3 Key Takeaways From Brandemonium

Brandemonium, the premier branding conference, held their second annual event in Cincinnati during the first week of October.  The event brought together a lot of thought leaders in the branding space to discuss various aspects of branding, from strategy to experiential marketing and technology.  EMI had a team in attendance and found these to be the three key takeaways:

1.  Disrupt the Common Perception of your Brand

Many brands feel that they have to be perceived by consumers a certain way. However, many of the speakers at Brandemonium talked about how this was not the case.  Some brands are now trying to portray their brand in new ways, and disrupt the perception consumers have of it.  They are doing this in a variety of ways, including:

• Utilizing non-traditional marketing and shopper experiences, like pop-up stores, linking online experiences with brick and mortar, and much more.
• Brands showing their values, like P&G and their Olympics sponsorships, or their “Black is Beautiful” campaign.  It gives brands personality and ideas that people can connect with emotionally.

2.  More Partnerships Between Brands

Brands are looking for opportunities to cross-promote themselves to new audiences and are doing so by developing partnerships with other brands in different industries.  A great example that was given was how Graeter’s, a well-known Cincinnati ice cream brand, partnered with Braxton Brewing, a Covington, KY-based craft brewery, to create a beer that was based on Graeter’s most popular flavor, Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip.  It was great cross-promotion that had consumers of each brand trying the other because of their fondness for either the brewery or the ice cream.

It’s not just about product mash-ups either; there are industries like engineering firms in commoditized industries partnering with creatives to improve customer experience and to find new stories to tell to better differentiate themselves to consumers.

Data is also a driving force for partnerships, like how 84.51 partners with brands like Kroger and Heinz to provide better consumer insights that lead to new product and better experiences.

3.  Keep it Consumer Focused and Continue to Build on your Foundation

With most brands, the natural desire is to build new ads, messaging, campaigns, and essentially to change things, even when the current marketing mix is resonating with consumers.  Brands like Chick-fil-A build upon the marketing foundation they have established and continue to add to it, including looking to consumers for stories that will continue to resonate and build their brand.

To get a customized recap of the conference or discover how EMI can help you with your next project, click the button below to request a free consultation.