If you only take away one message from this blog, it should be this: Branding is important!
How important? Well, the name of our marketing company is BRANDiT, so we clearly think that brands matter.
Now you may be thinking ‘only because you think that doesn’t mean it’s right’. But the point is that brands and branding is a crucial part of EVERY business.
So now sit back, get comfortable, and let us take you on a tour about the power of branding.
Nail Your Branding!
No matter how big or small your business is or what industry you’re in, one thing is for sure. You will be better off if you nail your branding.
Why? Well, a business can’t operate without customers. Regardless if you have a B2B or B2C operation, at the end of the day you need people to buy your offerings.
For people to buy your offerings, they have to be aware your business exists – that’s where branding comes in!
Why are brands important to consumers?
For consumers, brands serve as symbols to facilitate choices among competitors, assess quality levels, reduce risk and build trust.
Brands that portray information in a meaningful way are easily remembered and consumers tend to purchase brands they resonate with and link to brand associations.
Sounds good, but how do you do this? Through your brand image.
Creating an effective brand image is essential in order to build a strong and successful brand in a competitive market.
But doing this is easier said than done. Luckily for you, we are going to share some of our wisdom and outline some key things which are involved in creating a ROCKiN brand!
Is Your Brand Right For YOU?
One of the key things to ensure success is ensuring that consumers can easily identify and associate brands with (i) your business’s specific offerings and (ii) their own needs.
Put it this way if you have a plumbing business it wouldn’t be very strategic to have a brand that references farm animals. All that would do is confuse potential customers.
Your brand is supposed to share awareness of what your business has to offer its customers.
Therefore, when creating a brand strategy, it is crucial to identify the target market and understand consumers’ needs, wants and expectations.
How do you do this? Through a little something we like to call ‘Brand Identity’.
More About Brand Identity
Your brand identity should be made up of your business’ core values and attributes and made known to consumers through visual identifiers.
These include things such as the brand name, slogan and logo.
Did you know that creating effective visual identifiers is crucial? They communicate the brand’s image, positioning, offerings and values to not only your customers but also your employees, partners and potential investors and form the basis for brand awareness.
Brand names can be explained as being the anchor for your brand identity. They should capture its central theme in an obvious yet short and concise manner.
But no matter how ROCKiN your brand name is, alone it won’t be enough to make a good brand.
Put it this way, let’s say Mick Jagger is the brand name. Together with Bill Wyman, Brian Jones, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts, they formed the Rolling Stones and were one of the most successful bands of their time.
But as history shows when Mick went off by himself and tried to make it as a solo artist it was a bit of an epic fail. The same goes for branding. When all brand elements work together the outcome is much better!
What are some other key elements of branding?
Let’s share some key elements needed to create a successful brand using BRANDiT as an example.
The list is not exclusive, as creating a brand a wide range of different aspects and is unique to each company.
Consistency
Consistency, and I cannot stress this enough, is key to building a strong brand.
It’s super important to be consistent across all the brand elements on all the platforms you use to communicate as a brand.
This includes your website, social media platforms and packaging. Customers respond to cohesive brands with direction and impact on their brand image.
A great way to keep consistent is to create a style guide outlining the fonts, images and colours which are to be used at all times on all your platforms. This should be your ‘Marketing Bible’!
Logos
Logos visually portray your brand’s promise. Consumers use it to identify your business and differentiate it from your competitors.
Sounds simple, but you’d be surprised by how many people choose to buy something from one business just because they have better looking logo!
To make your business the one they choose…
- Ensure your logo is high resolution and is consistent with your brand image
- Use the same colours and brand identity that you have used consistently throughout your marketing material
- Have varying logos to ensure that the shape and colour are fitting to different settings and formats
Colours and Shapes
Brands strengthen their identity by incorporating certain colours and shapes which spark a psychological response in consumers.
They illustrate your brand’s core values, attributes and personality, as well as support its positioning.
Choose your brand colours on the emotional response you want to evoke in consumers. Certain colours will give a calming response and others exciting.
You have to determine what will be most appropriate for your business based on how they will make your customers feel. Oh, and make sure you choose colours that work well together. If you have designed the most amazing logo, the last thing you want to do is ruin it by making it neon green, hot pink and maroon.
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Slogans
Slogans are an effective tool to further communicate the brand’s value, enforcing the meaning behind the brand name and priming associations in the mind of consumers.
Effective slogans capture the brand’s core message and link to its offerings in a short and concise manner.
OUR slogan is “ROCKS”, so the goal here is to keep a tag / slogan short and sharp, while making a powerful and memorable statement about your business.
For instance BRANDiT’s uses “ROCKS” everywhere including on invoices, proposals, wall stickers and email signatures.
Your slogan should be part of your business and used daily, rather than your aspiration.
Tell a Story
The most crucial part of creating a brand identity is remembering that you are telling a story and ultimately creating customer loyalty.
You want to build a relationship with your customers so that they feel a strong connection to your business.
A brand’s story comes from the people behind the brand, the history of the company and the role the consumers play in the story so be sure to communicate this as often as possible.
Are you ready to start building your brand? If you’re not sure of where to start or where to look, get in touch and we will ensure you’ll be on your way towards improving your brand image.
BRANDiT is a Full-Service Marketing and Advertising Agency meaning we do it all. Servicing the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne we are the right starting point, call us on 1300 70 60 20 or use the below “Contact Us’ form.
ARE YOU READY TO BE ROCKED?
