Learning The Ropes: Branding

Think of some of the world’s most well-known, impactful companies (Nike, Apple, Chase, Target, etc.)—what do these businesses have in common? The answer is simple: cohesive, powerful branding. When building a business from the ground up, communicating on multiple levels what you can offer that the competition can’t is vital to getting new clientele.

Your Ideal Client

First, understand your ideal client's age, hobbies, interests, and values. It is helpful to create personas for these people, imagining what “Sally from New York” might like or appreciate about your brand. Social media algorithms are valuable for cataloging your ideal client’s public interests. See what/whom they are following, and if possible, find out how well they have reacted to your brand (or a brand similar to yours). It is impossible to effectively serve your buyers without understanding them. Your brand might be for the under-30 market, but if you don’t understand their values or needs, any marketing attempts will be ineffective. Collect data and analysis on the strengths and weaknesses of your company and your approach thus far.

Your Competition

Then, analyze your competition. What messages are they communicating to their ideal client through color choice, font, and website design? Are they targeting a younger clientele using bright, bold colors and creative fonts? Or are they a financing company, using cool-toned colors to signify wealth and trust subtly? Then, look at what your company can offer that these companies don’t—counter-programming the competition is a powerful way to get attention. For example, think of Apple’s branding launch clean, high-tech minimalism in contrast to the bulky, complex PCs of the time. Apple correctly associated itself with user-friendly, sleek technology.

Implement

Create an action plan and cohesive vision for your brand. Craft a story about your brand and its personality. What are its priorities and values? From there, decide on messaging and how best to communicate it. Consistency throughout social media, website, and media deliverables creates trust with your ideal client. When they choose your company, they also buy into the brand crafted around it. Your clients should feel they’ve made the right choice in a world with endless options. We recommend hiring or assigning someone on your team to lead this if it is within your budget.

Visual Language

Create a color palette, font, logo, and slogan. All of these should communicate the same tone and serve your brand messaging. You should avoid something too overtly trendy or timely to prevent a premature rebrand. Create a visual language for your brand. We recommend researching color psychology and the regional association of those colors with your ideal client. Brand colors should have five to ten colors, with one color taking center stage. On that note, typography is a powerful tool for communication. Not only is the readability and spacing of the font important, but it should also tie into the logo. We recommend two to three fonts. One should be your “Logo” font and the one most closely associated with your brand, while your secondary fonts should be used to communicate information while still staying on message.

The most important thing in crafting brand identity is consistency. Consistency and repetition build a reputation for the company, driving sales and reinforcing your mission.