Crafting a Robust Brand
Cath Bright
Digital Marketing, Content Writer and Marketing Strategist, Management Skills Trainer - supporting businesses to grow, and people to excel
Branding. One of the most misconstrued and misused words within marketing and business networking.
Branding is not a logo. It is not a marketing plan. It is not a website. It is not photography.
It is a holistic approach requiring teamwork and collaboration to ensure each element is cohesive and results in a robust brand. Not a jumble of disparate, poorly coordinated marketing elements.
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A brand and branding
A brand makes your business easy to identify and remember, making it easy for potential customers to become your customers, and ultimately creating loyalty. It combines your company culture, your vision, behaviours and communications.
Everybody has seen the pub quiz round with product pictures with the words removed to check we can identify leading washing powders, soft drinks or chocolate bars just from their colours and packaging design. That visual element is just one element of a brand.
A brand needs a story. We buy into the lifestyle, or desired result of having the product or service, and the logo and visuals remind us of what we can achieve if we purchase.
Branding creates a story by combining a visual identity with words. Successful branding is when you embed your brand across all aspects of your business to enforce the message to the marketplace.
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Where to start?
The basic answer - not with a logo or other creative element.
Begin with the marketplace — your target audience and your competition. Your brand should not only need to be relatable and memorable to your potential customers but it should also stand out from your competition.
Once that is understood, the next action is to review your values and mission. These need to be linked with what you have identified in the marketplace, and be accurate, realistic, and reflected in everything you do.
Only then is it time to get creative!
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What to consider?
Perhaps not an exhaustive list, but certainly the key elements to consider are:
§? Logo
§? Design Guidelines – these will specify the colour palette and font
§? Tone of Voice
§? Clarity of vision and mission statements
§? Photographs – taking into account social media usage, such as profile photos and banners, as well as for website and marketing materials
§? Website
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§? Printed and digital visuals – this may include polos, uniforms, socmed templates.
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How branding is translated to marketing
Once you have your story – why your company exists, what it can do for you, what it believes and values and how it makes you feel – this is then used for your marketing strategy.
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Building blocks
You wouldn’t start building a house without having the architect’s drawings approved. And once you start building, you won’t use an electrician to lay your house foundations, or a plumber to tile your roof. Treat your brand in the same way.
Don’t get a logo produced, photos taken, or a website built without knowing how it will all work together to achieve the branding.
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Don’t dis the marketing
If you are finding that LinkedIn, your website, your leaflet, or your blogs “aren’t working” don’t be quick to judge. Are you on brand? Do you even have a brand? Have you defined your desired outcomes? Or have you collected various assets from different experts and thrown them all together in the hope it results in branding that can help you succeed?
It may not be the marketing as such that is the problem, but what you are marketing and the lack of branding.
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Branding - the way to achieve your business goals
A powerful brand will lead to a brilliant marketing strategy and allow you to achieve your business goals.
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Next steps
Start at the beginning. And use a comprehensive approach. You will save money, and end up with great marketing elements giving you a strong branding message to use in a marketing strategy.
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