Many energy companies begin from a humble background of marketing their products without any plan for further development. However, to reach a certain point in growth, they must embrace branding proactively. Overlooking this important step towards marketing would result in stagnation in growth. Ovo Energy is an energy supplying company through buying and selling electricity and gas to domestic properties (Bessant and Tidd 429). Creating the right image of the Ovo Energy through branding will be so fundamental in generating a market in Cairo. Branding must, therefore, satisfy the following characteristics: innovative, customer loyalty, quality products, and good design among others. Some of the valuable steps in branding would include creating a vision, positioning so that it is different from the competitors, outlining benefits and creating personality. On the other hand, it defines values and shapes brands for the customers.
Brand Strategy Plan for Switching to Postpaid System
Ovo Energy brand design service will help disrupt the centralized company by making it easier for the people living within the city to access their payment services. The strategy plan will include:
An Overview (Brand Strategic Plan)
Under this section, a practical planning process is used to develop the vision and the brand in Cairo. It will help the company set and achieve both long-term and short-term goals. In implementing the plan, there must be an identification of the mission of the Ovo Energy in Egypt. Therefore, this section identifies and explores the implementation timeline. An initiative to develop a brand to switch from the monthly payment to pay as you go is addressed in this chapter. The aspect prevents time wastage in paying for the services such as bill payment among others. Such an initiative will create competition in the local market and at the same time improve the system of electricity bill payment within the Cairo domestic market. A local strategy of Cairo to move from local to digital cash is built.
Strategies
The next step under this section is the development of strategies. The procedures will explain how the branding will arrive at the core objectives. Ovo Energy branding will have a broad range of strategies that includes energy consumers from Cairo. The plans encompass people and electricity apparatus in different Cairo parts. An example of the comprehensive approach will increase the cheap power supply for the consumers to boost business activities. The particular strategy will be to switch from manual payment of electricity to mobile payment service. It will guide the inventions in the city. A good strategy in business helps to steer a firm to success (Garner et al. 41).
Action plan
Action steps are established for each element of the invention. These include Drafting Ovo Energy marketing plan and asking local mobile telecommunication Companies in Egypt to introduce mobile payment services. Further, identifying the people responsible, a date for completion, resources needed, barriers and means of overcoming them and collaborators become the subsequent action plan. The action plan will require continuous testing and revision repeatedly to eliminate possible errors.
Vision and Mission Statement
A vision statement is a dream that is yet to be achieved in the branding strategy. What the company believes are the best conditions for the city, that is, the way operation of people in Cairo would look like once the idea is in completion is the vision statement. Certain characteristics are common in the vision statement, and these are; a statement should be clear and straightforward to everyone living in Cairo. Again should be broad to cover all the characteristics of branding system. Some of the examples of vision statement would include Distinctness of Ovo Energy brand, fastness of electricity bill payment, cheaper and renewable energy. The local market is flooded with shared branding style, and this causes confusion to consumers. Therefore, the newly introduced branding style helps the local companies in Cairo with new ideas to facilitate the people’s awareness of some of the best energy companies.
Some reasons emerge while developing vision and mission statements. For example, developing clear and appealing vision statements must draw local market competitors to have the common market, inspire the local companies in the market for better future development to achieve their dreams and finally provide other means of developing the action plan. In coming up with a good branding strategy plan, there is the need to learn what the local market lacks. Conducting an interview from the domestic market in Egypt will be most appropriate before concluding on the brand. The aspect helps in coming up with what has been introduced by the local companies. Some of the questions in conduction an interview will be like: What is their dream for the Cairo? What would they want to see the change in electricity billing system? What kind of City do they want to associate? Which brand among presented can best fit the local market?
Creating Objectives
Objectives are specific and measurable results of an initiative, which in this case is branding. A company’s goals must offer specific accomplishment at a given time. The best objectives must have some of the characteristics outlined below. The branding strategic plan will have to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timed and challengeable.
Specificity- the objective must address specifically the Cairo and the Ovo Energy.
Measurable- information concerning foreign brands must be obtained from the people of Cairo.
Achievable- the type of label must be easy to accomplish within the required time.
Timed- the branding should not take a long time to achieve for multiple brands are likely to take a long time.
Reasons for Creating Objectives
There are many reasons for having specific goals for the branding strategy plan. They must include
• It helps in the creation of accurate and feasible ways in accomplishing the mission.
• Well-developed objectives serve as a guideline to show the sponsors the greater importance of strategy.
• Creating goals also help the Ovo Energy Company to set clear priorities to Cairo.
• It must help individuals in the group work towards building specific local plans in Cairo among many others.
Developing Branding Strategies
In this section, very explicit description of an action plan is carried out. The policy must take into consideration the existing barriers and resources such as money. The following strategies would help Ovo Energy build local projects in Cairo:
• Assist Cairo in implementing post payment brand.
• Conduct a survey and report on people knowledge about the brand.
• Increase access to the branding image through advertisements.
• Organize, an action group, to create awareness programs.
There are things to note about the strategies: Strategies give an overall direction to take in implementing the branding, change existing situations and reduce some of the probable risks during implementation (Leggio et al. 67).
Reviewing or identifying the targets.
The goals of the brand include everyone living in Cairo who experience payment difficulties.
Action Plan
Action steps for your action plan
An action level from an action plan is developed to make adoption of the brand as follows: (from the Group work Ovo Energy on the local strategies of Cairo market)
Branding Initiative: Postpaid to prepay initiative
Change to be done: Recognizing the efforts of consumers who contributed to the success
Changes to occur: Consumers in Cairo who will be the first to embrace the initiative will be given one token of electricity units.
Who will implement it out: The Ovo Energy will ensure that this information is passed to everyone through social media advertisement.
Resources needed- Resources must come from the management of Ovo Energy, and this will have to take a period of one month.
Communication: The consumers should contact the agents of the Ovo Energy for clarifications of the token in case they are in doubt.
Attaining Feedback from the Local Consumers
Obtaining feedback from the people living in Cairo means; asking questions on the perception of the brand and influence on adoption of the post-pay services of energy. It may involve personal interviews, phone survey and even written the review. The reasons for obtaining feedback include- To understand how the brand is perceived, to get the best understanding of the best brand the people living in Cairo admire and finally to regenerate their interest in the name.
Pinpointing Action Steps: Getting Down To Cairo
Action steps are the efforts towards achieving the set goal and are to be comprehensive. Action steps will include
The branding will be adopted by Cairo energy local strategic plan, carried out by energy consumers, in the whole city for the rest of the years to come. It must take place after one year. The system saves time, resources and energy.
Brand Management
The brand image and concept must be managed throughout its life. Management has three stages, and they are as follows: introduction, elaboration, and fortification. Therefore, the need to transit and improve the local strategies in Cairo must develop digitally designed documentation. The brand eases transactions to create a process that is relatively faster, secure and convenient. Entrance to the digital future will accelerate the implementation of transactional processes and
Introduction stage
There is a designation of activities to establish a brand in the period of entry to Cairo market. Brand management helps the Ovo Energy Company to reduce obstacles involved, loss of data and lack of visibility of workflow.
Elaboration Stage
Now, the value and image of the brand are managed about competitors in the local market. Enhancing the brand’s image is important to administer a competitive environment; this involves changing a market mix.
Fortification
Fortification aims at elaborating the brand image to the image of other services in the market. Besides, management of the brand involves the use of social media; this is all about conversation and establishing a productive relationship with the competitors in the local market. Have the Facebook account for making regular posts to customers and implementing their views to improve the services. The most fundamental management approach for the brand is creating a website that serves as becomes an area for consultation and proof of reliability.
Branding Strategy Components
The following are branding strategy components that will help the country for many years.
Purpose
The branding strategy will purposefully be used in two ways; these include functional and intentional. The practical aspect focuses on the evaluation of the success of the company’s branding and therefore the purpose of the branding should aim at increasing the efficiency of using energy in Cairo. Secondly, intentional relates the ability to do good to Cairo. While making money has been the primary aim of most branding strategy, in this case, Ovo Energy branding is to emphasize the willingness to achieve beyond profitability.
Keep High Profile
It is very import to keep the brand top of any other strategy in the local market. There must be networking with other local companies in Cairo, doing the exchange program with other businesses for digital exposure and encouraging the staff of Ovo Energy to become lively in local services in Cairo. Holding seminars make some people informed.
Brand Consistency
Consistency in image brand and reputation is important in managing the brand. It saves money for the company and eradicates confusion in the marketplace. Ultimately, preparations are made to monitor the market regularly. Consistency is imperative because it is the source of brand recognition and triggers customer’s loyalty. Commitment to the coherence of the company sells their work harmoniously and therefore the source of credit for enhancing the local brand strategies.
Market vehicle
Marketing communication vehicle should be implemented and reach the intended audience. The market vehicles include publicity, trade shows, and phone directories. Public speaking must aim at getting the feedback.
Emotion
Customers are to be made to have the feeling of part of the company. Emotion will involve the use brand to position itself in the posture of someone using a mobile phone to pay for his or her energy bill.
Flexibility
The marketing ability of Cairo is fast changing at a very high rate. Having this in mind, marketers in Cairo remain flexible to ensure that they remain relevant in the local market. Flexibility enables making of adjustments that bring special interest and differentiate the branding in use with other competitors from other nations.
Employee Involvement
Building brand recognition is very essential and this achieved through the participation of the employees in the company. A style guide created by employee helps in the achievement of a secure digital experience (Seidel 3). An employee must be very informed on how they communicate to customers to increase their confidence in the new brand. Their smart communication will obviously be a representation of the brand.
Competitive Awareness
Ovo Energy is to be acutely aware of the competition in the local market in Cairo. It acts as a challenge to improve the strategy and create the greater appearance in the brand.
Loyalty
Love of people for the brand has to be rewarded by being loyal. Loyalty is a major component of brand strategy and helps the company choose potential customers to expect a lot in return.
In conclusion, the above tactics can improve and maintain the brand can only be a market for a while. The most reliable strategic imperfection of many brand plans is trying to achieve penetration and usage frequency of the brand at the same period. The aspect is an example of trying to do two parallel things rather than choosing one. Therefore, exceptional services of the brand should as well be considered to keep the name updated. Creation of a good experience for the customers will motivate them to advertise the brand in every place. A satisfied customer is the best advertisement.
Work cited
Bessant, J R, and Joseph Tidd. Innovation and Entrepreneurship. , 2015. Print.
Garner, Ronald A, and C W. Garner. Managing Automotive Businesses: Strategic Planning, Personnel, and Finances. Clifton Park: Delmar/Thomson Learning, 2006. Print.
Leggio, Karyl, David L. Bodde, and Marilyn L. Taylor. Managing Enterprise Risk: What the Electric Industry Experience Implies for Contemporary Business. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2006. Internet resource. 67
Seidel, Jan. Strategic Management in the Renewable Energies Sector. Place of publication not identified: Grin Verlag, 2013. Print. 3
