How to create a strong brand identity

When it comes to establishing and growing your business, brand identity is everything. However, it’s often a misunderstood concept. Quite simply, brand identity encompasses all of the visual aspects of your brand, such as your logo, branding colours, website design, and product packaging. All of these branding assets make your business unique, and when done right, are what will make you stand out in the crowd. Take Coca Cola’s branding, for instance. It’s instantly recognisable no matter where you might be in the world. When we see somebody holding a Coke can or bottle, we know exactly what the brand is and what’s inside. The same can be said for Nike, McDonalds, and Apple. All of these brands have invested in their brand image and identity and kept it consistent from day one.

Before we get into explaining how to develop your brand identity, first we need to know the following things:

• Your audience. It’s important when identifying your audience to understand that different people like different things. No matter how much you spend on your brand identity, you’ll never please everybody. The trick is to imagine your perfect client and to use that persona as a template for your business branding. What do they expect from your brand? How do they like to be spoken to? Where do they live? How old are they? What makes them tick? Once you know who you’re appealing to, you can take your branding forward. That’s where the fun starts.
• Your competitors. What do your competitors do really well? What are they not so good at? Is there anything you do better than them? Write a SWOT analysis for your own business and also for your competitors. It should become clear what makes you, you and what makes them, them.
• Your brand personality. There are five types of brand personalities which are “sincerity”, “excitement”, “competence”, “sophistication” and “ruggedness”. You can read more about this here.  Identify which you are and stick with it.

How to create a strong brand identity

Now you’ve completed your market research we can get onto the good stuff. Here are all the brand elements you should consider that make up your brand identity:

Your brand name

This is often overlooked but is crucial. Are you excluding your ideal customer by using a particular brand name? Or are you excluding any of your services by using a particular brand name? For example, you might call yourselves “the waffle shack” even though you sell waffles, all day breakfasts and burgers. You need to call yourself something which tells the full story. If right now you only sell waffles but you know in 3 years time you might start offering more then make sure you think about this from the offset.

Logo

This is where we start our magic. Although your logo is not the entirety of your brand identity, it is the most vital element and where we would start. It’s the most recognisable part of your brand as it will be on everything from your website to your brochures. We will consider your brand personality when we put your logo together, making sure we use fonts, icons and colours that will resonate with your ideal audience and stand out from the competition. You can find out more about this process on our branding FAQ page.

Branding suite

Once you have your final logo it’s important to think about font pairings and colour pairings. It would be unusual to use your logo font for everything. The same goes for colours. Putting together a branding suite will keep everything cohesive and ensure you’re not using one font for your website and another font for your social channels. To keep things simple we’ll chose 2-3 fonts and 2-3 colours.

Website

Using the above we will put together your website but we now throw copy into the mix. We will team up with a copywriter who will help you put together the words on your website so you can resonate with your website visitors and turn them into paying customers. Your website will be laid out so everything is easy to understand and includes your branding elements throughout.

Touch points

Think about each time you communicate with your client and write them down in chronological order. Start with the first time they see you (perhaps online, through socials or at a trade show) and work you way through to the final communication. What do they see, read and how do you want them to feel at each point? When they book, do you send them an email? Perhaps you could stand out from the crowd by posting them a welcome pack instead. By writing down your customer journey you will quickly see which parts don’t fit it with your brand and which bits you need to hire a professional in to work their magic. Make sure you think about the language and copy you use in your emails also and that all of your team members are on the same page. You could create email templates for the most critical touch points for everyone to use. Your customer journey and all of the touch points you identify make up your brand identity.

Brochures and flyers

Now you know what materials you need for each part of your customer’s journey we can start by creating them. Each brochure, flyer and newsletter will include your logo we’ve designed, your brand voice and will be designed with the “wow” factor. Touchy-feeley elements are just as important as the visuals, especially if you have a luxury brand. We take into consideration paper stocks and budgets so your brand identity is carried throughout. For example, if you’re an organic Eco-conscious brand than we’ll make sure we’re using recycled materials.

Signage

Your shop signs and vehicle signage all need to match up too. They need to look clear and instantly recognisable just like everything else. You’ll need to take into consideration the fact that people will be viewing these whilst on the move and possibly from afar so sizing is everything.

What to avoid

You now have your brand identity nailed but it’s important you don’t ruin it by doing any of the following faux pas:

• Mixed messaging. For example, you’ve seen some snazzy Canva templates for Instagram. If they don’t match your branding, then don’t use them. Consistency is key.
• Watch your offline vs online brand identity. What you say and do in store is just as important as what you say online. You can afford to be a little more relaxed in person but make sure it still fits in with your brand messaging.
• Don’t copy your competitors. What your competitors do and say might be awesome but if you copy them, your customers will get you muddled up. Keep an eye on the competition and put a twist on what they do but don’t copy.

You are now ready to build yourself a strong brand identity! Being awesome brand designers, we’d absolutely love to help you. Contact us to see how we can help.