Build a Brand to Remember

With global competition continuing to rise, branding has become increasingly important in this information age of online businesses. New businesses are starting everyday around the world. “Stand out from the crowd” involves creative and effective branding that will make a lasting impression. In today’s world, successful branding is vital to the longevity of any company. Brand identity helps create a customer’s overall impression of a product. Investing in brand definition can significantly increase profitability. The task doesn’t have to be complicated – in fact, experts recommend keeping it simple in order to be successful.

Define Your Brand

It’s important to know the target audience before defining the brand. What needs do the intentional audience have? What’s most important to those customers? What words best define that specific group of people? Engage and interact with potential clientele. Take note of repeated keywords. Focus on two unique points that can cause that brand to stand out. There are some qualities to keep in mind.

• Two-fold appeal. Appeal to the clients mind, and heart. Capturing both equally should result in a loyal customer.
• Believable and Authentic. Don’t promise something you can’t deliver. If a company is not a high tech business, they shouldn’t claim it in there branding.
• Relevant. Focus on filling that need or want in the customer’s everyday life.
• Consistent. Branding should be communicated in every aspect of a business, from the logo to the dress code. The brand will define the company’s personality.

Let’s say someone owns a dog-care business. Services offered include day care and boarding with webcams, training, behavior therapy and home visits. Target customers are going to be people who consider their pets as part of the family and are willing to invest in their pet’s physical and mental well-being. It is important to them that Rover is happy and well-cared for. This brand should be caring and fun. Every aspect of the customer experience should communicate these two aspects.

Guidelines to Remember

Once the identity and personality of a brand is established, there are some key guidelines to follow when deciding how each element of the branding strategy will represent the company.

• Logo design.  A logo is important. Logo’s should carry a clear and concise message, be easily recognizable and reproduce well in different types of media. Logo’s need to reflect who and what the company is. A logo should appeal to the wants and needs of the target audience. In the case of the dog care business, caring and fun.
• Imagery. The images used on the website, social media and logo need to elicit an emotional response that is memorable. The dog care business would use photos of happy dogs interacting and playing with happy staff. The logo would feature a smiling cartoon dog. Imagery would consist of photographs, mascots and spokespeople. Every piece of imagery this company produces needs to convey a brand identity that is caring and fun.
• Taglines. Taglines can be a critical element of a brand. Think of brands with the most memorable taglines – Nike and American Express for example. How many times have you heard their taglines used in everyday conversations? Your tagline should be catchy, quick and crystallize what your brand is about.

Chie Carroll

As a Web Producer, I possess a diverse skill set that includes web design, graphics, marketing, software integration, and SEO. What I find fulfilling about my role is collaborating with fellow innovative marketers and assisting business owners and organizations in optimizing their digital footprint.