Table of Contents 6 2012 OVATION Awards Winning Entries

“The world recognizes the Nike logo, Coke’s red can and McDonalds’ golden arches. These companies
created simple, universally appealing visual elements and stuck with them. They remained consistent
over decades. Logos are a type of visual communication to consumers ‐ when a consumer sees the same
message repeatedly over time, he/she builds trust and emotional attachment toward the brand.”
Consistency is just as important in non‐visual brand elements such as brand and sub‐brand names,
taglines and all written content on consumer‐facing documentation, products and web media. In the
process of compiling Integrated Marketing Communications plans for several clients in the Kitchener‐
Waterloo area, Cawker has noticed a relationship between a company’s lack of brand consistency and a
lack of traffic and interaction on its social media channels.
“For some reason, companies think it’s permissible to use different titles for their social media channels
– this is a seemingly minor issue, but it confuses consumers. I would not call my company B.E.Cawker
Inc. on Facebook and then name my YouTube channel Cawker Solutions Inc.”
Upon discussing these problems with her clients, Cawker discovered that most of them assumed their
consumers would “care enough” to find them. “These types of assumptions are roadblocks to brand
resonance,” says Cawker. “If no one can find your brand, no one will learn more about it, and no one will
talk about it.”
QUICK TIPS FOR ACHIEVING BRAND RESONANCE
Don’t underestimate the amount of emotion people invest in brands. Attach a personality or
emotion to your brand that your target can relate to.
Keep visual brand elements simple and transferrable. Every single visual element should reflect
your brand’s values.
Respond – quickly—to comments, negative or positive, via social media and email. Formulate a
social media contingency plan to deal with “crisis‐level” posts tactfully.
Ask your consumers questions. Marketing is now consumer‐driven – your consumers want to
have a hand in the makeup of your brand.
Remember – consistency is key. Do what works, and do it often.
With her newly‐acquired experience in the creation and implementation of customer‐oriented
marketing communications plans, Cawker hopes to provide companies with fresh yet practical solutions
to branding and customer retention issues. She is confident that accelerating a brand’s ascension to the
Resonance level of the CBBE pyramid will result in its long‐term success and notoriety.
About Bethany Cawker
Bethany Cawker is an Integrated Marketing Communications post‐graduate student at Conestoga
College. She also holds an Honours B.A. in English from York University.
Cawker prizes her critical thinking and analytical skills, established in university and refined further in
her marketing studies. While recognizing the importance of conciseness, she strives to maintain a
persuasive and highly stylistic approach to her writing. By marrying her long‐term experience in
analyzing literature and her newly‐learned practical approaches to marketing communications, she
hopes to make a splash in the communications world and assist companies in the implementation of
branding strategies and programs.