Creating a memorable brand is absolutely critical to your business because of the overall impact it makes on your company. A brand is the way a product, company or individual is perceived by those who experience it. Much more than just a name or a logo, it’s how you as the owner, your workforce and your customers perceive the company. It’s your what, your how and your why.
“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
Jeff Bezos
Or as Seth Godin puts it, a brand is “…the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.”
Your brand identity is the visual representation of your brand. It outlines a brand’s use of visual elements including logo, fonts, colours, images etc.
Whether you’re just getting started creating a brand identity or you’re in the process of re-branding because Covid has up-ended your business, you need to spend some time clarifying your messaging and deciding how to implement it. Here are the elements of creating a memorable brand.
1. Decide on your Brand Values
These are the beliefs that you, as a company, stand for. They’re the compass that decides your story, actions, behaviours and decisions. Think of John Lewis being ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ or think of Volvo and you think of safety. They form the narrative that propels your brand. Establishing a set of Brand Values will help you
- Stay authentic
- Make your brand memorable
- Build a deeper audience connection
- Inspire brand loyalty
2. Know your Market
Before you start making any major decisions, you need to understand where your business fits into the market and the position it plays in the minds of your audience. Research these key areas:
- Your target market
- The competition – what are they doing and how does your brand relate to them?
- Your Products and Services – How does your product uniquely solve the problems or needs of your target market? What is your customers experience of you (your website, advertising, social media posts, face to face contact)
3. Create your messaging and unique value proposition
Now that you know the market and your position in it, create a ‘proposition’, or a message that explains to your audience how you uniquely fulfil their needs. Write it down. Focus on the customer and the benefits your offering provides them. How does using your products make the customer’s life better? It should emphasize what sets you apart from other, similar businesses.
Slack: “Be More Productive at Work with Less Effort”
4. Create a memorable brand Identity
The visual design elements and assets that will help to convey your messaging to your audience. We’re talking logo, colour, fonts, tone of voice, images, strapline. It’s vital to get this done by a professional. Even if you’re a designer, still get somebody else to do it. You’re too close. Step away. It’s often your first chance to make an impression on a potential customer, and a key part of brand awareness, differentiation from the competition and brand recognition.
The elements to consider are:
Logo – The symbol and or wordmark that represents the business
Fonts and Typography – You can’t be a high-end hotel and use Comic Sans. Choosing the right font for the right brand is crucial. (link)
Photography/imagery Style – Use Pintrest and image libraries like Adobe Stock to look for the images that you like. Do your subjects look into camera or do you want a more reportage style? Is there a colour technique or overlay you can use to visually own every image? A consistent appearance is vital for brochures and ads, and great for your Instagram grid. Read our blog on creating high quality images here.
Colour Palette – Brand colours can tap into emotion and influence buying behaviour. Think about the colours that will resonate best with your audience and will make you a little different from your competitors. Luxury experience providers should look to current trends in high end interiors magazines. If you have a young, urban audience, using a pop of neon will help you stand out among the seaside themed colour schemes widely used.
Tag line / strap line – this is the line that can sit with your logo and explain what you do. If you’re a Cornish Beer maker, a strapline can point this out. St Austell Brewery use the following tag line for their small batch beers: ‘Globally Inspired, Created in Cornwall’ and that tells you all you need to know about this product.
When all these elements are in place, create a set of brand guidelines – the guide to all the visual aspects of your brand identity. Use them, and if people are making stuff for you, send them your guidelines thus ensuring Comic Sans is never used.
5. Create your brand communications Plan
Your planning should include where you will communicate with your market and what content you will offer them. What platform suits your business? Are you a fun Tik Tok brand, or more of a Facebook sort of brand? For your branding to work, everything should be consistent and in harmony with the elements you outlined in your messaging.
6. Evaluate your brand
The process of branding is never truly finished. Once you implement it, you’ll need to monitor and keep gathering feedback from your market to make sure the message is hitting home.
From time to time, you’ll also need to consider rebranding. Companies re-brand when there are significant changes in the market, changes in the company, or a new segment of the market to target. In order to keep up to date with these changes, you have to tweak or overhaul your branding so that it will achieve your new goals.
Summary
From a customer’s first impressions to their experience of buying from you, and what they say about you to their friends. Your brand encompasses all facets of your business. Clear, consistent messaging and a strong brand identity helps to shape those first impressions and make your brand memorable. With 20+ years of experience in brand design and communications, we can help you create a memorable brand or refresh your brand identity, design for web or print and create bespoke photography, video and illustration for your digital content. Our media planning, strategy and Social Media expertise can make sure your brand is seen in all the right places. Talk to us about how Wild Sea Media can help
