CONNECTION AND INTEGRATION OF BRANDING AND CONTENT MARKETING

Abstract

Due to the intense competition for consumer attention, companies are actively working to establish a strong brand identity and connect with their target audience. Marketing technologies and tools are constantly evolving in search of new ways to communicate with consumers, in order to strengthen the brand's position in the minds of consumers, increase awareness, satisfaction and loyalty of potential customers. One of the tools that can be used to intensify interaction with consumers and capture their attention is content marketing, which involves creating and distributing content using a variety of different techniques. In the modern world of information and communication technologies, the priority tasks of branding are to build long-term relationships with potential customers and consumers, which is ensured by the use of content marketing. The theoretical foundation of this article is based on the research conducted by Ukrainian and foreign scholars on branding and content marketing, as well as successful case studies of content usage to strengthen the brand position of companies. The article employs scientific methods such as grouping, generalisation, theoretical and comparative analysis. This allowed the author to examine the role of content marketing in managing an enterprise's brand strategy and the specifics of using content to build brand equity. The article defines the key features of content marketing and characterises its tasks for enterprise branding management. The article describes the role of content marketing in each level of the 'Brand Wheel' model and its impact on the growth of brand equity indicators: awareness and recognition, positive associations, perception of quality and brand loyalty. Successful cases of using content to strengthen a brand are also presented. The article highlights the connection of marketing communication objectives and content marketing tools to brand equity elements. The research findings will be valuable for Ukrainian entrepreneurs in developing a content marketing strategy, branding, and understanding the relationship between them. Additionally, it will contribute to increasing the usage of content marketing practices.