Brand Capitalization

Capitalization can make or break a brand, and it can happen at any time. While some choose to do good with capitalizing on events and holidays, other brands hurt their reputation by choosing to capitalize on disastrous events, or the like.

The birth of the Royal Baby was joyous event, brands executed – on a moment’s notice – social advertising for their products or service that refered to that particular event in time. Whether it is moral and ethical to do so is beside the point, if you haven’t jumped on this bandwagon yet, you’re missing out. We live in a capitalistic society and brands are going to do what they have to do to get those sales numbers up.

Tact goes a long way

It’s been said that common sense is not common. More often than not, we see brands make poor decisions that may cost them more than just a few thousand dollars in advertising. It will cost them their reputation – or more. 

When a disaster strikes, it’s not time to make light of the situation. This rings especially true if people were affected, or worse, were hurt or died as a result. During the Hurricane Sandy disaster, retailers capitalized on the disaster to encourage the public to stay indoors and shop on their websites for added discounts. Keep in mind, the areas affected were the target market, and most were without power.

When insensitivity prevails, brands must do some crisis management or damage control. 

Such as the American Apparel, Hurricane Sandy disaster nightmare. 

Be clever

Get the throne ready! There's a new cub in the Royal family. #RoyalBaby pic.twitter.com/zXQMm7LHkl
— Charmin (@Charmin) July 22, 2013

Creativity goes a long way, and if you’re not overly sales-y – all the better. When the Royal Baby was born, social media exploded with the news, and brands began to release their congratulations creative. The more subtle it was, the better it was received by the public, and the critics.

If you remember the last SuperBowl and the blackout that occurred, brands began to capitalize on that unfortunate event. Though it wasn’t a serious, or a life-threatening event, simply an inconvenience; Oreostole the show by sending out a tweet twenty minutes in. SuperBowl advertising is not cheap, imagine the backlash they may have received from their counter parts, but by being creative and ahead of the game, they were able to generate public attention.

Agencies are ready in a moment's notice, during any event or holiday, and with the power of social media, the reach is unlimited.

Do you have a plan in place to capitalize on the next big event?