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It's not rocket science to prove that a strong brand is one of a company's most valuable assets. It's also easy to understand how advertising and paid-for forms of marketing can build brands. However, it's often unclear how public relations can advance a brand. This is especially true for software companies where brand is not the sole basis of creating sales as it is with tennis shoes or soft drinks.

Unlike advertising, PR relies on others, most often the media, to tell your story in their words. Because the media set their own agenda for covering a category or company, it's critical that brand-supporting PR strategies take into account where your company or product is in its lifecycle.

So how do you determine where your company or product fits in the brand lifecycle and what PR approach should be adopted to support your branding initiative? Below are four broad brand lifecycle categories typical of software companies and products, with optimal communications strategies for each:

· New Market: The most critical communications strategy is selling your company's vision and initiating dialogue among key market influencers to establish early market rules for success. In this phase, building visibility for the trends that your company hopes to shape is key. Communications strategies to adopt in this early stage include initiating dialogue with industry analysts, developing and telling the new technology story through technology papers and articles, and showing restraint in delivering news.

· Emerging Market: Emerging markets are characterized by an ever-changing landscape and a large number of companies vying for leadership. Businesses in this phase must continue to influence market dialogue to be seen as thought leaders. Brand-building PR programs should focus on communicating key milestones that demonstrate your company's success in its defined niche so you are perceived as one of the key players in the maturing market. Continue to follow through on early communications strategies directed toward influencing the developing market, demonstrate product successes, focus on trend analysis, and identify and communicate with early market endorsers.

· Established Market: Companies in established markets fortify their position through aggressive product differentiation and product promotion. At this stage, the communications program should begin to shift from a "push" strategy that directly targets your message to a distinct audience, to a "pull" strategy that attracts a broader consumer audience to your brand. Specific activities should center around gaining mindshare, leading market dialogue by announcing market leading activities and becoming a vocal thought leader through expanded media relations activities and appearances.

· Mature Market: Successful businesses in mature markets compete on brand image and focus on more traditional consumer brand promotion techniques. Communications programs should center on large-scale promotional activities that reinforce perceptions of market leadership and extend visibility for your company and its products. In this phase, aggressive brand selling, and dominating the market scene with increased media outreach, large-scale PR activities, intense product promotion activity and an expanded focus on the consumer are essential to brand establishment.

For additional information, please contact Lisa Zwick, senior vice president and general manager at Benjamin Group via phone at 949-260-1300 or email at lisa_zwick@benjamingroup.com.