The Definitive Guide To New Product Branding.

Studies show that 76% of Gen Z consumers prefer to purchase from brands with a significant mission or purpose. This data points out that new product branding is more than just slapping a brand name on your product. It’s about effectively communicating the underlying “why” that encourages the target audience to consider a product. You can create emotional bonds that ignite customer loyalty by aligning your brand messaging with a compelling purpose.

So, how do you form an impactful strategy for your new product branding? This guide is a comprehensive blueprint for creating an impactful brand development and marketing strategy that cuts through the noise, leading to a greater product trail and a higher repeat rate. 

Learn how to define your new product brand’s DNA, craft a cohesive visual identity, and bring your purpose to life through omnichannel storytelling. With these strategies, you will have everything required to launch a CPG branding campaign that drives awareness, sales, and market growth. 

Understanding New Product Branding

New product branding is crafting a unique identity and positioning for a product to be launched in the market. It encompasses everything from naming the product, developing the visual identity, defining the brand personality, and crafting a compelling product brand story that attracts potential customers. 

For instance, when Beyond Meat launched its new product, Beyond Burger, it focused its branding efforts on promoting sustainability, health benefits, and great taste—appealing to environmentally conscious and health-minded consumers. 

Olipop, another example, offers functional sodas made with plant-based ingredients like nopal cactus and botanicals. Their multi-product branding strategy emphasizes the drinks’ gut-friendly benefits and unique flavor profiles, setting them apart from traditional soda brands.  

Strategically planned branding strategies create awareness and interest and build an emotional connection with consumers by aligning with their values and lifestyles. It’s about telling a compelling story that makes the product relevant and desirable. 

Importance of Product Branding 

A well-executed product branding strategy significantly differentiates products that fly off the shelves from those that gather dust. Impactful branding carves out a unique space in consumers’ minds, making it easier for them to remember your products for future purchases. It shapes how your product brand is perceived in the market, influencing everything from the pricing you can command from your product to the target audience who will be most likely to buy.

Consistent visuals, messaging, and value propositions help companies increase brand recognition. Effective product branding and marketing strategies build emotional connections and encourage brand loyalty, leading to repeat purchases and referrals.

A premium brand perception can justify higher prices by enhancing product value perception. Our testing validates that consumers often pay more for brands they trust and align with.

Steps to Develop a New Product Branding Strategy

The main objective of product branding is to strategically position your offering as an essential solution to a specific problem. Companies can utilize a range of tactics, such as highlighting the product’s environmentally friendly, health-conscious, affordable, or ease-of-use qualities. 

Sometimes, businesses fail to promote their products correctly, leading to market confusion and negative brand associations. To avoid such mistakes, companies must follow these steps to build an impactful brand strategy for their new products: 

Market Research and Target Audience Identification

Effective market research is the first step to building a successful marketing strategy. During this stage, companies must study the target market from multiple perspectives and extract meaningful insights.

Market research can be divided into three main phases. In the first phase, companies must identify the target audience and explore their wants, needs, pain points, and perceptions of other brands. Compared to not having a strategy at all, startups with a small budget can leverage AI for market research to significantly enhance the depth and accuracy of these insights, providing a more comprehensive understanding of market dynamics.

The next step is audience segmentation. During this phase, brands must divide the target audience based on demographics, psychographics, interests, cultural and religious beliefs, and more. They must also analyze the primary and secondary competitors. 

These are the brands that are already established in the target market. Examine their branding and marketing strategies, analyze their brand and product positioning tactics, and identify weaknesses.

Defining Brand Identity and Brand Voice

New products can’t survive without a solid brand identity and voice. A solid brand identity consists of distinct visual elements that make your business instantly recognizable, such as a logo, color palette, typography, and more. Brand identity goes beyond aesthetics; It must embody the core personality, values, and emotions you want to associate with your product. 

Developing a brand voice and identity requires extensive market research into potential customers’ desires, pain points, and what they seek in a brand relationship. For instance, if you launch a superfood snack bar, your research might show that your health-conscious audience is looking for brands that make them feel youthful, energetic, and part of a wellness-focused community. 

This insight would inform your brand personality – a lively, aspirational vibe that promotes an active lifestyle. Your visuals may incorporate vibrant colors, dynamic shapes, and an eco-inspired aesthetic. 

Once your brand identity is defined, your voice brings that personality to life through purposeful communication. Is your brand quirky and relatable or authoritative and polished? Voice shapes your messaging across channels like your website, social media, and marketing content. 

For example, the natural snack brand RxBar has a straightforward, no-nonsense brand voice that aligns with their “No B.S.” product philosophy: “Simple ingredients. No more. No less.”

While brand development costs can be substantial for a new product, it’s an essential investment. A distinct, well-executed brand identity and voice enhance brand recognition, customer loyalty, and perceived value—key drivers of product brand success. 

Crafting a Compelling Brand Story

Simply having a great product is no longer enough. Companies must craft compelling narratives that emotionally engage and connect the target audience. A compelling brand story goes beyond just selling features and benefits. It’s about creating an identity and brand recall that customers can deeply resonate with. It brings the brand’s purpose, values, and personality to life engagingly and memorably. 

Compelling brand storytelling also requires a deeper understanding of the target customers’ desires, aspirations, and pain points. It must tap into their emotions, making them feel understood, inspired, or part of a greater mission. 

For example, when the plant-based milk brand Oatly launched in the US, its quirky, irreverent brand story centered around converting “milk drinkers” to try its oat milk alternative. Its bold, tongue-in-cheek messaging and visuals struck a chord with environmentally conscious consumers looking for a dairy alternative with an attitude.

Critical factors in crafting an impactful brand story include:

• Authenticity: Your story must align with your brand identity and values. Shrewd consumers quickly sniff out inauthenticity.
• Consistency: The story should be woven consistently across all digital brand development and marketing touchpoints – website, social media, advertising, etc.
• Emotional Connection: Tell a story that stirs emotions like joy, humor, nostalgia, or inspiration rather than just stating facts.
• Audience Relevance: The story must deeply resonate with your target audience’s beliefs, interests, and aspirations.

Investing in brand storytelling is critical for product brands. It fosters an emotional brand-customer relationship that drives loyalty, advocacy, and long-term brand equity. A well-told brand tale can transform your product from a commodity into a beloved brand.

Developing Brand Guidelines

As businesses launch new products into crowded markets, establishing brand guidelines becomes necessary for consistency across all touchpoints. Without documented brand guidelines, your messaging, visuals, and overall experience can quickly become disjointed and confusing for customers. It erodes brand recognition and equity over time. Conversely, consistent branding boosts revenue by more than 10%. 

Comprehensive brand guidelines serve as a centralized resource that answers critical brand development questions and guards against dilution. They ensure the core brand elements remain consistent and authentic to the intended identity regardless of who creates content or campaigns. 

Brand guidelines must cover the following: 

• Brand Story & Messaging: The background, values, personality, tone of voice, and critical messaging pillars.
• Visual Identity: Logo usage, color palette, typography, iconography, photography, and illustration styles.
• Marketing Guidelines: Examples of adequately applying the brand across websites, ads, social media, videos, presentations, and more.
• Communication Rules: Guidance on brand voice and writing styles for different mediums.

Building Brand Equity

Brand equity represents the perceived value, goodwill, and associations consumers link to a brand name or product. It increases customer loyalty, pricing power, and growth potential. Cultivating brand equity from day one is critical for new product brands. It increases the likelihood consumers will choose your unfamiliar brand over established competitors. 

Substantial equity signals quality, delivers on expectations and fosters an emotional connection that keeps customers returning. Key strategies to build powerful brand equity include:

• Differentiate Through Positioning: Define a unique, ownable brand positioning that sets you apart and aligns with what your target audience values most.
• Focus on Brand Experience: Deliver consistently exceptional experiences across all touchpoints – product quality, customer service, marketing, etc. User-generated content showcasing positive experiences is brand equity gold.
• Leverage Naming and Branding: A meaningful, memorable brand name and visual identity help brands get noticed and stick in consumers’ minds.
• Build Brand Associations: Link your brand to positive values, causes, influencers, or cultural moments that resonate with your audience.
• Invest in Marketing: While pricey, impactful marketing campaigns increase awareness and brand recall – key drivers of brand value.

For instance, when Burt’s Bees released its cost-effective makeup line, it strategically utilized the equity of its natural personal care brand. Offering the same premium ingredients at an affordable price enabled the brand extension to establish credibility and capture market share rapidly. 

Building brand equity demands patience and concerted effort, but the potential payoff is substantial. Product brands must drive awareness, encourage trial, foster repeat purchases, and ensure sustained success.

Implementing Your New Product Branding Strategy

Implementing the product branding strategy is a multi-step process that requires careful planning and consideration. Companies must ensure that each step is executed correctly; otherwise, they may risk diluting their brand positioning. Businesses must follow these steps to adequately implement their new product branding strategy to get maximum investment return. 

Product Development and Brand Integration

Before the product design begins, clearly articulate your brand’s core purpose, values, personality, and value proposition. This brand essence must guide all product strategy and design decisions. 

Your product’s features, usability, and sensory elements must tangibly manifest your brand attributes, from functionality to aesthetics. Product branding examples include Apple products’ sleek, innovative experience.  

Create distinctive and unique brand elements, such as product shapes, colors, materials, and interactions that are readily identifiable as belonging to your brand. Involve the brand team from the early stages of product development. 

Establish checkpoints to confirm that designs align with brand guidelines. Ensure the brand experience is consistent across the entire product ecosystem, including packaging, digital interfaces, customer support, and related products and services.

Gather user feedback and behavioral data to understand how customers experience your brand through product interactions. Use these insights to optimize brand delivery further. It allows you to release new products that are authentic, resonant embodiments of your brand, providing customers with a unified, differentiated experience that builds equity and loyalty.

Launch Your New Product

Launching a new product is a critical moment that can make or break your brand’s success in the market. A well-executed product launch drives initial sales and sets the tone for your brand positioning and ongoing customer perception. Effective new product launch has the following steps:

Pre-Launch Preparation:

• Set clear, measurable goals for your launch that are aligned with your overall business objectives (e.g., units sold, market share, brand awareness).
• Validate product-market fit, gather consumer insights, and pressure-test your positioning through surveys, focus groups, and social listening.
• Develop an integrated marketing plan with a compelling brand story, targeted promotional activities, and content tailored for each channel/audience segment.
• Coordinate efforts across product, marketing, sales, operations, and customer service teams to ensure seamless execution.

Launch Execution:

• Start teasing/previewing the new product to build anticipation through influencer seeding, social media teasers, press releases, etc.
• Conduct thorough product/service training for all customer-facing employees, retailers, and partners to equip them as brand ambassadors.
• Consider releasing first to a select audience, such as VIP customers or in a test market, to generate buzz and fine-tune strategy.
• Execute your marketing blitz across all owned, paid, and earned channels, monitoring and optimizing in real time.
• Double down on successful tactics and platforms where you’re generating traction. Capitalize on social media virality where possible.

Post-Launch:

• Continuously monitor performance metrics, gather user feedback, analyze results, and adjust messaging, positioning, and tactics.
• Beyond the initial launch, develop a roadmap for continuing product enhancements, campaigns, and experiences reinforcing your brand positioning over time.

A thoughtful, well-resourced launch strategy is essential for cutting through noise, making a powerful first impression, and priming your new product for sustained success.

Marketing Your Newly Branded Product

Launching your newly branded product requires a strategic and cohesive marketing approach that leverages both traditional and digital channels to build brand awareness and engagement and ultimately drive sales. Social media and content marketing have become indispensable tools for product marketing success. 

Establishing a solid presence on relevant social platforms (e.g., Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, etc) that aligns with your target audience. Use compelling visuals, videos, and stories to showcase your product, share brand stories, and foster community engagement. Invest in paid social media ads for increased reach and targeting capabilities. 

Identify and collaborate with influential creators, thought leaders, or celebrities whose personal brands resonate with your audience. Leverage their established following and credibility to promote your branded product organically. Develop a content strategy that provides value and educates your audience through blogs, guides, tutorials, and other media. This branded content builds trust and product awareness and positions your brand as an industry authority. 

Optimize your website, content, and product listings for relevant keywords to improve visibility and organic search rankings on Google and other search engines. Build an email subscriber list and develop automated, personalized campaigns to nurture leads, announce new products/features, and drive repeat purchases from existing customers.

Measuring Brand Performance

Evaluating the effectiveness of your branding efforts is critical to optimizing your brand management strategies and investment. The following are some key metrics and tools to consider: 

• Brand Awareness: Track metrics like branded search volume, social media mentions, and recall studies to gauge top-of-mind brand recognition.
• Brand Engagement: Measure website traffic, email open/click rates, and social engagement (likes, shares, comments) to understand how well you capture audience interest.
• Brand Sentiment: Use social listening tools to analyze the tone and emotions expressed about your brand across various channels.
• Brand Equity: Conduct tracking studies to monitor consumer perceptions of your brand equity dimensions, such as quality, loyalty, and associations, over time.
• Brand Preference/Loyalty: Analyze market share, customer lifetime value, and net promoter scores to assess preference and loyalty compared to competitors.
• Financial Impact: Link branding efforts to tangible business outcomes like sales revenue, price premiums, cost savings, and other marketing ROI metrics.

Brands must continuously re-evaluate and refresh their positioning, visual identity, brand architecture, and customer experiences to realign with evolving cultural currents and consumption behaviors. Building an agile branding strategy inside the organization fosters faster responsiveness.

Data-Driven Product Branding for Shelf Impact

At SmashBrand, we specialize in product branding and help clients understand the intricacies of consumer psychology and its impact on product trial and repeat sales. Whether you need to brand a specific product or redefine the direction of your company overall, our team can help. Book a time to discuss your project.