Brand Activation - How Does It Work?

I am sure all of us have seen those ads on television where a particular company claims that their washing powder is the best in the market, and then they go on and say "It makes your clothes as good as new". But with so many companies saying the same thing, would you even believe them? Chances are you won't.

That's where brand activation can help businesses gain credibility and popularity amongst its customers. By interacting directly with their target customers and letting them experience their product first hand, companies can expect to see a significant increase in sales and customer loyalty.

So what are the steps involved in brand activation? Well, basically there are 2 steps in general...

Above-the-line Promotion

Above the line promotions or ATL help a brand reach massive amounts of people by utilizing channels such as Television and Radio. Examples of an ATL activity are the television ads that we see every day. They help spread the word about a particular product in the market, thus helping in Brand activation and targeting consumers. But though, above-the-line promotions have mass reach, which helps in enhanced visibility, they lack any sort of direct consumer involvement. And this is not good for any business, because credibility and customer loyalty are equally important. And that can be achieved by...

Below-the-line Promotion

Below-the-line promotions or BTL are promotional activities where the consumers have direct participation and involvement. They help a brand directly market their products to individuals and get valuable feedback regarding the same. A few good examples of BTL activities would be events, road shows and dealer level activities. These types of activities not only help in directly marketing a particular product, but can also help in building credibility. How? Do you remember the example about the washing powder we discussed at the beginning of the article? Now would be the perfect time to go back to it.

Utilizing below-the-line promotions, a company can clearly demonstrate right in front of the targeted customers that their washing powder is the best indeed. Customers can get product samples and find out for themselves whether the claims made in the television commercials are true or not. And if the washing powder is good enough, the company would now be able to prove that.

It has been seen that below-the-line promotions are more effective at generating sales compared to above-the-line promotions in a brand activation campaign. But, in my opinion, both are equally important for an overall effective brand activation campaign.

I hope now you guys have some idea about what brand activation is and how it works. And if you have any questions that you would like to ask, please go ahead and ask me in the comment section below. Trust me; I would be more than glad to answer.



Article Source: Ankan Bose