While the Super Bowl game is fun to watch for many reasons – the match-up between two great teams, the excited fans, the half-time entertainment – we all know that what everybody really wants to see are the Super Bowl commercials.

Every day this week my morning news show has unveiled a different commercial and I have yet to be disappointed. I can’t wait to watch the game and see them all run live. I also love the after-the-game-successful-commercial debate.

Since airing a 30-second Super Bowl spot reportedly costs a staggering $4.5 million, to many, Super Bowl commercials seem frivolous. But as we all know, brands who get their Super Bowl ad campaign right are big marketing winners.  If there were not a reward, leading brands wouldn’t spend the dollars year after year on Super Bowl ads.  It is interesting to watch these same brands make the most of their spots by pairing them with digital and social campaigns.

In the end, not only is there a winning football team, there is a winning advertising campaign.  What it takes to win a Super Bowl campaign is the same as it is for any really good marketing plan:

1. Have a strategy.
2. Be relevant.
3. Provide meaningful content.
4. Strike an emotional chord and deliver a compelling message that will have people talking for days.

I definitely have my favorite spots already, but I will wait to choose a winner until I see all the ads in all their glory on Sunday evening!  Happy watching!

This 4th of July, my family was on the lake. For the first time, we went out to the middle of the lake in a boat to watch the fireworks. It was exciting to be on the water and have a 360 view of the sky lighting up in celebration of our country. My two young boys snuggled up with me looking up at the sky and eventually fell asleep in my arms (that hasn’t happened since they were babies). For me, it was a perfection. For them, not so much …

Is your brand, product or service perfect? Of course! No one ever says, “My baby has imperfections.” If customers view your brand as less-than perfect, there is a perception challenge. Your customer’s perception is your business’s reality.

The Dove’s “Real Beauty Sketches” Ad Campaign of 2013 is one of my all-time favorites! A woman describes herself to a forensic artist and strangers who have met the woman that day do the same. The result is two images that are very different. The tagline is, “You are more beautiful than you think.”

How interesting would it be if brands could do this? If executives and employees could describe their products and services and customers do the same. How would the pictures differ?

In 2009, Domino’s Pizza had a perceptions issue. What did they do? They listened, responded and communicated how they were changing, resulting is amazing business results. Watch this Domino’s Pizza Turnaround.

Perception is reality.

Three ways to do a brand perception reality check:

1. Outside Business Consultants
2. Customer Intercepts, Focus Groups & Surveys
3. Social Media

Outside Business Consultants come in many forms; research firms, advertising, marketing and PR agencies, executive coaches, assessments, mystery shoppers to name a few. The value an outside partner can bring to your business is an objective view of your customer’s perception

Customer intercepts, focus groups or surveys are feelings and attitudes of your product or service. When asked, people will give you insights on areas to improve or let you know to stay the course. A very simple first step is a suggestion box in retail locations. You can get some really great ideas!

Social Media has opened the customer conversations wide open! Leverage this opportunity to listen, watch, collect and engage with your audience. People have immediate access to your brand to share in a public forum their likes, dislikes and desires for your product and services. Are you listening? Are you taking action? Social media allows you to respond immediately to customer feedback.

Listening to your customers and being open to feedback is an important business strategy to ensure your products and services are aligned with your customers’ perceptions.

My oldest son’s journal entry on my perfect 4th of July night: “On 4th July at night we did not get to see that much fireworks.” It was not his best 4th of July, our perceptions of the evening differed greatly, but perception is reality.

The other day, I saw a quote a friend had posted from Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” This is so true and I live this with our clients every day!

A brand is more than just advertising or a logo or social media or a tag line – it’s how your customers perceive your business. And everything a company does, whether intentional or not, shapes the perception of their brand.

Creating a strong brand identity is critical in this day and age when a world of information is at our fingertips and we are given many different options for purchasing the same product. Some of the most successful brands are those that give you a reason to like them and not just the product. Brand is more than just your product – it’s also your reputation.

In order to build a strong brand, the following objectives must be achieved:

• Have a vision – know where your brand is going. At the end of the day, what do you want your brand to be when it grows up? What’s its highest calling?
• Have a personality – what are the four adjectives that describe your brand
• Find your unique position in the marketplace – define your target audience, the frame of reference and your competitive set
• Define the club that your customers want to be aligned with and know why they want to be affiliated with your brand

Once you have defined these critical things, make sure you have internal buy in. Is your team convicted about them? Is everything you are doing internally and externally communicating your brand strategies? Are your customers or clients connected to your brand strategies?

Once you have asked yourselves these questions and are living it inside and outside your company, here’s what to do next:

• Have a branding and marketing strategy – recognize market trends and respond to consumer demands to get ahead.
• Deliver a consistent and unique message. Make sure your message aligns with your brand’s values and personality.
• Be creative! You want to stand out from the competition and creativity and innovation will get you noticed.
• Know your competition.
• Manage your reputation – It’s hard work to build up your reputation but even harder work to maintain it. Make sure you are listening to what people are saying about your brand. People are most likely to do business with companies they like and trust.
• Make sure you are everywhere your customers are looking.

A strong brand is invaluable to win the battle for customers. It’s important to spend time investing in building your brand. After all, your brand is what your customers come to expect from you. It’s the foundation of your marketing strategy and something you don’t want to be without!