Regardless of whether you want to promote outa brand of a fitness club, training studio, or want to build recognition of your personal brand, personal trainer, these tools will come handy for creating and maintaining a strong, distinguishable and trustworthy brand. There is no time to waste, let’s start!
Brand image analysis
Answering these three questions will help you determine where you are, where you want to be and how you should strive for it.
How do you think you are perceived? Start with your own ideas about how your audience is perceiving your brand. This is your view and your reflection on this matter.
How do you want them to see you? Now specify how you want your brand to be perceived by your targeted audience. How should people talk about it, how they see it, what they communicate about your brand to others.
How do others see you? You must ask this question to your recipients. Check what image of your brand they have. Here your ideas and assumptions will meet with reality. You may be surprised how different they might be from the received answers.
At the end, compare all opinions and draw conclusions as how your expectations are reflected in reality. Think on what should you focus on and what measures to choose to achieve the goal.
Brand’s mental map
Create such a map by asking customers, recipients of the brand, what their first associations with the brand, fitness club are. Ask them an open question:
What comes to your mind when you think about this brand?
This is a set of the most important associations in the minds of your audience about tested brand that gives you instant picture of your image. You can assess if what you have heard is what you have planned or is it far from the actual strategy? It is highly likely you will hear interesting and unexpected things that you did not even realize, for example what you are valued for or what discourage some people.
FRED – brand success terms
This formula was developed by the well-known agency Young & Rubicam. FRED is an acronym derived from the first letters of words that determine the conditions for a brand success. Analyze your brand under these four terms. Think which criteria you meet, and what is there to improve.
Familiarity - brand is close to recipients. Does your brand build relationships with customers? Is it empathic? Is it also physically where the recipients expect it to be contacted?
Relevance - importance in satisfying the needs of recipients. Do you stay in line with the expectations of your customers?
Esteem - the importance of reputation. Do you keep the promises you made?
Differentiation - distinction as an important aspect of competing. Have you been able to develop uniqueness in what you do, even if you offer similar services to the competitors in the industry?
Brand mantra
It's a short, three-word definition of brand main business activity. It contains the very essence, the most important values that you propose to your audience. Brand mantra should contain three key elements:
- Emotional modifier
- Descriptive modifier
- Brand features
For example, the mantras of well-known strong brands:
- Authentic sports action of NIKE
- Cheerful family entertainment DISNEY
Let the brand mantra guide you throughout the communication. Let it accompany your actions and the whole communication strategy.
Brand archetypes
A lot has been written about archetypes of brands. Why can they help you? In the market where many of them offer similar products and services, archetypes can help differentiate themselves with the personality of the brand. Margaret Mark and Carol S. Pearson have separated 12 archetypes divided into 4 groups: independence, sense of belonging, stabilization, risk.
To sum up, image analysis and brand’s mental map will allow you to study and evaluate the initial situation. The brand's mantra will be your motto to guide you while planning and taking specific actions. FRED formula is a compass that sets the directions you should follow if you want your brand to succeed. Archetypes will determine personality of your brand and will allow you to stand out and maintain consistency in communication.