How to adapt your brand for effective online strategy

How to adapt your brand for effective online strategy

Before I get into the challenges of adapting a traditional brand for online brand strategy, I’d like to revisit some of my thoughts on Brand. As I have written in the past, a logo, for example, is an important element within the bigger picture of corporate visual identity which is an important but undeniable subset of the even bigger picture called brand strategy.

Unfortunately, online agencies lack the experience, knowledge and training to create a logo or visual corporate identity, or even extend a successful brand strategy to the online. If you talk to them about an experience, they are likely to get creative and think along the lines of The Gorgeous tiny chicken machine show. And that’s not very helpful for most us. On the other hand, top ad agencies are too pricey for successful small and medium size businesses that want to take their business and brand online.

Of course, no one is going to tell you that that don’t know what they’re doing- especially not online agencies that found their niche in a business area in which people make lots and lots of money without actually knowing much or working very hard. After all, it would be bad for business if they told you what they know (nothing) and how cool it is to make lots of money when you know nothing and don’t work very hard!

The solution of online advertising agencies is to substitute online brand strategy and great design with the brute number of impressions and clicks. It’s a costly, brutal and ineffective tactic, but it does drive online ad revenues in online agencies across the world. The money- that’s what matters most to online agencies!

However, I predict that people’s attention to what’s on their monitor will evolve in manner that they won’t notice 96 percent of the online advertising that tries to poke them in the eyes. I give it five years or less. And the online advertising industry itself is in for a big shake up soon. The failure to deliver results will ultimately catch up with the cool guys- sooner rather than later.