Food brands are born out of a commitment of resources to create the face of a product. The investment is not just limited to capital in its creation and promotion, it also includes the time needed to build awareness and trust. Without proper care and feeding, food brands can’t serve the purpose for which they were created.
Just how should brand owners properly manage their brands to achieve their goals? Here are some important tips for the care and feeding of food brands:
1. Consistency. The best known food brands have spent years building consumer awareness and trust, and this has been achieved by consistency in the presentation and messaging of the brand across all platforms. These brands have a clear definition of their values which enables them to stay on message point whether it’s packaging design, consumer promotional efforts, websites, social media or B2B marketing. There are no mixed messages on these brand faces.
2. Compliance. Part of the investment in developing a brand is developing a set of brand rules that enable all stakeholders to use the brand within the same guidelines. While a brand’s face may be used by many stakeholders for many different purposes, the face must remain the same to preserve the integrity, and in some cases the legal status, of the brand in the long run.
3. Control. This is one of the biggest challenges for food brands today. While brand owners may have achieved consistency in brand presentation and compliance among stakeholders in brand use, control of external brand use and exposure is extremely difficult in the digital environment. Brand owners need to establish procedures for brand management that include a dedicated team to monitor and immediately respond to challenges to the brand face, whether it’s an unhappy consumer or an unfortunate circumstance. The brand face must be continuously protected to maintain its value and integrity.
Whether a food brand is a fresh new face or a well known global face, investing in brand asset management is an integral part of brand development. Brands do not survive for long on their own…they need to be properly cared for.
