Shortly a brand contains every visual and verbal asset used to describe your business.
It should contain the following:
- Logo
- Color palette
- Fonts (typography)
- Secondary assets like photo treatments, textures, patterns, etc
Included is also:
- Brand promise: What your company stands for and promises its customers
- Brand voice: the way your company sounds and speaks
- Target audience: the kind of customers you want to attract
- Brand positioning: how you want your company to be thought of by your target audience
- Brand differentiation: how you distinguish your business from competitors
‘YOUR BRAND IS WHAT OTHR PEOPLE SAY ABOUT YOU WHEN YOU’RE NOT IN THE ROOM.’
– Jeff Bezos, CEO Amazon
So as you can see branding involves a lot of things…What is good branding then?
Good brands have a unified message.
Their brand promise is clear. Your customers know what you stand for. If you don’t keep your promise…
Customers perceive businesses with good branding as credible and trustworthy.
Having consistent, clear branding means that customers know that what they see or hear once, they will see or hear every time.
Let’s say you bought a logo for €50 off of some crowd-sourced design website. If a professional isn’t managing your branding, over time you can end up with inconsistencies in logo usage, colors, and fonts. For example, if your logo isn’t prepared properly to scale large enough to fit on a vehicle, the logo can look blurry if you try to make it that big. A sloppy execution of your brand may cause people to subconsciously question your legitimacy and drive them to choose a more buttoned up competitor.
Customers know what makes your company unique.
Its critical that customers are able to easily describe your business and their impression of it. If they can’t they will be uncertain about your company.
‘IF YOU THINK GOOD DESIGN IS EXPENSIVE, YOU SHOULD LOOK AT THE COST OF BAD DESIGN.’
– Ralf Speth, CEO Jaguar Land Rover
What can I do if I have an underperforming brand?
First, you need to call in professional help. Don’t call your sister’s friend’s 15 year old, call in a branding agency.
- Option 1: Full Rebrand
- Option 2: Brand Refresh
- Option 3: Timed Rollout Approach
Remember a €50 logo could end up costing your business thousands. If you’re ready to renovate your branding, choose a design agency whose work you admire to create an engaging and successful brand for your company.
