What Exactly is Included in my Brand?

The marketing world is often talking about branding projects and not giving much insight as to just what exactly is involved. Your branding is amongst the most important factors when it comes to your business and we want you to know exactly how to ensure that yours is strong and representative of your business. Here are the elements of your brand that you need to be aware of:

Branding Strategy

This is basically the communication of your brand. How are you going to disseminate your messages, what are you going to say, who are you saying that to, when are they going to be listening. Fundamentally, that is how a marketer decides the basics of your campaigns. So, when you consider your brand focus on those questions before you make any major decisions. All of those pieces will help you narrow your focus and establish a brand that is relatable and attractive to your prospects.

Defining Your Brand

Once you've decided who you are targeting, you need to decide who you are and why people will want to do business with you. The core and whole of your company needs to be represented in your brand. You want to appear authentic and real while maintaining the professional practices that make you the no-competition choice. Consider:

• The mission of your company
• The value proposition: how does the consumer benefit from choosing you above all of the others
• Current market perception: you have an existing reputation, what is it?
• Ideal market perception: you have an opportunity to rewrite your reputation, what will it be?

Creating Your Brand

Now this is where things get a bit more familiar. You are likely very aware of the following components that will create an identity for your brand in the marketplace.

• Logo - make it great, put it everywhere.
• Key Messages - consider the value proposition and ideal perception, write down the messages you want to deliver
• Integrate - your brand should extend to every facet of your business, and not just visual - make your brand so relatable that your team can't wait to be on board
• The Voice - you are going to embark on a content marketing journey because it is 2014, develop a strong voice. Decide what kind of brand you want to be: friendly, corporate, high-end - your voice should compliment this
• The Tagline - it doesn't have to be a zinger, but it should be something associated with your business - it should be short, impactful and it should capture the essence of your brand
• Brand Guidelines - type-fonts, logo placements, colours - it all matters and it all needs to be consistent
• Be True - Authenticity is a non-negotiable in the marketplace today. Smart consumers have finely tuned bullsh*t meters that will sniff you out in an instant. Be real with them, they will be more likely to do business with you as a result.

Be Consistent

This is the single most important piece of the puzzle. When someone sees your brand, we want their next interaction with it to have them knowing without a shadow of a doubt that it is your brand. Being consistent starts at the top and works its way down, so your leadership in adopting your newly planned brand will have a trickle down result. Create a brand guidelines document, develop the letterhead and have it as the outbound communication staple for your team, reprint business cards and make them something to be proud to hand out. Every piece of the puzzle needs to consistently be considered. It will seem like a lot at first, but will quickly become second nature.

With each branding element as equality important as the one before it, you want to ensure thorough consideration goes into every details of your brand. Whether you're starting from scratch or looking to rebrand your existing business, our marketing experts and talents design team can assemble the pieces of an eye-catching brand and data-driven strategy. Take the first steps towards a better brand with a no-obligation consultation.