Business Branding And Awareness For Corporate Identity

Technically, product branding is the trademark or distinctive name used to identify an organization, product or service. It can also be defined as the way in which a product interacts with its customers achieved mainly through the company logo, design and messaging.

Product branding triggers an emotional connection that its customers form towards it. If done well it can lead to a lifetime connection towards the product that lasts through the products life span.

Product branding in today’s market has been hit with several challenges due to the growth in technology through new media, the internet and mobile phones. This challenge comes about because the product image can now be communicated by its audience rather than the expert branding professionals.

Printing service on the other hand is the process of producing text or images by applying ink using plates, blocks or machinery to paper or other materials. This is done through applying direct pressure or indirectly by offsetting.

It can also be defined as the business, process or art of producing newspapers, books and other reading material by impression from plates and other movable types.

Corporate identity in simple terms is the overall image of a corporation, company, business or firm that is held by the public. It involves a combination of aspect such as designs, words and color schemes that are employed by a company to visually identify itself and communicate its business philosophy.

This is how the public views a company and how they perceive the company’s role in the society. It is also a symbol of how a company views itself and how it wants other to view it.

It involves every single element that makes up a company from the company logo, the company slogan, stationery, the staff uniforms, office décor, the company name and overall how the company if doing financially.

Company identity is in most cases permanent unless when it is intentionally changed and it can either be defined as strong or weak.

In order for a company to have a strong company identity, it needs to first understand that it’s visual identity should be its cornerstone of its business done through communication which is kept simple yet powerful and easy to reproduce and recall by the public.

Marketing materials in Kenya

Marketing materials are all the marketing, publicity, advertisements and disclosure materials that a company issues publicly to communicate with the public about information relating to the company’s products and services with the intent of promoting their products and services.

In today’s market, marketing materials can either be online or offline. Offline marketing materials can include the following;

• Branded envelopes; branded envelopes not only look good but they are also a way of advertising your company to anyone who comes across the envelope. They also give your company a professional look that leads your customers to trust your company more.
• Business cards; business cards are a selling point for your business. They are informative and give clients a ways to reach you.
• posters and banners; posters and banner are a fun and exciting marketing strategy because they capture the attention of your customers, they are informative of your products and services and they usually have a call to action which leads your customers to act on the information given.
• Promotional items e.g. company logo and slogan printed on simple items such as notebooks, caps, pens, calendars, bags etc. usually the items are day to day items that are regularly making them ideal for promoting the company.
• Promotional apparel these can be worn by staff in the form of uniforms, customers and fans. They are a great way of marketing since they are worn for long periods of time and anyone who comes into contact with someone wearing branded apparel views your company logo creating awareness for your products.
• Brochures and postcards.
• Corporate gifts e.g. branded pens, presentation folders, gift certificates and menus

Online marketing has grown into a necessity due to the overreliance of acquiring information from the internet. Online marketing materials include;

• Company website; the company website is one of the biggest selling point for any company because they give information about your company, your products and services, your company portfolio, contacts etc. websites give you a multi-page advertising platform.
• Social sites; with the increasing popularity of social media marketing, companies are following the trend by starting up social media platforms as they are a fast way of getting information about your company to an unlimited number of people and you get instant feedback from the market.
• Emails and newsletters; emails and newsletters give you more direct advertising to customers. They are an effective way of giving out direct information to specific groups. 

POS Materials in Kenya

POS materials or otherwise known as point of sale marketing materials are an exciting way of advertising your products in advertising campaigns, presentations and exhibitions.

Well thought out and designed POS materials are a key tool for attracting customers attention while promoting your product and service. The nature of POS being exciting and interactive often leads to customers purchasing the product being promoted.

You can prompt customers to purchase your products by offering discounts and promoting the products so that they seem irresistible to customers. Point of sale material types that are commonly used in Kenya include;

• Paper; paper it the most basic POS material there is ranging from coated and uncoated paper to gloss or matt paper, nearly every business uses paper. Commonly used in posters, leaflets, shelf strips, inserts, backlit posters etc.
• Graphic boards/ box boards; they come in either single or double sided and is commonly used in product display boxes, counter top units, shelf barkers, wobblers, graphic panels, cube displays, hanging banners bus stops, tent cards, swing tags, mobiles and hanging light box units.
• Shelf edge displays which allow customers to pick items off the shelf while they are going about their business
• Display boards; these are usually recycled material that is sandwiched between high quality boxboard liners. They can be used on gondola end headers, header boards for counter top units, large tent cards, leaflet dispensers, standees, large bus stops, hanging banners, mobiles and hanging light box units.
• Corrugated boards; these are durable fluted boards that are considerably lightweight. Commonly they are used in counter top units, free standing displays, standees, dump-bins, product display boxes, 3D displays and stacking units.
• Pavement signs, banners and ‘A’ boards
• Rigid PVC; commonly used in posters, shelf strips, hanging banners, wobblers, mop trays for free standing displays, mobiles, external signage and wallets and ticket holders.
• Foam centered board; these consist of a layer of polystyrene foam lined with matt white paper on both sides. They are commonly used in hanging banners and mobiles.
• Foam PVC; commonly they are used in external signage and wall signage
• Polypropylene; these are very durable and are more environmentally friendly than PVC since it can be recycled easily. Commonly they are used in exterior signs, folders and indexing cards.
• Self cling; this is a non-adhesive vinyl commonly used for window graphics. Commonly used in window decals and mirror decals.
• Self adhesive vinyl; they come with either a permanent or removable adhesive backing and are commonly used in product stickers, over stickers, window decals and labels.
• Floor media; this is mainly used for floor displays since they can display graphics on all floor types both in interiors and exteriors.
• Holographic and mirror papers and board; these are used on all point of sale related media.

Promotional Items in Kenya

Writing items; pens are a necessity to everyone and therefore this makes them a great promotional item because nearly everyone used pens on a daily basis. Pens also tend to have multiple owners over time thus increasing product awareness to several people.

Shirts; a company logo presented on a shirt evokes someone’s memory and the next time the see the logo anywhere else is leads them to act. Shirts are effective at creating product awareness, ensuring the shirt is of the highest quality and the logo and writing is legible is essential to effectively getting the wanted results.

Calendars; calendars are still an essential to have in the home or the office and they are a simple but effective promotional item.

Bags; this include everything from grocery bags, to every day bags, much like shirts, bags are popular because they are functional and serve the user for a long period of time.

Caps; people hold on to caps for years and uses them over and over again making them a good promotional item to consider.

USB Drives; nowadays, USB drives are becoming an essential tool that everyone needs, and having your company logo on a USB drive gives you the opportunity to reach not only the user but also those around them.

Drinkware; most people love free coffee mugs even if they are branded and this is because they are functional items. They help the user in the long run thus making them very popular, and they put your company name in their minds everyday which leads the name to stick.

The best promotional items are those that are used in our day to day basis, this is because the more someone sees something, the stronger the memory becomes embedded in their long term memory which leads them to better recognize your brand anywhere they go.

Product Branding and services in Kenya

Product branding is where you take a company logo and effectively place it on your company’s products. It creates brand awareness which is the extent to which customers or clients recognize a product or image associated with a product.

Brand awareness is an effective way of promoting a product because the extent to which customers are familiar with a product determines whether they will purchase the product or not.

Effective brand awareness leads to customer loyalty and build of trust between a company and its customers. To achieve effective brand awareness, the following steps can be adopted;

Customers service; customer service can either make or break a company because it relies on customer satisfaction and experience. Offering prompt responses to inquiries, being on time with deliveries and having after sale services are all ways of promoting a good rapport with customers.

Good customer services leads customers to keep coming back and leave an impression that is usually permanent.

Company story; this applies to the company history, how the business began, why it is an important business and some of the achievements the company has achieved. This leads customers to trust your company more and leads them to like your business and even feel part of it.

Advertisement; advertising your business puts you constantly in the mind of your customers, which is what you want. It is true that out of sight out of mind and the longer you remain quiet about your business, the more your competitor are taking hold of your customers.

Provide value; ensure that the products and services you offer are of the highest value, exceed the expectation of our customers this way they will hold you in high standards.

Send newsletters and emails; this is a form of advertising you can employ, it puts you right in front of your customers and allow you to share new products or services you are offering.

Use social media; social media is one of the fastest ways of getting as many customers as possible knowing about your products and services. It enables you to communicate in an informal forum and get feedback from customers. Most importantly it helps you to constantly be in your customers view.

Company logo; last but definitely not least, your company logo is one of the most vital pieces that will create brand awareness of your products and services. Keeping it simple, creative and memorable is the best way of ensuring your brand is easily and quickly recognized by customers everywhere.

When it comes to outdoor branding in Kenya, you get several options such as; Outdoor pop-ups, Feather flags, tear Drop Flags, ECO Bags, PVC Banners and roll up banners.