The Place of Brand Inductions in Consumer Goods PR Success
Many expressions have made me wonder how they came about, one of which is ‘straight from the horse’s mouth’. Turns out, the origin of this expression is tied to British horse racing circles, where spectators place their bets on horses, with the validity of a bet being dependent on a tipster who has inside information so good that it could come straight from the horse.
As a firm specializing in consumer goods PR, it is essential that every communication authentically reflects the brands core values. Typical routes taken to understand a brand and its needs are the decoding of briefs, numerous meetings to ensure you’re in “alignment” and of course, research.
While these are essential to providing a holistic picture of a brand, an introductory element that is advantageous but overlooked is a brand induction. This is essentially information about the brand, straight from the horse’s mouth.
Three Elements Brand Inductions Spotlight For PR Success
The Heart of the Brand
In truly understanding a brand, you must first understand what’s at the heart of its inception and the journey so far. The success of a brand induction hinges on more than just surface level knowledge, it is an immersive roadmap exploring the brand’s history, passion points, pain points, values, mission, and vision. This allows PR professionals to make connections that will form the foundation for authentic storytelling and impactful messaging of the brand they’ll be representing.
Insight on Target Audience
Identifying the target audience is one of the first steps in deploying impactful PR campaigns. Through a brand induction, PR professionals gain valuable insight into the brand’s target demographic, their preferences, behaviors, and aspirations.
In some cases, the target audience for a brand could continue to shift over the years. Understanding the reason for the shift and the brand’s current focus paves the way for crafting communication strategies that speak directly to the audience through relevant channels.
Product Experience
The history of a brand is great, however the history of its product offerings accompanied with a taste test is memorable. What makes a consumer brand different from any other brand is the tangibility of its offerings which makes up a chunk of its visual brand identity.
I attended an immersive induction for an alcohol brand and this was the most memorable part of the exercise. We sampled each product and learned about its origin, its taste notes and how its name even came about. I began to see the brand in a new light — not just as a collection of goods, but as a living, breathing entity with a rich heritage. This exercise gave context to all the client’s requests while burning into my memory and esophagus why the different brand offerings are targeted at certain audiences.
How is this any different from research?
It is an experience that engages all the senses. It is the how, what, why, when and where, but in person.
Asides from the opportunity to own the narrative, this experience humanizes the brand, instilling a sense of ownership. If done well, it will motivate any PR specialist to buy into the brand vision, going above and beyond to create authentic engaging campaigns that resonate with the target audience and deliver results that elevate the brand’s presence in the consumer goods market.
In conclusion, you tell your story better than a website’s ‘About Us’ page ever could, take advantage of it.
Adaeze is a creative with a dynamic background in communications. When she’s not bowing to the demands of capitalism, you can find her catching up on the latest chaotic episode of ISWIS podcast.
