Creating a Brand

[TravG]

What do you guys think are the best ways to create a "brand"? I have done some basic stuff like creating a Facebook page, Google+ and Twitter page, but what else can you do to create a Brand and try to strengthen that brand? Since we cannot use traditional advertising such as posting ads, what else really can you do?

[edgarf76]

Print advertising like magnets on refrigerators, door hangers, all the print advertising that real estate agents do. Check out this Remax guys marketing plan, he has a step-by-step plan to sell the home, and implements it on a daily basis. Also look how he is branding himself with the remax brand. This guy makes about two million a year, I used to do real estate coaching with him.

[Gamer]

Hi!
Firstly, your site need to have unique design. Do not need anything fancy, just stay out of the crowd.
If you want to promote unique brand name, the unique logo is essential.

Then, you need to offer unique product, unique service or unique information.

For example,
Coca-Cola brand means unique soft-dring brand.
GPWA.org brand mean unique services for affiliates, in-depth information and unique forum. (and perhaps some more)
etc. etc.
What is unique in your site? product? service? or information? that visitor could associate with your brand?

[sweetbet]

Pinterest is another huge social networking site that is well worth joining.

[RacingJim]

Catchy name is always a good start, think outside the box maybe. I say this but some of my efforts are crap. But think about the sites that are really big internet successes - Skype, eBay, Google, Bing etc etc. Those brands don't necessarily convey very much about what they do, but they are great memorable brand names.

I think it's REALLY difficult in the gambling niche to create a brand, especially as an affiliate, but still can be done, that is the challenge for us now since Google has been so brand-biased.

[RacingJim]

I've just been looking round for what I would call '**** hot' betting brandable domains, it's amazing how many .coms have been eaten up just to be sat there with a holding page by some domain hoarder. A shame for such good domains to go to waste and a real fault of the domain hoarding mentality.

[doovde]

The name is not that important. What is important is what you have to offer.

You need to provide a service which is unique or essential to your visitors.

Off the top of my head you can brand yourself as:

- A sports tipster. People return and search out your brand because they can only get what you have to say at your website.

- An industry watchdog. Done a lot in our industry think Casinomeister or Affiliate Guard Dog.

- As an expert in a particular field. Think poker expert making videos, writing high level content etc.

You need to have something on your website that people want and can only get from you. To me that seems the only legit way to start a brand if you're not a massive company with thousands to throw at it.

[RacingJim]

An example of a good memorable brand name is 'Wizard of Odds'. I laughed my tits off when i saw that name for the first time, but I remembered it immediately. It's definitely a good start to have a memorable name if you want people to return to the site/brand.

I even typed 'Wizard of Odds' in Google, found the site top obviously, clicked on the site and had a look around. I therefore sent Google a 'brand signal' for that site. I wouldn't have done that for some EMD domain, even though half my sites are of that type.

[onlinepokerplay]

Hey Sir,

There is a difference in marketing and branding.Branding comes after branding, so if your website is popular then after you can do branding from things like regular ads on online sites and even local area of your city .
i can help with this, PM me

[sampendleton]

Same here, I think logo has a big impact on every businesses.
IMO, logo is what makes a brand (well aside from marketing).
It is something that will mark on people's mind.

[wettFORM.AT]

I think you have to combine a specific topic with your brand name. Always combine visual and text. Think about brands you know and why you bring this brand in context with a topic. Create something that people can remember very easy. I can agree that it´s absolutely not about the name it´s more about the logo (visual) but think of all the phantasy brand names that have no meaning. In the end it´s all about the service you offer.

[iGamingWriter]

Coincidentally I was thinking about this topic in the pool this morning.

IMO brand is going to become more and more important over the next 5-10 years. To really create a successful brand needs more than just a logo or social media or a catchy name, though these things are all part of creating a successful brand. The foundation of branding is having a product worth remembering. If you're not doing something different to the rest of the market - or something better than the rest of the market - the chances are your brand isn't going to be memorable regardless of what you do.

Looking at the casino market (as that's the one I really know) the successful brands have been the ones that really do something different

CasinoMeister - the longest running dispute mediation service. They did it before anyone else.

AskGamblers - while it was doing the same thing as CasinoMeister, it did it in a distinctly different way and one that was very effective at quick resolution of the low level issues that wouldn't usually warrant a formal complaint at CM.

Wizard of Odds - A singularly unique site in terms of the information available there. The product that was being sold was less the information and more the man behind the information.

Each of these brands has the other things to greater or lesser degree - catch name, unique logo, unique design, social media (well this last one isn't so strong for CM or WOO, but I'd be a hypocrite to criticise someone else's failings in this department).

Without offering something not available elsewhere or something that's a distinct improvement over the rest of the market, attempts at branding are built on a porous foundation.

That's just my opinion though....

[sammiranda]

I agree with thepogg - dispute mediation and expert content have been key for brands in our industry.

Here are some other ideas of how to build a brand:

- Deliver GENUINE user value through cashback / reward schemes.
- Offer tools to help players...betting & bonus calculators, jackpot trackers etc.
- Build a personality behind the 'brand'. Get your CEO / Director to speak at conferences, participate in interviews etc.
- PR stunts. These can be expensive, not to mention hit and miss, but there are lots of ways to glean local media coverage. Your office could work naked for charity or something.
- Display advertising - create a video about your brand and do some paid media.

[Gamer]

"If you're not doing something different to the rest of the market - or something better than the rest of the market - the chances are your brand isn't going to be memorable regardless of what you do."
Exactly, what I have mentioned in my previous post.
Amazing brand mean unique product, unique service or unique information. That's all folks!
Let's develop something unique! Hurrrra!

[TheGooner]

What do you guys think are the best ways to create a "brand"?

The best way to create a brand is NOT to use an exact match domain as the destination.

You need to create a name in an area that can stand out by itself - and is not just a reflection of what it does.
If I think of programs that have / had good branding then places like FULL TILT POKER and BET365 stand out as places that succeeded.

FULL TILT was the usual description - it's an attitude and doesn't directly say POKER - and I'm sure that most of the search effort and branding worked with full tilt without using Poker at all. It's a similar thing with BET365 - a clever play on a betting operation that runs every day of the year. It's catchy - it works in all the gambling verticals and you see the logo everywhere and know what it it.

For affiliates I think that if you use the actual gaming element in your name then I think that you run the risk of being forgettable. Certainly in the sporting affiliate world there are hundreds of bet tips, bet tipsters, best bets, best tipsters etc sites running wordpress or joomla ... and I don't remember any of them.

[RacingJim]

The best way to create a brand is NOT to use an exact match domain as the destination.

You need to create a name in an area that can stand out by itself - and is not just a reflection of what it does.
If I think of programs that have / had good branding then places like FULL TILT POKER and BET365 stand out as places that succeeded.

FULL TILT was the usual description - it's an attitude and doesn't directly say POKER - and I'm sure that most of the search effort and branding worked with full tilt without using Poker at all. It's a similar thing with BET365 - a clever play on a betting operation that runs every day of the year. It's catchy - it works in all the gambling verticals and you see the logo everywhere and know what it it.

For affiliates I think that if you use the actual gaming element in your name then I think that you run the risk of being forgettable. Certainly in the sporting affiliate world there are hundreds of bet tips, bet tipsters, best bets, best tipsters etc sites running wordpress or joomla ... and I don't remember any of them.

Yep it's much more easily said than done, but those two are perfect examples of great brands.

I was wondering Gooner, I have a couple of EMD's and a few branded domains, would you even bother now with launching new EMDs?

I feel with the way it's going (I've been punished on a couple of my current EMDs) that unless you have a long standing site with a ton of trust, Google is just going to be a bit harsh on anything close to an EMD.

I guess it's maybe a 'tolerance line' that Google has and the line will be a lot lower (i.e. easier to do something wrong and get punished) for an EMD type of site - but I'm definitely interested in hearing yours and other long standing affiliates views.

[Rostick]

Actually this is something I have always tried to do myself. I`ll throw in my thoughts:

No doubt that a catchy domain name will help a lot, I`d even say it`s mandatory. You have so much better chances of creating a brand with a name like "wizard of odds" (like someone gave an example) than "onlinecasinoreviews". Just like Gooner said, I`d combine the main object of activity (slots, odds, bet) with another catchy word (see betbrain, oddschecker, betshoot etc.)

A nice looking & unique logo is very important as well. Unique design would be a huge plus (not sure if it has to be spectacularly well done, just to stand out). Again I`ll give Gooner`s example: I don`t quite like his website`s design (sorry mate) but it stands out, for me he`s a brand. Myself, I think I have a very nice design but it`s not really unique, so I think the other way around is much better. Put on a unique favicon if you can.

Branding of course implies social activity, so it would be imperative to make the most of the social networks, maybe keep pumping money into facebook to a certain extent (though generally I totally disagree with facebook ads). Or/and put on a "not too intrussive" social popup on the main page. Have a facebook like box visible (or tweeter feed). Focus on 2-3 social networks and do it right.

E-mail subscription - for branding, I reckon it`s great, try to have a clean, nice subscription form visible and send for example an e-mail per day.

Forums - I`m not sure, personally I find them a waste of time, but maybe others have a different opinion. Might help with branding.

Maybe try to hit a partnership with another website, showing your logo and excerpts of content in a visible place. Maybe a content aggregator (so you don`t have to "return the favour").

You probably want to be on a clear cut niche and try to be an expert in it. Of course, try to rank on the first page in google for popular and clear, expressive keywords.

Suggestions: Try a brand story on the first page "this is who we are, this is what we do, I support Arsenal, etc.". Try to send a personal message to your users, looking like both an expert and a friend. Respond friendly to all e-mails, even stupid ones. Maybe post pictures (on social media or website) of you and your friends having a beer in the tavern, saying you`re waiting for Champions League or things like that. Brand a t-shirt or cap, take a picture wearing it, give away branded things if possible. Contests might help if they are carried on smooth.

Of course, some of the above depend on the niche you are in. Hope some of my suggestions help.

[-Shay-]

What do you guys think are the best ways to create a "brand"? I have done some basic stuff like creating a Facebook page, Google+ and Twitter page, but what else can you do to create a Brand and try to strengthen that brand? Since we cannot use traditional advertising such as posting ads, what else really can you do?

Participating in discussions one starts helps to cement the voice of one's brand instead of letting those who respond do all the heavy lifting.

[DanHorvat]

It's a similar thing with BET365 - a clever play on a betting operation that runs every day of the year.

I actually think Bet365 name and logo are absolutely horrible. If it wasn't for the fact that it's the best bookie at the moment, the "brand" might as well belong to a random white label.

Besides, their hands are kind of tied when it comes to promoting casino and poker as the brand is so clearly associated with betting.

[TheGooner]

I was wondering Gooner, I have a couple of EMD's and a few branded domains, would you even bother now with launching new EMDs?

I'm probably not a good person to ask mate - I never liked EMD's because they just don't standout - but no - unless it was a killer one or two word search term in general use - then I don't get why it would be a brand.

I understand why (say) FLIGHTS.COM is a good potential portal name ... but when you are checking potential flights do you go to flights.com or expedia.com? flights.com does exist (I just checked) but even if you use it once and find it's good ... the common word means that it's not memorable.

So because it uses a common name (not able to TM it?) it has to battle squatters like cheapflights.com, easyflights.com, EZflights.com flights.co.uk and a hundred others when you try to search for it next time. Meanwhile expedia.com gets a free pass as little hassle by using an unrelated brand name.

I`ll give Gooner`s example: I don`t quite like his website`s design (sorry mate)

No worries mate - I don't like my "design" either. It was never designed- it's just grown.

It's come about through the growing nature of the site, the need for accurate up to date SEO tags, and the desire of advertisers to have a front page spot - and being prepared to pay for it. I've looked at all sorts of layouts, but I need one that is dynamic, and one that is SE functional (ie text links) to ensure that what we cover is mentioned directly on the front page to enable it to be just one click away for potential readers.

So if you are a designer out there that can find an easier way to display 50 matches in 10 different competitions with 100 team names, and a dozen advertisers, as well as links to another 100 different money pages, in a better way then I'm VERY KEEN to see your ideas. Oh ... and tomorrow it will be just 5 games in 2 comps. etc. So it needs to be a widely variable format.

Bet365 name and logo are absolutely horrible

Each to their own I guess Dan - but for me Bet365 is a label that works well and "does what it says on the tin". It is a brand. I think it's spawned a number of copycats ( bet24 - bet188 ) who have tried the name/number route without getting anywhere near it.

What would your example of a premier betting brand be?