Funeral brands can be exciting…
Icebolethu Funerals is undeniably one of the biggest funeral brands in South Africa. When we took on the job of being their brand and marketing agency we had no idea it would be such a radical ride, it is a funeral brand after all, how exciting could it be?
To our shock many years later, we have learnt that funeral brands can be exciting. No that was not a typo, I said funeral brands can be exciting and these are the few things we have learnt from building a funeral brand;
Funeral Brands Need to be Engaging
As strange as it may seem people actually want to engage with funeral services brands, and are proud to have a relative buried by a particular reputable brand. To build this engagement you need to be very active on social media especially Facebook.
Word-of-Mouth Matters
When it comes to sealing the deal, it is important that your target audiences know that you will deliver on your promises. So this is basically a show and tell situation right, post the great work you do on social media and watch the leads roll in. Well, that’s if you are doing a great job, lol.
Brand Placement is King
Find a relevant yet interesting brand placement or influencer that your audiences connect with and create a well-designed campaign to go with it. So what you do not want to do is place and walk away, and make sure your placement is well communicated on your socials in order to boost engagement and drive sales leads.
Brands Over Product
You will find that audiences, especially the working class, care less about the details and price of the cover than they do about the actual brand. So build a relatable brand that is a part of conversations, and back it up with proof of service delivery. Nothing gets me excited than hearing “Solala eCebolethu”, because it makes me realise that we have done this part right, please allow me to blow our own horn.
Experience Matters
Your target audiences are more likely to trust you if they have experienced you. So spread out wide, even if it means funeral donations just to let your target audiences get a taste of your awesomeness.
Stay appropriately fun, stay relevant, last but not least show and tell.
#brandstrategy #marketingstrategy #kenakomarketing
Gugu Hlophe
Brand Strategist
Kenako Marketing
