If we mention Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola, and McDonalds, you know exactly who they are, what their tag lines are, and what their logos look like. They did their research to find exactly what they needed to do to make their brand memorable. When you build a brand, it’s more than a logo, you want to create something that will last for generations. Before we show you how to do that, we need to dive into what a brand is.
When you think about a brand, of course the first thing that comes to mind is its logo. However, your brand is so much more than that. When you’re creating a brand, you need to have a strategy. What are your goals? How do you want your customers to feel when they purchase from you?
Here are the top 5 things you should focus on when building a brand, even before you have a logo.
- Know your purpose. This will help you develop your vision and mission statements and your core messaging.
- Understand your audience. When building your brand, you need to think like your customers, not like yourself.
- Analyze your competitors. Chances are you’re not the first one in the space your brand is in. Do your research and see where they are missing the mark and capitalize on that.
- Create your brand personality. Are you a fun and witty brand, or more professional? Do you want to be entertaining or educational? You’ll need this to keep your brand consistent.
- Define your value proposition. What makes you different from everyone else? Why should people buy from you instead of the 100 other companies out there?
Once you have these top 5 things in place, you can start thinking about the front-facing side of your brand or your brand guidelines. That’s going to be your logo, tagline, color palette, font, and anything else people will see from your brand. To develop your brand guidelines, you take your strategy and give it a visual form. How do you make these things memorable? Keep it simple and put it everywhere. Some of the most memorable and recognizable logos aren’t extravagant. Don’t overcomplicate the process. Once you have your strategy and guidelines, you get to identify the channels you’re going to use to promote your brand. This will include having a strategy for social media channels, your website, newsletters, paid digital ads, and even text marketing if it makes sense for your brand.
Now, consistency is important, but you also have to treat your brand like a living thing. Any brand that has lasted for a long time has evolved with the times. Think about Apple’s original logo with all of the colors, and now it’s a sleek black. If you want to create a timeless brand rather than one that’s trendy and easy to forget, you need to anchor your business to a strategy and develop brand guidelines that can evolve with your customers.
At Hexcode Marketing, we’re experts in building brands that can evolve while keeping a consistent strategy. We use our team of marketing geniuses to research and strategize with you to develop a brand identity that people will remember and love. If you’re creating a new brand or need to rebrand, reach out to us today! We’d be happy to chat about how we can help.
