Established brands
Here’s a quick game: when you read the type of product, what’s the first brand that comes to mind?
You can write it down, or just remember your answers, but the key is to not think too hard. Use your immediate answer:
The majority of responses will be:
This won’t be 100% accurate, but the likelihood of the answers being the same as yours is high.
This is because these are well established 'top of mind' brands. Even if you aren’t loyal to any of them, they are the best known names within their markets.
Aspects of your brand
Your brand describes the perception of your business and products, it’s the image and idea that will instantly come into consumer’s mind.
The first salient part of this is appearance.
Logo, colour palette and typography are all intertwined, but matter separately too.
Consistency with all content will instantly make your brand more recognisable. The same logo must be used at all times as consistency is key.
Logo design ties-in with colour and typography as the brand colour(s) will be used in the logo. It's the same principal with the font.
Having a signature colour and using it consistently can give an 80% increase to recognition.
This also goes for any content production too. Not only do you want consistency, but tone can be affected by font and colour too.
Above is the same sentence, but two very different interpretations.
Another key aspect of branding is the personality side of things, such as tone, values and personality.
Depending on the product or service on offer, brand personality will differ.
The brand of a children’s toy company will want to present itself as fun, upbeat, silly and/or comforting. This will be effective because of the target audience, but this personality wouldn’t be effective while selling cologne.
Brand personality will set you apart from your competition as it adds a sense of sincerity to the business, almost humanising it.
Values can be presented in many ways.
Some brands might publicise community work by talking about it through their online content, or perhaps show values through fundraising. Others might express this through something simple like their slogan.
Take Apple as an example: “Think different”. In just two words, they're expressing that they value innovation, individuality and progression.
The benefits of successful branding
Branding allows you to be recognised instantly by consumers due to a set of memorable traits that you have presented.
Branding is all about visibility, you want your business to be 'top of mind' when people think of a certain product or service.
94 percent of the world’s population recognise the Coca-Cola logo. When you think of a soft drink, they come to mind due to their successful brand identity and consistent relevance in their market.
Branding can let you build a connection with customers by way of a story and values.
People can feel connected to you through this. They are motivated to be loyal to your brand because they agree with your values, respect the business’s journey and progression or any other emotional connection that they may have established with you.
People love brands - we wear them, eat them and drink them every day.
How many times has someone tried to convince you to buy Adidas trainers instead of Nike, or vice versa? Or tried to convince you that Pepsi is better than Coke?
We share our favourite things, so having a strong brand means that people will talk about them with family and friends.
Although it may seem obvious, branding helps set you apart from your competition.
There will be competitors in your market, so standing out (for good reasons) comparatively is important.
Having a unique design or product appearance will make you stay 'top of mind', it makes you memorable and more likely to be noticed in the first place.
Outside of appearance, brand personality can bring attention too. It can be conveyed through advertisements, social media or just public interaction - no matter the platform.
Having a strong brand increases sales and greatly improves customer perception.
Building your brand identity is unique to you and your business, so take the time to figure out what’s best for you and what will work best for your target audience.
If you need help to build your brand, then we'd love to hear from you. Get in contact and find out how we can help.
