In todays ever changing world its hard to resist the charm of the new and exciting trends. These trends present themselves every day and as a branding agency it’s our duty to hop onto them before anyone else. So, it was but obvious that in the post-pandemic world we had to follow the biggest global trend ever- shifting to a hybrid setting. In retrospect, hybrid marketing and branding hasn’t been a bad move for us, in fact, it has done more good than bad. As a (hybrid) agency we have the ability to be in full control of our brand’s surroundings in every sphere, be it online or offline. This helps in designing aggregated branding strategies which has proven to be beneficial for all our clients. Well, at least for those who were open to new ideas. So, from our fare share of experience in the hybrid branding and marketing sphere we deem ourselves qualified enough to talk about it and share the things that did and didn’t work for us to help you in your journey with branding and marketing.
THE BENEFITS
Feasibility
One of the most apparent benefits you would have with the Hybrid system will be that your brand is going to be safer in the longer run. Your brand will have multiple channels of distribution to fall back on which in turn will give it space to experiment with the content and strategies. This surely happens with time and experience but once your brand sets its foot into the hybrid arena with the help of a reliable branding agency (us… duh!) it will be all uphill from there.
Checks and Balances
In any two pronged or multi channeled system another obvious benefit is that its easy to keep check in terms of what’s working and what isn’t. The multichanneled approach helped us in trying new strategies simultaneously and keep tabs on them based on growth and the ‘right reach’. In this, the offline sector formed the basis of our campaigns, and the online campaigns were put up as a competing layer where we tried different strategies of branding and digital promotion to map out the
most beneficial way for us to market the brand.
Profit Building
When you have multiple channels of marketing, each channel is trying to generate sales and revenue for the brand. It is reasonable to conclude that with increasing number of revenue streams you will be generating more growth, if handled properly. The ‘handling’ part is where our branding agency come in the picture. It is not the decision to be present on multiple marketing channels that will determine the successful visibility of your brand. Its about how well you will utilize and monitor these streams that will make it or break it for your brand.
“The squeaky wheel gets the grease”
The fact that your brand is present on multiple online and offline channels makes it obvious that people are going to come across it frequently. The familiarity factor is a step up for any brand in comparison to its competitor brands. Consumers will have a recall value to your brand which will convert them into regular customers. Apart from this, the hybrid approach will target those consumers as well who might be active in just one stream. For example, a potential customer of yours, XYZ, is
active on Instagram and you have designed a dedicated social branding strategy then you will be able to convert a potential customer into a regular customer even if they are not engaging with the other streams.
DISADVANTAGES
One of the few disadvantages of hybrid branding and marketing is that it requires a considerable amount of time and monetary investment from the brands. More often that not, brands are not very receptive to this idea because of their own valid reasons. The chain of pitches and follow ups can be a cumbersome task as the hybrid approach will require your involvement in every peculiar step. Apart from time you might also have to shell out money for different campaigns that are going around in multiple channels which can be a heavy task specially if your brand is relatively new. When you show trust in us with your time and money the growth expectations also increase. By managing your brand duly, the ultimate goal for us will be to increase its credibility and consistency.
OUR VIEWS
A well-rounded approach always helps in staying ahead of the curve. A holistic approach towards branding forms the very essence of this business and how well you maintain that ecosystem is what decides your growth as a brand and of course as an agency. The main understanding of branding comes from the process of trial and error and what works for one brand might not for the other but if you get the basics right then it’s going to be a fruitful ride for everyone involved in the process. This new hybrid phenomenon has definitely brought a wave of change with it and we’re super excited to see what’s next in store for the world of branding.
