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Who Needs Branding? Whether you need it or not, you already have it. If you sell lemonade on your lawn, sitting in a green booth with yellow lemons painted on it, your branding is a feeling of home-made refreshment and the colors green and yellow. If you have a tacky website that's difficult to navigate, then you are communicating that you are unprofessional, and don't care enough about the public to provide a nice place for them to visit.
Identity is the image, feeling or thought that consumers associate with your business. For instance, when you hear the words Coca Cola you think of red, the refreshing swoosh that underlines their name, and perhaps their classic slogan — It's The Real Thing. This identity makes the company memorable and sets them apart from their competition. Branding is the process of searing identity into the minds of consumers so that they remember it, and creating a sense of loyalty. In effect, when a company is branded they have created a group of fans that rally behind the banner — the company identity. The company has built an emotional rapport between its product or service and its customers or clients. A good brand:
To create effective branding you must first understand the needs of your customers and prospects. Find out what they need, what they expect and what they want. Give them what they think they need, then give them what they hadn't thought of — those little extra touches they can't find anywhere else. This is where your credibility, emotional connection and loyalty will come from. What does this have to do with identity and branding? Your identity should convey the basic needs and desires of your target consumers through an image, feeling or thought. For instance, Coca Cola understands that their customers want to quench their thirst and feel refreshed. Notice all the splashes and water droplets on a Coke can. Red has an exciting psychological effect that conveys the delivery of refreshment. The packaging is a promise to deliver what the consumer wants. When they receive what they want in that first slug, an emotional connection is made between refreshment and the packaging: The red and that swoosh/splash that underlines the name Coca Cola. Next time they're thirsty they will immediately think of Coke. Branding Strategies Branding is the method by which your brand, or identity, is delivered. Branding strategies can and should be inventive and unique. For example, if you sell model airplanes and want to distribute brochures, why not fold your brochures into paper airplanes? Your brand makes a promise that you deliver. It will be the foundation that all of your communications will be built upon. For branding to occur, your branding strategies must be integrated into every point of contact with the public:
Delivery should be as inventive and unique as possible. Brainstorm with friends to come up with branding strategies that reinforce your message. Branding consists of your company name, logo, slogan, colors and shapes, and the feelings associated with your company. These elements should be a unique combination, custom-built to appeal to your target consumers and prospects. Your branding should convey your company mission and vision both visually and emotionally. You not only can, but should control your company identity if you want to compete in today's market. This is not a hype for Genesis Box. Just a plain fact. If you don't get your identity from us, do get it from someone else or your customers and prospects will create their own perception of your identity, good or bad. It's smart business sense for you to choose how you will be perceived. |
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