The Ten Brand Commandments

Rinse and Repeat. That's a ready-made mantra behind many successful Holiday marketing messages. Learn several other tips from marketing expert Shanita Akintonde as she shares Ten Brand Commandments for creating memorable Boootifully buoyant, Peppermint Patty-placed, Candy-Cane laced campaigns. 

Marketing Maven Shanita Akintonde personifies passion and purpose. With over two decades of strategically-honed leadership experience as a professor and marketing executive, Shanita has transitioned over 10,000 students from her classroom to the boardroom. She is an author, newspaper columnist, and certified professional speaker who serves as President of ShanitaSpeaks, LLC, a company that energizes clients to predict marketing trends, identify niche audiences, and effectively communicate measurable outcomes, all of which she spotlights as host of the #1-ranked Marketing Insights podcast series.

Podcast Transcript

Transcript

Shanita Akintonde:

Hi, this is Shanita Akintonde, educator, author, career coach, and marketing shero. I invite you to join me for this very special edition of my Marketing Insights podcast series entitled, The 10 Brand Commandments for Creating Beautifully Buoyant, Gobble, Gobble, Turkey Trotting, Peppermint Patty, Candy Cane-Cued Holiday Campaigns.

Shanita Akintonde:

It's that time of the year, marketing maestros, where marketers like us stand, sit, or better yet, strike a pose so that we can get ready to stand at the intersection of Halloween, Thanksgiving and December decimal points, as in those pointed figurines placed at the intermittent points of Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, or whatever holiday celebration, as long as it's extravagant and magnificent, that you may celebrate. The kind of scented soirees that fuel the yule and stoke the tide during the holiday season. I'm not sure why, my pinky just kind of wants to pop up. Maybe that's my indirect way of paying homage to the late monarch. I'm referencing the Queen, y'all, as in Elizabeth, not Latifa, although she's a queen in her own right as well.

Shanita Akintonde:

In this very special edition of my Marketing Insights podcast series entitled, The 10 Brand Commandments for Creating Beautifully Buoyant, Gobble, Gobble Turkey trotting, Peppermint Patty, Candy Cane-cued Holiday Campaigns, I'm going to share 1, 2, 3, [record scratch], 4, 5, 6, [record scratch], 7, 8, 9, [record scratch], 10 tips for effectively reaching and receiving some oo-la-la, as in muy, muy moolah, from your desired customers. So sit back, grab a Pepsi or a Coke, take a slurp, and listen out loud, as in stay alert, y'all. 1, 2, 3, 4, [record scratch], 5, 6, [record scratch], 7, 8, 9, [record scratch], 10. That's the number of tips that I am going to be sharing with you in this special edition of Marketing Insights.

Shanita Akintonde:

I've been in this game a long time. I've seen a lot, experienced a lot, created a lot, like this podcast. It's made me a marketing-honed thought leader. I've also learned that there are rules to this, so I made a list, i.e. a manual, an auditory and visual candle for you to hold up and take a look to get a series of tricks and tips so that you will remain equipped to get your marketing game on, particularly during this holiday season. It's a strategic plan of attack. Don't get your wig pushed back. I'm going to take you through 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 tips that you will learn to be equipped with at the end of this podcast.

Shanita Akintonde:

Number one, that's numero uno out of the gate, remember why you started the campaign in the first place. How'd you get there? You started with beliefs about your target, about your market, about your audience, your demographic, your people, your community. Let your creativity flow. Use your ingenuity. Careful, don't let ideation override intention though. You started with a vision, you started with a mission. Stay true to that, and you will always remain on track.

Shanita Akintonde:

Number two, keep in mind it starts with you. Be clear and concise, no need for me to say it twice. Embed metrics in your message. Be a communicative connoisseur. Be bright and shiny like a diamond, like the sun. Think the color yellow or green for money, money, money, y'all.

Shanita Akintonde:

Number three, don't trust nobody. Remain true to your brand, stay true to your hand. Big bank takes little bank, y'all, always. It could be tempting to borrow from other successful campaigns and incorporate those strategies into your own. Wrong. What works for others may not necessarily work for you, plus it makes you look less confident. Think Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, in a bonnet out in public. Interestingly enough, he could probably pull that off, but you, marketing maestros, not so sure.

Shanita Akintonde:

Number four, know you heard this one before. You always want to pull content from your own supply. Let me repeat, number four, you've probably heard this one before. Always, always, always pull content from your own supply. No need to worry about that well ever running dry. Why recreate the wheel just because it's the holiday season? What's the deal? Just spin it and allow it to land where the most sprinkles are abandoned. In other words, take a look at what's already been successful. Look at it from a year-long capacity. Take your brand, pull snippets from those campaigns. This will allow you to create a quintessential creative quilt that your consumers will love to snuggle up with.

Shanita Akintonde:

If you're not sure how to do that, don't ask why, simply go back and listen to one of my previous podcasts, like Dr. Feel Good, Selling the Sizzle, or Short Brands. Don't just listen once. Tune in twice, three times or more, whether it be on Apple Podcast, Amazon Music, Spotify, or Buzzsprout. Be sure to like, share, and subscribe no matter the site.

Shanita Akintonde:

We're still tracking the 10 Brand Commandments for Creating Beautifully Buoyant, Gobble, Gobble, Turkey Trotting, Peppermint Patty, Candy Cane-cued Holiday Campaigns.

Shanita Akintonde:

Numbers 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 are all combined. They all could really truly be number one for me. I'm just combining them because they flow together so easily. Never waste time waiting solely on your customer insights. Start now to get ahead of the crowd. Personalize your peppermint patty-pumped holiday selling experiences before launch. Get it?

Shanita Akintonde:

One brand that does this very, very, very, very, very well is Coca-Cola. Now you see why I asked you to grab one earlier. In an ad campaign from 2020, the Coke brand shared holiday stories that were very gleeful, and specifically and strategically simple, in order to convey a message that it's a father's presence, not presents that make a difference. This cornerstone ad displayed a dad sailing across the seas, hiking through the forest, fighting the elements of nature, and after climbing a snowcapped steep hill, not one, y'all, but like two or three of them, he finally reached the home of Saint Nicholas, aka Santa Claus, only to find the door closed for Christmas, y'all. Hmm, bummer.

Shanita Akintonde:

Number 10, a final word on the 10 Commandments for Creating Beautifully Buoyant, Gobble, Gobble, Turkey Trotting, Peppermint Patty-laced, Candy Cane-cued Holiday Campaigns podcast. If you follow these rules, you'll have money to break up and makeup.

Shanita Akintonde:

All right, Let's recap them. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, [inaudible 00:10:00], 8, 9, 10 in a list. Number one, start fast. Number two, don't just sell products, sell your brand. Number three, personalize your holiday selling experience. Number four, focus on successful tactics, but don't be a fanatic. Number five, launch your holiday channel strategy ASAP. Number six, stay true to you. Number seven, focus on the right metrics to measure success. Number eight, use holiday stories, especially those that emphasize loyalty, to keep customers loyal to your brand, and they will remember it as well. Numbers nine and ten I combined, and I'll say what they mean again. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat again and again, just like I hope you do after listening to each and every one of my Marketing Insights podcast series broadcast, just like this one, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Brand Commandments for a Beautifully Buoyant, Gobble, Gobble, Turkey Trotting, Peppermint Patty, Candy Cane-cued Holiday Campaigns.

Shanita Akintonde:

Thanks for listening. It's an honor to come to you with these regular broadcasts. Continue to like, share, and post comments to give me ideas and input on future broadcasts. For now, get on out there and get those holiday campaigns started. I can't wait to see what you come up with. Bye bye.

Shanita Akintonde:

Until next time, which will be our best time, this is Shanita Akintonde, professor, author, career coach and marketing shero signing off. If you enjoy listening to these podcasts, be sure to subscribe on Stitcher, iTunes, or Google Play, and like them wherever you hear them. Connect with me on LinkedIn at Professor Shanita Akintonde or follow me on Twitter, @_ShanitaSpeaks.