Brand awareness is the notoriety of a brand in relation to a specific target, its positioning in relation to the reference audience. The identity of a brand in the collective imagination is a key point in a structured and effective marketing strategy. Its identification and construction take much longer and more elaborate time than more immediate techniques, but the result is solid and lasting, two qualifiers companies are crazy about.

Why brand awareness is important.

Our lives sail in a sea of brand identities, and sometimes we don’t realise it. Every time we choose something from a supermarket shelf, buy something online, or sing a jingle from a TV commercial, we enter the target audience of that brand, and at times we even feel part of the world that has shaped for us a lifestyle, a way of dressing, a series of accessories akin to our personality.

For a company, brand awareness is fundamental because it creates diffusion through the transfer of values, building trust and a positive perception in the mind of the consumer. It also helps network between customers who exchange information and make the brand a subject of discussion, opening up the customer base very often in mind-blowing ways.

How brand awareness works.

According to economist and marketing expert David Aaker, there are different degrees of brand awareness. The first – obviously the lowest one – is lack of knowledge, and it is the starting point to develop a structured strategy so as to increase awareness. The second step of the pyramid is Recognition, where the brand is recognised but no stimulus evokes any memory in the consumer’s imagination. With the third stage we start to move up the ladder: Brand Recall is a level where the brand is not only recognised but also remembered when talking about a specific sector or appearing in the list of those four or five representatives of a specific product category. Finally, at the top of the pyramid shines the Top of Mind: here the brand is already in the minds of consumers and is the first to be remembered when they make their choice.

How to create brand awareness.

A good strategy to increase brand awareness is based on quality content. Writing a blog, storytelling and telling people about the brand are some of the cornerstones for engaging users in an experience that is not just about buying but about building loyalty. The interacting dimension should not be underestimated: answering questions, creating discussions, helping consumers – all small actions that build a reassuring and familiar appeal, as well as obtaining interesting feedback from the public.

The best tools for finalising this type of project are, of course, social media and advertising campaigns, which allow the message to be conveyed in a widespread and targeted manner, thanks also to a dash of well-reasoned influencer marketing and collaborations with other influential brands.

Finally, everyone knows the ingredient that makes this combination perfect, although it is the most difficult to apply: authenticity. Authenticity is the basic element for a relationship of trust that lasts over time and, if you are lucky, even forever.