Throughout our Brand Positioning series, we’ve touched on several elements, such as the importance of defining your Brand DNA, Target Audiences, Brand Messaging, and Communication Roadmap. Now it’s time to turn your focus to combining all you’ve learned during the positioning process and begin the journey of reaching those you’re targeting, and that’s accomplished by way of the campaign.

There are various types of campaigns you’ll conduct throughout the lifetime of your brand, whether online or in print; targeting potential customers or current users of your products/services will require a multitude of campaigns. However, in this article, my main focus will be on the benefit of Brand Awareness Campaigns.

If you are a small business owner or even someone who has a consistent side hustle outside of your 9–5, the concept of brand awareness may not be something you’ve given much thought to, and I understand why. Life has a way of making things we should be focused on for the development of our businesses, an afterthought.

When you are busy creating your products or services, dealing with customer service issues, handling payroll, spending time with family, attempting to stay social with friends, and oh.. there’s that little thing called sleep, it’s understandable that thinking strategically on ways to increase your brand awareness may not be at the top of your list! However, once you understand the benefits of getting your brand ‘top of mind’ among your target audiences, you may begin to rethink the length of time brand awareness planning should receive.

So, What is Brand Awareness?
Online dictionaries define brand awareness as “The extent to which consumers are familiar with the distinctive qualities or image of a particular brand of goods or services.”

While onboarding new clients, I often ask, “If no one knows about your business, are you really in business?” This, of course, is a rhetorical question, the answer is obviously no, but I use this to mentally prime their thinking for understanding the importance and benefit of positioning their brands in their specific niche or industry.

As a business leader, you want to ensure consumers know about your product or service. Our current society is one where people tend to lean towards a product they know as opposed to one they do not know. Particularly in highly competitive industries or niches, having positive brand awareness can give you a significant competitive edge.

For instance, while standing in the soda aisle of a superstore like Walmart, are you more likely to buy “Dr. Pepper” or “Dr. Thunder”? All things being equal (or nearly equal… in price and quality of taste), it’s likely you would choose the brand you’re more familiar with.

Similarly, studies have shown that brand awareness plays a deciding role in which brand a consumer will choose when faced with buying in an unfamiliar category. For instance, when never doing so previously and needing to purchase expensive jewelry, are you likely to buy from “Kay Jewelers” or the “ Diamond Outlet” at your local mall? You will likely choose Kay Jewelers because you’re aware of the brand and have become conditioned via their campaigns to think, “Every kiss begins with Kay.”

Benefits of Brand Awareness Campaigns
Creating an informed and consistent brand awareness campaign can provide the following benefits within your market:

• Keeping your brand top of mind with your current & potential audiences
• Increased word-of-mouth marketing
• Building your brand equity
• Increased customer loyalty
• Increased sales

What are Brand Awareness Campaigns, and How Can You Use Them?
There are several ways you can increase awareness around your brand. One of the most common methods is through the use of social media, email marketing, TV, radio, digital marketing, magazine ads, live events, advertising on music streaming services, and so on.

Regardless of the method you choose when creating your brand awareness campaign, consistency will be a key ingredient to its success, and a reliable positioning strategy enables that. A thorough understanding of positioning elements allows you to plan the most appropriate objectives, address your target with the right messages and choose the proper communication channels. Allowing your defined positioning to outline and guide your brand awareness strategy will make the most of your promotional efforts and help to achieve the goals set for your business.