Small Business Marketing Kit For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Maintaining and Protecting Your Brand

For something so powerful, brands are surprisingly vulnerable. They thrive with consistency and they wither under the attack of zigs and zags in message, experience, and management. The best way to grow a healthy brand is to follow two steps:

Establish your brand message and creative strategy.

Put controls in place to protect your brand and ensure its consistent presentation.

Staying consistent with your brand message and creative strategy

Your creative strategy is the plan that directs the development of all your marketing communications. It defines

Your target market

The believable and meaningful benefit you offer to your market

The way you present your personality in your communications

Writing your creative strategy

You can write your creative strategy in three sentences that define the purpose, approach, and personality that will guide the creation of your marketing communications, following this formula:

1. “The purpose of our marketing communications ...