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A chat with a friend and client got me seriously thinking about the heading of this article.

When I was faced with the question ‘does sex in advertising work’, I struggled to give a definitive answer on the spot. Initially my answer was ‘yes, it works’. But after reflection, it struck me that whilst it does sell, how does it affect the longevity of a brand and products success.

For some brands, sex is used to grab attention; some people refer to this usage as ‘borrowed interest’. In other words, companies attempt to take the interest generated by sexual connotation and use it to generate interest for their brands. So that’s good…it can work, but on the flip side, you could argue that whilst sex may stop the traffic, it only produces, at best, a one-time sale that won’t build brand value which is needed to sustain long-term growth.

Well, not in all cases. There are plenty of brands that have used sexual positioning strategies that have resulted in major long-term success. One of those is Calvin Klein. He has successfully imbued his brand’s identity with sexuality. For well over 30 years, sex in one form or another has been a mainstay in Calvin Klein fragrance, fashion, underwear, and accessories ads. The result? In 2008, products with Calvin’s name generated at least $1 billion in annual revenue.

So yes, sex in advertising works, and for many brands and products its essential. But if sex is used merely to draw attention to a product that has no relevance to sex, then long-term success is not likely.

Now, it really doesn’t matter whether you’re a big company or a little company. Your corporate identity or ‘BRAND’ will always have an effect and influence the opinion of your customers and potential customers. As part of your marketing, maybe you send out brochures or commit to advertising, hopefully you have a website…whatever method of communication you use, it’s essential that you portray the right message.

When your customers or potential customers receive your brochure, read your advertising or visit your website, they will glean messages about your company and form an opinion. Now in most cases, you will not be there to ensure the ‘right’ message is portrayed, it is therefore essential that your branding works its magic and gets the message across for you.

The development and maintenance of a brand and corporate image is not necessarily difficult or complicated. It’s simply about getting a few simple things right:

• Keep your brand identity simple, ensure it’s easy to understand and consistent across everything that you do – ensure your brand identity is reinforced every time a customer comes into contact with your company.
• Your brand identity should provide a ‘promise’ to your customers that your company is then capable of delivering – if you are an established, straightforward business, don’t try and develop a funky innovative brand identity that is out of touch with what you do and the way that you do it – don’t send mixed messages, you may scare potential customers off!

It’s important to remember that having a brand is much more than just having an attractive logo…and you don’t always need new logo to create an effective brand!

Effective and powerful brands have the ability to grasp your attention with mixed sensory experiences such as sight, sound, smell or touch. For example, you leave the living room to make a cup of tea, from another room you hear the television, an advert jingle plays and instantly you recall the brand.

This is brand recognition and really a level of brand awareness that most companies espire to. Brand recognition and awareness will be covered in a future Blog post, so sign up and make sure you don’t miss out on our future posts.

Many businesses and organisations are avoiding using social media and networking because they feel they cannot measure its effectiveness, and worse, do not believe there is any solid return on investment. We frequently find ourselves consoling frustrated marketers that are desperate to inject social media into their business but cannot convince their directors of the benefits.

Our response to the ‘directors’ negative mind block – How does your boss measure return on investment when attending networking luncheons or participating in Associations.

Done correctly, social networking on sites like Twitter or Facebook is really no different – you don’t measure participation based on direct sales, you measure success based on identifying one potential strategic partner, acquiring one actionable bit of advice, or striking up a conversation or two that may eventually lead to developing a new customer. That kind of sounds like a set of solid networking objectives doesn’t it?

Put simply, there simply is no ignoring or escaping social networking. It’s a simple and highly effective extension to your marketing and business communications.

The key to good marketing is to understand your customers’ needs and develop a plan and framework that surrounds those needs.

Everyone that runs a business has a desire to grow the business and be successful. The most effective way to grow and expand your business is by focusing in on natural or organic growth. Natural or organic growth can be boosted in four different ways.

1. Acquire and grow your clients
2. Encourage and engage your customers to buy more products
3. Encourage your customers to buy more expensive products
4. Encourage each customer to buy more profitable products

All four of these will increase your revenue and profit.

So now let’s focus on the first point, which is to acquire more customers. Why? Simple… by acquiring more customers you increase your customer base and your revenues then come from a larger base, a larger base is a safer business, it’s the old saying, don’t put all your eggs in one basket!

So how do you use marketing to acquire and grow your customer database?

1. The golden rule and by far the most important point, create or have created a strategic marketing plan
2. Focus, research and guide your product development to reach out to customers you aren’t currently attracting
3. Competitor analysis, price your products and services competitively
4. Ensure you develop your message and materials based on simple solution marketing, don’t over complicate your business or brand

Before taking your new product to the market place or face the Dragons, it’s essential that you go through a number of stages. Here are the top 10 tips from newbrandguru.

1. If you come up with an idea or discover a unique product don’t ask family or friends if they think it’s a good idea. For a number of obvious reasons, they are unlikely to give you an unbiased opinion.
2. Talk to total strangers if possible, who will not be worried about your feelings or their situation if they are negative.
3. Don’t give away your secrets. If you have an idea for a product that solves a problem or makes life easier, ask people if they have that type of problem, how they feel about it and whether they would buy a product that solved that problem.
4. When pitching your idea to a company for funding or looking for backing of any kind, practice your presentation. Be precise, be accurate, know your product, make the benefits and USP’s clear, gain an idea of how big the market is (numbers of population, financial projections), production costs (if any), suggested wholesale/retail prices and most importantly, set yourself realistic sales objectives.
5. Carry out some simple research. Ensure you have the answers to any likely question to hand. Investors and business people will expect you to have done your homework and not just gone steaming ahead without any idea of a business plan.
6. Understand your limits, know your strengths and weaknesses. No one can be master at everything. If you are good at inventing things it doesn’t mean you will also have an excellent business mind.
7. Don’t try and do everything. Most small businesses fail because the principal is spinning too many plates. Something has to give and it is usually the mental or physical health of the individual.
8. Surround yourself with experienced and talented people. Taking on partners with the skills and experience you lack means that you can delegate responsibilities. You have people you can rely on, more time to concentrate on the areas you understand and support in times of crisis.
9. Just having a good idea doesn’t make for a good business. The bankruptcy courts are full of people who had a good idea and no business acumen.
10. The internet is a fantastic source of business and where most businesses waste money and fail to make an impression. Do not make the mistake of thinking that a cheap website has any chance of being found in the search engines. The companies making millions on the internet are investing good money in having a strong web presence, so get smart and build a social media plan into your marketing.