Is it hard to market and brand companies in the water cooler industry? If yes, what are the challenges?
Jane: It’s no harder than in any other competitive market. The challenge in any market sector is to achieve ‘stand out’. In an industry where there are a lot of ‘me too’ products, you have to establish a clear identity, a good name and a professional brand identity.
The biggest challenge to branding in the water cooler industry is probably the number and disparity of players within it. From small local firms to multinationals, well-established and start-ups, the level and standard of branding is bound to vary.
Some water cooler companies have well-established brands, but for those that don’t, how do you go about it? Firstly, you need to consider what you’re offering and identify what makes you special and different. It could be your level of service, your local nature; perhaps you’re a family firm, perhaps you’re the largest in your area. There are lots of features that you can harness that can contribute to your brand identity.
You also have to establish what your brand values are – for example, innovative, friendly, great value, personal service etc. A word of caution here, though: your brand values must be authentic, not simply an aspiration, and it’s essential that everyone in your organisation lives these values. There’s no point claiming to be friendly if the people that answer the phone are grumpy and unhelpful.
Once you’ve established what your brand stands for and looks like, you have to communicate it. Vans, staff, company clothing, literature and marketing activities must all reflect your brand and its values authentically. Probably the biggest challenge for business owners is ‘policing’ how the brand is communicated to make sure all these elements remain in sympathy with it.
Mark: There’s no difference between branding a water company and any other company. Just because the product dispenses water, as opposed to other varieties of drink that might be more easily differentiated from one another, it doesn’t make the branding challenge any more difficult.
Branding is the sum total of a company’s identity. It’s not just about a logo and tag line, rather it’s about every piece of communication, internal or external, emanating from the company and the way in which the company interacts with its clients.
The stronger your brand (ie the clearer the position it occupies in the minds of your potential customers), the more value it has and the more likely they are to choose it and to stay loyal to it.
A valuable brand (one that has solid brand equity) should denote the qualities and attributes of your company and the products or services that differentiate you from your competition.
In the case of a cooler company, you would want customers and potential customers to associate your brand with cleanliness, purity, refreshment and the life-giving qualities of water as well as good, reliable service. The brand name itself may seek to do this literally or may not attempt to do so at all. For example, the brand names Orange and 3 have nothing to do with mobile telecoms in themselves, whereas Cellnet and Vodafone allude to the services they provide.
I wish I could take the credit for creating the Vivreau brand name but it was conceived long ago by Vivreau’s MD, Stephen Charles, and his late father. Although, if you’ve visited the website, which we designed for Vivreau, you’ll have noticed the tag line ‘water is life’ which is something that Phab came up with.
What does the industry have going for it in terms of creating a brand?
Jane: The nature of the water cooler industry lends itself well to brand communications. Suppliers have a lot of customer-facing staff, delivery vehicles, telesales and customer support teams. Most do active marketing – advertising, direct marketing, media relations etc – not to mention the equipment itself, which provides its own ‘billboard’ to display company logos and information.
Mark: Water is the element that sustains all life on the planet. As such, water has universal connotations as a life source. The cooler industry takes this functional importance of water to the next level by offering a refreshing and pure version of water. The Vivreau brand has turned an essential element of life into an aspirational and environmental brand.
Do you have any top tips for writing a press release?
Jane: A simple line to remember is ‘advertising sells, PR tells’. A press release is not a sales tool and nothing will turn off an editor faster than a press release that reads like an advertisement. So:
Mark: My top tips are, make sure you tell the story succinctly in the first sentence of copy and craft an attention-grabbing headline. It’s often helpful to be able to quote a customer or other third party in support of your product or service, as this carries more credibility than simply singing one’s own praises.
However, PR isn’t all about crafting great copy. As a holistic media practitioner, I believe that PR must support the client’s business objectives. This requires monitoring the business and political environment in which the client operates, and building relationships with the key journalists that you wish to write about your business.
What are the other most effective marketing methods?
Jane: You can’t beat third party endorsement (advocacy, PR). Having someone else say you’re great is much more powerful than you saying it yourself!
Mark: The tried and tested methods are still effective. Good PR and clever, targeted advertising in traditional media remain potent weapons in the marketing arsenal, but these days a marketing director ignores electronic media at his or her peril.
Every company needs a well designed website. A website is your electronic showroom – it needs to be informative, visually pleasing and user friendly. For those that don’t want to trawl through webpage after webpage, a short web-streamed video explaining the products and their USP is often preferred. Web banner advertising on key websites can also be an effective marketing tool.
Why is branding important to water cooler companies and manufacturers?
Jane: A strong brand (one that’s well-known and understood) will help you to grow a healthy business. People will seek you out and be inclined to buy your products over and above others because they know you, trust you and like you. It also gives you licence to do certain things.
Firstly you can put your prices up. If people want your brand, they’ll pay for it. Secondly, you can diversify -– look at Virgin. If you’ve gained people’s trust, they will go with you if you move into other areas.
Finally, having a strong brand helps to protect you in adversity, it’s like having a healthy balance in your ‘reputation bank’; a catastrophe will inevitably use up some of your ‘credit’, but everyone makes mistakes and provided you manage the situation well, your customers will cut you some slack. If, however, you have no credit, there’s only one way to go!
Mark: Water cooler companies operate in a highly competitive market, where a ready alternative – tap water – already exists. To succeed, they have to convince customers that their product is, first of all, needed, and second of all, a better choice than the competition. All the more reason therefore to invest in branding.
As one American branding consultancy puts it, ‘The world is not waiting for you’.
Without a clear programme for communication, you just blend in; you become part of the scenery. So you promote, position and advertise as an attempt to develop your brand identity and image.
Jane Herbert is MD of Pilotmax, a full service PR agency established in 1991. Pilotmax represents Water (for Work and Home) and has undertaken project work for the British Water Cooler Association.
Mark Berg is director at Phab Media, who act as public relations, marketing and branding consultants to Vivreau, a European manufacturer of mains-fed drinking water systems.
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