Enough about houses and hats. Let’s get down to business."If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail". Benjamin Franklin said this once and it is so true. When building a brand, the best thing you can do is to have a plan. Follow our recipe below and you should be on the right track to a solid and clear brand identity:
Plan & goal
KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING
If you do not know where you are going, how are you going to get there? Make a plan and set a goal for your business. Where do you want to be in 5 years? 10 years?
Positioning
STUDY THE SURROUNDINGS
What does the market look like, who are the competitors and what do they do? Where does your business fit in and how do you make it stand out? Who is your target audience, what are they interested in and what are their needs? This part is about finding that gap where you can operate in.
Brand platform
FIND YOUR DNA
Build the brand from the inside out. Start with the core, define your vision, mission and values. A vision statement is about where the company is going and will help you navigate in the right direction. Values are a set of guiding principles that shape every aspect of your business – they're placed at the very core of your brand and are there to dictate your brand message, identity and personality. A brand mission statement clearly communicates a brand's purpose, objectives and how it plans to serve its audience. Creating a brand platform is tough, but it will be much easier to reach success if you have this in place.
Personality
BE YOURSELF
Your brand should attract like-minded people. What are the personality traits? What thoughts, feelings and behaviors describe your brand? Bold? Laid-back? Energetic? These words will be of great help when developing your brand identity. It can help with choice of colour palette, photography style, Tone of voice and definitely motion. Don’t skip this step!
Verbal identity
FIND YOUR VOICE
Once you know your brand personality, you can find your way to speak to your target audience (Tone of Voice). Are you direct? Formal? Friendly? Cheeky? Rebellious? Technical? Your TOV should be directly linked to your brand core. It’s beneficial to stand out and have a unique voice, but it needs to be appropriate for your business. Once you have defined your TOV, the key is to stick to it. Don’t change your tone, because then you might lose the trust of your audience.
Visual identity
FIND YOUR OUTFIT
Time to get dressed. How should your brand appear visually? Logo, color palette, typography, graphic elements, photography, motion are important elements in your brand’s look. How you use these elements together on a consistent basis, defines your visual identity. This process is also called the design process. This is not the first thing you do. All the visual stuff should be rooted in the core of your brand. If you’re a corporate bank, then you might not go crazy on colours and graphic elements. You want to make sure you present yourself in a proper way, so that your customers will trust your products and services. On the other hand, if you’re branding a creative agency, a sober dark blue colour palette might make customers think you’re not creative at all. It all depends on who you are as a brand and in what industry you operate in. Your visual identity should reflect the core of your brand and attract your target audience.
Communication
GO OUT
It’s time to socialise. Now you need to get out there and reach your target audience with your core message. Make a plan and create a communication strategy. Once you have their attention, be clear about what actions you want them to take (Call-to-action = CTA). Go to your website? Call you? Sign up for a newsletter? Come to your shop and buy products? If you communicate in a clear way and include CTA’s, you’re more likely to hit an audience who will do more than just hit a like-button.
Your brand is bigger than your business. While your business gives your customers something they want, your brand creates an emotional connection, using values and identity to inspire loyalty. Investing in your brand is crucial if you want your business to be unique in a crowded market place.
Curious to find out more?
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