WHAT IT TAKES TO BUILD A BRAND: A SET OF “MINIMUMS”

A recognizable and beloved brand is one of the most valuable assets a company owns.

Brand is how your customer perceives you.

Creating and promoting a brand is a complex process. But the hard work of the company’s creator and marketing team helps build long-term relationships with customers.

Branding services are more than just designing a cool logo or getting the advertising right. The stages of branding are like the process of building a house. Each element is added in turn.

Brand components

Branding is more than just a logo or trademark. It involves many components that work together to form a brand concept. Their management is part of the brand strategy. Brand positioning and brand utilization are approaches to branding management. Identity, image, personality, essence or soul, character and culture are the components of a brand.

1. Brand identity helps establish a connection between the brand and the customer, creating a value proposition that includes functional and emotional benefits.
2. Brand image is a key component in building a clear and recognizable brand identity in the marketplace.
3. Clear brand standards are important not only for the employees who create the products, but also for the suppliers.
4. Brand guidelines (brandbook) help marketers make decisions about how to use the brand, such as how to use the logo, how to talk about the brand, etc.

Read also: Clean branding: developing a brand for dry cleaners

How to create your own brand: first steps

The key components that require special attention when building a brand from scratch are:

• The name of the company and products or services;
• slogan;
• logo;
• pricing and product packaging;
• space for an office or store;
• where and how you advertise;
• corporate clothing;
• Behavior;
• company website.

If it all aligns with the brand positioning, the owner will be on the plus side. But if experience shows otherwise? For example, the ABCJewellery range may be beautifully made, stylishly packaged and glamorously advertised in glossy magazines. The brand values may be ‘cool, special, elegant’. But if the employees are rude or unprofessional, customers won’t think much of the elegance of the ravishing jewelry. As a result, the reputation is damaged and the business is at a loss.

Read also: Retail branding of retail chains: minimarket design

Stages of brand creation

1. The stages of brand building and subsequent development of each element always start with research: the market in general, the niche of interest in the world, the niche of interest in a given region, the target audience.
2. An in-depth and ongoing examination of the purpose of your business – the unique characteristics and differentiators, the core value you bring, the nature and relationship between your business and the marketplace.
3. Branding extends to the design development of identifying elements, the company’s premises. Through a focused design process, prepare design guidelines for all key brand-related elements.
4. Based on all the data gathered from the research, a brand strategy is drawn up to guide the future.

Read also: A cup of coffee, two tables: how to create a coffee shop brand in Ukraine

How do you create a successful brand?

People wear brands, they eat brands, they listen to brands, they tell others about their favorite brands all the time.

When creating a name, you need to be patient and follow the changes and compare the strategy with the market realities. You also need to constantly improve yourself.

Brand Identity

Brand identity is more than a logo. It’s more than a style guide. It’s an important differentiating element. Some brands have a heightened brand identity, like Apple, LEGO or Levi’s.

Brand identity is the “face” that interacts with the world. Everything that is created should accurately reflect what the brand wants to say and show. The only thing sadder than a poorly designed brand identity is a beautifully designed brand that is never used or misused.

Another important element for building your own brand is a logo. This graphic will be displayed on everything about the business. The logo is displayed on products, employee clothing, and POS materials to reinforce the visual identity of the company’s brand. To design the right logo, it is better to contact KOLORO branding agency.

Target audience

When starting to build your brand, the first thing you need to do is identify your target audience.

The foundation for turnkey brand development is to identify the target audience you will be targeting. This is important because the brand’s mission, strategy and message are customized to meet specific needs. To do this, you need to find out the detailed behaviors and lifestyles of consumers. Then, you need to create a brand identity that the audience can understand and love.

To develop a turnkey brand that is trusted by the target audience, you need to know what value the company provides. All other aspects of a brand’s life depend on the mission. Nike’s mission is to “serve as a source of inspiration and innovation for athletes around the world.” A footnote to such a statement is, “If you have a body, you are an athlete.” Think about how broad their target audience is becoming!

Give your customers a voice. They should be encouraged to post reviews, share their content.

Read also: How to define your brand’s audience

Competitors

The next stage of brand development is to research competitors in the industry niche. It is not necessary to imitate what the big brands in the industry are doing, but it is important to know what they are doing well and what they are failing at. At this stage, you need to study:

• What is the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the brand;
• Whether the message is consistent with the visual identity;
• what is the quality of the goods or services produced;
• Whether there are customer testimonials to read.

In differentiating your brand, you will need to work against other brands in your niche. To do this, it’s worth finding small differences between your product and your competitors’ products.

Brand benefits

Emphasize the qualities and benefits that make your company unique. Understanding the uniqueness of your offering helps with brand promotion from the ground up. It could be a unique service, original packaging or an authentic rug from Uzbekistan that you are selling. One of the key qualities of brand products is simple design, and the main advantage is clear usage.

Correct message

A successful brand must have the same message and impact on all customers. The best example of this is McDonald’s. You can go to Bangkok and quickly find a McDonald’s just by seeing the golden arches and ordering a hamburger and fries. This is because McDonald’s has a standardized menu that is the same all over the world. People don’t go to McDonald’s because it’s healthy. They go there because they know what to expect there and they like it.

Read also: Backpack brand development on the example of the Ukrainian company GUD

POS materials and emotions

Brand building never stops. Everything tangible – from business cards to advertisements to packaging – needs a logo. A company’s website and social media profile pages should speak to the brand identity.

All promotional materials for your business should have the same message. If you have materials that don’t match, you’re sending mixed signals on multiple levels, and that will confuse customers. Inconsistent brand details, such as a pink pony on the logo of a brutal tattoo parlor, can confuse customers, making brand development more time-consuming. Make sure that different members of your CA relate to your brand in the same way and that their representation is consistent with your intent. If you produce health food products, you’ll need employees who lead healthy lifestyles. If you run an accounting firm, you’ll want employees who are accountable. You should keep this in mind as you work, as well as when creating your office environment.

Starbucks is the world’s leading specialty coffee retailer, and their brand has always promised to bring people together. Starbucks’ mission is “To inspire and nourish the human spirit – one person, one cup of coffee and one neighborhood at one time.” That’s why you’ll find free Wi-Fi, large tables, and soothing music in every store to make socializing easier. Even though the logo changed in 2011 (removing the company name), the Starbucks brand perception remains strong.

Corporate ethics

No one knows their brand better than the creator. That’s why, for example, when hiring employees, it’s worth checking whether they fit the brand’s culture, mission, vision and values. This is corporate ethics. In order not to have to explain to every new employee why you should address customers as “you” and offer goods with your right hand and not with your left foot, you should develop a brandbook and a separate annex to it with a summary of corporate rules.

Read also: 7 factors affecting the cost of brand building

And a few more hints

1. It’s important to remember that your brand represents you: you are the brand, your staff are the brand, your marketing materials are the brand. What can they say about you and what can you say about it?
2. A clear brand strategy helps to focus on the mission and vision of how to organize the process.
3. A good brand connects with people on an emotional level, they feel good when they buy the brand. Buying is an emotional experience, and having a strong brand helps people feel good on an emotional level when they interact with a company. The simple truth is that your brand will live much longer if you can get away from the purely rational side and find your way to the emotional side.

4. A strong brand provides value to the business, increases physical assets. Think about the brands you buy: Coca-Cola, Wrangler, Apple. Are these companies really worth their equipment, products, warehouses or factories? No, these companies are worth much more than their physical assets: their brands have created value that far exceeds tangible value.
5. The best branding is built on a strong message that you and your employees can support. When an organization is clear and consistent on a brand level, it will be easier to create brand loyalty.

If you need help with your brand, from brand strategy to visual identity elements, contact a COLORO brand agency manager. We can help you tell your story.