What is Brand Identity?
Most companies define their brand based on how they want customers to perceive their brand, however, it can also work the other way—where the customers have their own perception of a brand—positive or negative—making consistent branding extremely important!
Brands are partially defined by their logos, colors, slogans, etc., but they are also defined by the company’s values and manner of doing business. A strong brand can be summed up in one feeling or word that succinctly describes how the company wants their customer to perceive their brand—and how the company actually performs business.
Strong brands are memorable. They are built on a company’s reputation for consistently acting in a certain way. Their brand identity is a clear vision that is evident in everything the company does. They stay focused and on target—and it is an emotional connection for the customer—an experience. A brand is your history with that company and your future—it is a story that is always developing and growing in the direction the company wants to lead you.
Developing a brand identity is a complex process of researching your target market, analyzing your customers and your competitors, focusing in on the mission statement, company vision and strategy, and then combining all that with design elements such as logo and colors, and then consistently delivering all of these factors day in and day out.
A remarkable brand is comparable to a person in that it almost has human-like qualities that customers relate to and the expectation is there that the brand will always behave the same—much like maintaining a reputation. Brand identity is the message you are sending to your customer—what is the message that you are sending?
If your brand was human, how would you describe him/her?
Need help identifying your brand strategy and updating your brand message? Contact us today, we’re happy to help!
Christine Urban Media is located in the Seattle, Washington area.