If you want to stand out from the crowd in today's market, understanding and communicating your unique "why" is key.
In this interview, Craft Digital Marketing Creative Director Paul Hanna underscores the importance of a business's ability to articulate its unique purpose, arguing that a clear understanding of the "why" behind a brand is not just a marketing strategy, but the cornerstone of all successful branding efforts.
Who Is Paul Hanna?
Paul Hanna has been designing and developing websites since before Y2K and Dreamweaver. He has run his own studio, started many businesses, owned too many guitars (and not enough) according to himself, and is now the Creative Director of Craft Digital Marketing in Wollongong.
As we navigate the 2024 landscape, businesses aiming to enhance their online presence face many different challenges and opportunities. Hence, I asked Paul what businesses looking to scale their brand’s digital potential this year should focus on first.
He mentioned that at Craft, they mainly work with established businesses that are looking to level up. So, once they ensure that the company has a strong direction, good branding, and a solid digital foundation, they ask for the areas it is trying to scale.
Particularly, Paul suggests looking at these questions:
- Are you looking for a new audience? In this case, the company needs help identifying those new customers and using digital campaigns to get the brand in front of them, as well as utilizing remarketing.
- Do you have a loyal customer base that might be interested in more of what you offer? If so, the company needs a strong EDM strategy to nurture the existing audience.
- Do you just need more cash in your business? Then, the company needs help with analyzing customer spending on its site, finding the most profitable and successful products, and optimizing the site to promote those items.
“There’s no ‘one size fits all’, so we take the time when first meeting clients to understand what they want to achieve and how best we can help them achieve that,” he adds.
How To Be Creative the Right Way
Paul notes that Craft strives to help businesses communicate the right story to the right audience most creatively and engagingly possible.
He believes it is the most crucial element of marketing. As Simon Sinek puts it, it's about 'finding your why.' (it’s not a business article without one, or two, Sinek shoutouts).
“When your brand understands 'why' it exists and can convey that to your customers, everything else falls into place. Your website, ad campaigns, and content will all align, presenting a strong, cohesive message.
Without this approach, it can feel like trying to build something with parts from ten different IKEA sets—while you might create something, it will never be the sleek and functional 'Poäng' you envisioned," he adds.
LinkedIn Is the Best Social Platform for B2B Branding in 2024
Discussing how managing presence on social media is one of the core branding tasks for all digital businesses nowadays, I was curious to hear from Paul which channels they focus on first when creating “scroll-stopping” B2B ad campaigns.
This was his answer:
“The simple and quick answer is LinkedIn - that’s where people go for ‘business’ and are in a professional mindset.
The long answer is that we don't treat B2B marketing too differently from B2C because, in the end, we're still talking to a person and not a ‘business’ or, as I like to call them, a business person (that's 20 years experience shining through for you right there).
This 'business person' usually starts on LinkedIn to find what they need, using it as a professional resource, so we start our campaigns there.
Once they engage, we follow up with remarketing through the Meta platforms. Why? Because when they're off the clock, they're on Instagram or Facebook for mindless hours of doom scrolling like the rest of us.
That's where we stay in front of them and that’s where we can help people make decisions.”
Watch our video to learn how to create a personal brand through the power of AI.
Planning Is Nothing Without Execution
Sometimes the limited number of resources available prevents marketing plans from progressing forward and being executed effectively.
Hence, I asked Paul how he approached resolving this challenge.
“Any strategic plan is only as good as its execution,” he explains.
According to him, Craft goes beyond just providing written marketing plans and acts as an extension of their clients' businesses. They collaborate closely with companies to develop and implement effective marketing strategies that elevate their operations.
"We also know from experience that overplanning isn't always the best solution. As Robert Burns said, 'The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.' Given how quickly the digital landscape changes, there's a lot to be said for just getting started, seeing how the market reacts, and then, as the great Ross Geller instructed, 'PIVOT!'" he added.
I agree that while strategic planning is essential, the ability to adapt and pivot based on market feedback is equally critical.
This adaptive strategy also shapes how Craft manages websites across various platforms, a critical area given the many options now available in the market.
This is Paul’s opinion:
“We’re finding that our clients are becoming less focused on specific platforms and more concerned with whether the site is easy to update, reliable, and scalable. There isn’t the same kind of CMS loyalty that existed in the past, largely because there are so many great options available now. For a long time, WordPress dominated that space that sat between DIY and enterprise systems.”
He explains that at Craft they always select the right tool for the job. However, he highlights that where possible they most often use Webflow no-code solution because of its ability to help bring designs to life in a robust and easy-to-use system.
Next, we discussed that great branding is a must in 2024. However, the main concern most B2B marketers ask is how to stop a brand from being “boring”.
“Brands become 'boring' when they lack authenticity. People are drawn to stories and ideas that resonate on a personal level. We want to connect with a person, or an idea, or feel like we’re being empowered to achieve our goals. When a brand has no clear message or 'why' they appear indistinguishable from their competitors, and become boring.
Brands become exciting when we can connect with them when they make us feel something. When they align with or elevate our narratives," Paul notes.
If you're looking for a professional agency to help you increase customer loyalty and engagement, be sure to check DesignRush's listing of top branding agencies.
How To Make Your Brand Personal and Relatable
For corporations, staying relatable and authentic on an individual level can be a challenge. So, Paul suggests putting a face to their respective brands, making them personal, and adding a unique identity that resonates with their audience.
This can involve highlighting a CEO or brand ambassador to personify the brand, making it more than just a logo. Just like Elon Musk is defining Tesla's cutting-edge image or Kanye West is lending unique style to Yeezys.
“In both cases, the goal is to personalize the brand and give customers someone to connect with, rather than just a faceless entity with a nice font,” he explains.
Building on the concept of transforming brands from boring to engaging by personalizing and humanizing them, it's clear that effective storytelling and relatable figures can significantly boost a brand’s appeal.
Just as a dynamic leader or an iconic ambassador can inject life into a brand, compelling video content can also captivate an audience and sustain their interest.
This is evident in Craft's collaboration with Neil & Krystal Hipwell, where a six-part video series not only highlighted their luxury development project but also significantly increased engagement on social media platforms.
This synergy between personal branding and strategic content creation exemplifies the modern approach to keeping audiences engaged and invested.
