5 Steps to building a great brand
5 Steps to building a great brand
Branding
When creating your visuals for your brand take into consideration that whatever it may be it should clearly be displaying the 1st 4 steps of the article.
Here are 5 steps to building a great brand
1. Know the purpose of your brand
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Why are you in business?
Yes, obviously to turn a profit, but cannot dwell on that alone. It has to go further than the products or services that you’re offering.
For example, let’s say your business delivers pre-made meals online. What’s the brand’s purpose? It’s not selling food; it’s providing nutrition and convenience to health-conscious professionals who are too busy to cook on their own.
When you finally dig deep you would find your brand’s purpose. Turning it into your mission statement or motto. Making sure the customers know exactly all that you offer. Thereby defining the entirety of your brand and the level of standards you offer.
2. Keep a constant register of your target audience.
5 Steps to building a great brand
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Who wants to buy what you’re selling?
The first thing you need to do here is; identify who and who are your target audience.
Your business isn’t for everyone; don’t try to make it appeal to every single person on the world. Think about some of the brands we’ve talked about so far in this guide—McDonald’s, Starbucks, Nike, Gucci, and Apple. Those brands each appeal to specific target markets.
Remember, branding is a component of marketing; don’t lose sight of that.
For example during half time of your evening soccer game. Notice most of the time it’s a beer or stout ad they are running. But you rarely see that same ad run at mornings during cartoons hours. This is because they strategically pick that time slot to appeal to their customers who enjoy a cold one while watching a game.
3. Let your brand be heard
5 Steps to building a great brand
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Once you’ve identified your target market, you must develop a brand voice that speaks to your audience. There are lots of different ways to approach this.
Do you want to be professional?
Is your brand voice funny?
Or Animation?
It’s up to you to decide? But brand’s voice wavelength should resonate with your newly acquired target audience and it should always be a consistent voice that must be applied on all platforms whether your homepage or a TV ad they all be on the same frequency.
Here’s an example Redbull gave their brand a voice with their wacky animation and a catch phrase redbull gives you wings.
4. Tell your brand's story
5 Steps to building a great brand
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The brand story encompasses all of the three steps we’ve previously discussed. Treat your brand story as the extended version of the “why” in your mission statement.
This explanation of why you’re in business should appeal to your target market while being expressed in your brand voice. Here’s an excellent example from TOMS.
TOMS sells shoes. But that’s not what this brand represents. I highlighted some of the key parts of this brand story that showcase the company’s purpose.
This brand donates shoes to people in need. The company gives away one-third of its profits to support people across the globe.
What was the inspiration for this? The company’s founder was traveling internationally when he saw the hardships faced by children without shoes. This inspired him to create a business that put shoes on the feet of underprivileged children.
The tone of this brand story is appropriate for its purpose. It’s heartwarming and meant to appeal to people who want to help others.
TOMS isn’t trying to compete with sneaker companies like Nike or Adidas—their charitable approach puts them in a category of their own. All of this is clearly described in the brand’s story.
5. Create the brand's visual
5 Steps to building a great brand
Image Source: freepik
Now it’s time to think how is your brand gonna be identified as?
I’m referring to things like your logo, color palette, and typography. These are the starting points for designing a brand.
Think of Nike with the iconic ‘just do it’ and their logo or Rolex with the crown logo. When you see those logos, you immediately know what they represent. Something as simple as the font of your company name within the logo tells a lot about your brand identity.
Let’s take a look at cowbell and their famous logo that we have know for decades. The cow holding a glass of milk illustration give you a rough idea that the product they are dealing with is obviously fresh milk. At the same time it has a friendly, funny or playful perception that the product is for a particular target audience (mostly kids).
So when creating your visuals for your brand take into consideration that whatever it may be it should clearly be displaying the 1st 4 steps of the article.
