power through!
• Let’s hear your battle cry.
• A PEP TALK IN EVERY DROP™

What makes this design even more brilliant is that you cannot see the messaging when the drop is wrapped, they’re revealed once you open it, and intended to be read as you’re popping the cough drop in your mouth.
This strategy has multiple effects. Most obvious, mentally you’re getting pumped up by reading the phrases. Additionally, your subconscious is associating this increase in productivity encouragement and determination with the cough drops themselves. Long-term effects of this would result in users coming back to the brand, even after the campaign has run its course.
The lesson here is your brand should speak to your clients. Okay, maybe not as literally as this Halls example, but you should know your market and your target audience well enough that you can address them directly and make them feel like you’re speaking to them. Targeted marketing develops relationships and builds trust if you’re doing it properly.
For your brand to speak directly to their market, you must first identify your target market. Don’t know your target market? It may be necessary to perform a brand audit. Once the brand audit is concluded, you can identify your target market, and ensure your branding is speaking to said target market. In 2017, be sure you’re maximizing your ROI by using targeted marketing.