BRANDING
A BIG DEAL AND MORE
If you’re a rancher, the big deal with branding, is the ability to identify members of your herd.
If you’re in business, branding means creating and sharing your identity.
Just as ranchers sear their brand onto the hides of the herd, you need to sear your brand into the minds of consumers and clients.
Consumers identify with brands, they elicit emotional responses, and we connect with them in a variety of ways.
Brands evoke passionate connections, fond memories, good times, quality, value, the perception of success, and so on. Strong brands have commercial equity, high consumer recognition and they produce brand loyalty in the market.
No brand is a replacement for bad products, bad service, or bad customer experiences, but, a well managed, professionally developed and tested brand with strong market support can overcome adversity and emerge stronger.
SO, WHAT’S IN A BRAND?
1
Your Integrity
2
Your Identity
3
Your Soul
YOUR BRAND MUST CONVEY
WHO YOU ARE AND
WHAT YOU DO...
Your brand must convey who you are and what you do while being cognizant of who your audience is. Your brand has to sense for your organization and be reflective of your company vision and mission. The right choice of colour, texture, graphics and text must be measured against a backdrop of your company’s history, competition, market conditions and customer expectations. Your brand, simply put, is a expression of how you want to be seen in the market.
There was a time when your brand hung on a sign outside your front door, was seen on billboards and in a newspaper add or two and if you could afford it, television.
Today, your brand exists in an online environment that extends globally. Your competition is no longer just down the road it is across the planet. Doing business with far off customers and local patrons is the norm and your brand must stand out in a world of constant competition.
KEEP THREE THINGS IN MIND WHEN DEVELOPING YOUR BRAND:
1. Know your organization
Knowing your organization, inside and out, means your brand will be reflective of who you are.
2. Know your competition
Knowing your competition ensures you will differentiate yourself from them and distinguish yourself as a high quality, superior, alternative.
3. Know what you do and who you serve
Know what you do and know who you serve to ensure your brand is reaching the audiences you intend with a look and feel they identify with.
CREATE A VISUAL IDENTITY THAT WORKS…
There’s lots to consider when developing visual elements for your brand. Colour, texture, graphics, and text must all be considered through the prism of knowing your organization, knowing your competition, and knowing what you do and who you serve. Your brand, simply put, is how you want to be seen in the market.
There was a time when your brand was a sign hanging outside your business, was seen on billboards or in newspaper ads, could be found in the yellow pages, and if you could afford it, was seen on television.
Today, your brand exists in an online world of global commerce. Competition is down the street, around the corner and across the planet. Brands have to be suitable for multiple platforms and for use with a wide variety of media. Today, brands must stand out in a world of constant competition and may have to take into account geographic, cultural, religious and linguistic considerations. Having the right brand has never been more important.
SO, WHAT’S IN A BRAND?
Pretty much everything actually, including the keys to your success.