When asked about the importance of branding and its value, the CEO of Jaguar Landcover, Dr. Ralf Speth said, “If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design”. This statement reflects a lot of businesses who ignore the importance of branding to the detriment of their companies. In this article ‘the Beginners Guide to Branding for your Business’ we explain what branding is and illustrate just how important it is to your business.
What is Branding
Branding is the creation of a name, design or icon that identifies as well as differentiates a product or service from other products or services. Branding sets the tone of how you perceive your company and how you want to be perceived by the public. Your branding communicates how well you expect your business to perform and what the public can expect of your product or service.
How to Create a Brand
In order to create your brand you must be able to define your brand clearly. This is done through the following set of steps:
- Business mission statement.
- Characteristics of your company.
- Desirable characteristics you wish to establish.
- Knowing who your target audience is?
- What are your businesses goals?
Choosing a Colour Scheme
Choosing the correct colour scheme is paramount in attracting the desired audience. People are extremely responsive to visual stimuli. Besides design, colour is the major component that dictates an emotional response. No business should pick a colour that will illicit a confusing or harmful response to their brand. Below we have broken down meanings that associate with different colours:
Red: Energetic, provocative, aggressive, attention grabbing, power and passion.
Purple: Royalty, sophistication, nostalgia, mystery and spirituality.
Blue: Trustworthy, dependable, secure and responsible
Green: Wealth, health, prestige and serenity.
Yellow: Positivity, light, warmth, motivation and creativity.
Orange: Vitality, fun, playful and exuberant.
Brown: Earthlike, natural, simplistic and durable.
Creating a Logo Aesthetic
The most important piece of the branding puzzle is establishing an effective logo identity. Your logo is a visual marker that your audience will associate with your company. The two most important things about logo design are ensuring your logo can evolve with your company and that your logo can be visually presented across all online and printed mediums without needing to alter the design.
Using a Tagline
Taglines are unique phrases that describe who your company is or what your company does. We would only recommend using a tagline if the visual identity or company name does not make your service or product immediately identifiable. Effective taglines should evoke an emotional response for the viewer as well as effectively communicate the experience the viewer will have with their service or products.
McDonalds: “I’m Lovin it”
American Express: “Never leave home without it”
Disneyland: “The happiest place on earth”
Fosters: “Australian for beer”
Nike: “Just do it”
Nokia: “Connecting people”
Pepsi: “The choice of a new generation”
AIG: “We know money”
Apple: “Think different”
Sprite: “Obey your thirst”
Brand Indoctrination and Consistency
Once you have created your brand identity and firmly established a set of brand guidelines, it is time to implement these guidelines into your organisation. Uniformed design consistency across online and printed mediums, staff presentation and verbal and visual communication to the public need to be dictated by the brand guidelines. This task is easier for small companies with larger organisations demanding training and specific brand guidelines to make your staff into brand ambassadors.
Conclusion
To conclude, branding is an essential part of creating a successful business. By following the steps outlined in this article, you are ensuring that your brand communicates your message and that this message is interpreted by your audience in the exact manner that you require.
For any more information regarding our article entitled ‘The Beginners Guide to Branding for your Business’ or to avail of our services please call Opus Creative on +353 (21) 242 8689 or email us on hello@opuscreative.ie
