What makes a good brand?
With the rise in technological advances, branding has had to evolve to survive and thrive within the modern digital age, in order to remain relevant against competitors. Brands have to constantly keep up with current trends – whether they be stylistic or social movements – to remain fresh and unique in today’s fast pace marketing environment.
Brands have to look beyond their logo and tap into their core goals and values to create a visually appealing and inviting identity that will entice consumer engagement.
What makes a brand?
Whilst there are many components that make up a brand, a brand’s foundational identity is usually consistent of 4 key assets:
Logo – a logo is a crucial asset for a successful brand. A logo should be able to summarise and convey the company’s core values and style into a simple, memorable element.
Colour palette – A colour palette is usually predetermined by the logo, so careful consideration should go into the choice of colour palette. The colour palette will then be applied to all future marketing campaigns and communications associated with the brand. This makes colour an integral part of a brand’s identity, as consumers will make subconscious associations with the brand based on the colours used, so it is important to pick colours that truly reflect the brand’s values.
Fonts – Complimentary fonts will better assist in communicating what a particular company does.
Tone of voice – When it comes to branding, a brand should consciously consider what they are saying and how they are saying it. The language used should reflect their brand identity, their consumer market and their values and goals.
What makes a good brand?
1. Constantly evolving
Good branding is the acknowledgement and understanding that creating a brand identity is a process that will always require ongoing work and is no longer merely a one and done scenario. Brands must constantly adapt and evolve to fit and meet current trends and movements; whilst also being consciously aware of what their target market likes and dislikes. A brand should also spend their time defining a core characteristic that will be associated to their identity.
2. Clear identity
A good brand must have a clear identity that extends beyond just marketing purposes. This is because brands have now become a window for how the audience perceives and interacts with their company. Most successful brands have a characteristic that immediately identifies and helps set them apart from their competitors.
3. Focuses on the audience
Good branding sets their focuses on their intended audience because it is crucial to create a brand identity that resonates with the key stakeholders (the key stakeholders being the targeted market). Creating a relatable brand identity can be done by researching and obtaining insights into who makes up the targeted consumer market. This is then maintained through producing content based on what consumers enjoy seeing and interacting with.
4. Consistent identity
Consistency is a key, but also often overlooked, aspect for creating and maintaining a good brand. Keeping consistent traits when it comes to branding allows a brand to become more memorable to their audience and can be achieved through the usage of consistent design styles, colours, tone and language. This ensures the voice and identity of the brand is prominent regardless of what type of campaign is being undertaken.
5. Building a trusting relationship
Building a relationship based on trust is integral to creating a good brand. Because brands go beyond merely being just an identity but also act as a means of showcasing their aspirations and activities to their consumers. Therefore, a good brand should carefully consider and choose what promises they intend to make to their marketed audience because they need to ensure they are able to deliver on all promises made. Failure to uphold promises will create strong associations of distrust amongst consumers towards the brand in question. Having distrust associated with a brand will do far more than just physical damage to a brand’s reputation.
6. Be online & offline
Additionally, brands that are successful use every opportunity available to promote themselves. With the creation of social media, good brands intertwine both online and offline strategies to interact with consumers and promote themselves. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have unlocked the gates of easy communication – allowing brands and consumers to freely interact and communicate with one another – and are some of the strongest tools to have in the branding kit. It also provides a brand with the opportunity to develop a personality that best resonates with consumers.
It is important to note that whilst social media creates easy avenues of communication, a brand still needs to be conscious that they appear ‘human’ when engaging with their audience. This can be achieved by asking their targeted audience questions and getting them involved with products, leading to the creation of a loyal community of followers for their brand. With over 50% of a brand’s reputation coming from their social interactions online; the better the interactions, the better the reputation of the brand.
That being said, taking advantage of offline interactions are just as beneficial for brands as online ones. Given the boom in modern society’s social opportunities; a brand should look to engage with their consumers at in-person events (both big and small), such as:
Conventions
Brand activations
Gatherings
Festivals
And others
A brand’s attempt to actively engage with their community and genuinely care about what it is their attempting to sell will reflect positively in the eyes of their targeted market.
Gone are the days where all a brand identity really needed was a flashy logo and perhaps a catchy tagline to accompany it. Branding now requires as much care and attention as any component within a business. And in a society where a brand’s reputation is judged on how they visually appear and how they interact, it is important to project themselves in the right direction from the very start.
If you are looking to start up a brand of your own, or even if you believe your brand could do with a bit of a facelift, we are here to help. We can provide advice and guidance on how best to get your brand’s foot in the door. With skills in Brand Strategy, Brand Collateral, Logo & Identity and Brand Guidelines services, we have all you need to ensure you make your first impression count.
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