Push and Pull branding are marketing strategies. They do sound like something new in the marketing trade but closer scrutiny will show you that they are not. They used to be known as inbound and outbound marketing strategies and back then, it used to be simple. How simple? You buy a print ad space or a TV spot and advertise your product to consumers. You showcase your products in a store display or a giant billboard to help sell more products to new customers. Instant contact meant instant sales. Each time a consumer comes in contact with your product is an opportunity to sell and is always considered a plus.
With the increase of opportunities to encounter or engage potential consumers, also called “touch points” particularly in social media, the number of ways one can engage, convert and sell to have increased and is still increasing at a rapid rate. Those in marketing has now begun to factor how many times one’s product or services can come into contact with target consumers in social media. How many times can potential consumers see or hear what the company have to say? How many times can potential consumers be reminded that great products or services are waiting for them in the company’s stores? Note that this only takes into consideration the frequency of contact. This does not even put into account the success or conversion rate each “encounter” makes. And this is why is no longer as simple as it once was.
Where does Branding (and perfect logo designs) fall into all of this? Is branding a push strategy or a pull strategy? Why? The best way to get started is to get the terms defined distinctly to prevent confusion.
