But First, Brand

When I begin collaborating with a new client, the first thing I like to start with is a brand workshop. Taking the time to define and articulate a brand is a natural first step for any strategic marketing partnership. Sometimes, people immediately think of a logo as a synonym of the brand. While the logo is very much a part of the visual identity, it is one small piece of a brand. For a quick “what is brand?” refresh, please click here.

Brand Is Everything.

A clean, concise brand is at the center of my business model. What does it mean to you…and to the people you are trying to reach? Taglines and key messages often stem from the brand work I do with my clients—including a clear documentation of offers and services, competencies and values, and main differentiators.

Often, my clients are local outposts of a national brand. While the national brand values rightfully dictate so much of what my clients can communicate, there is still language—a local essence, if you will—that is paramount to include. For example, companies in Las Vegas are very proud to be members of the Nevada business landscape. But if an organization isn’t community-minded—or fails to properly pronounce the state’s name as Ne-VAD-uh—it may not be recognized as a local business. Keeping the national brand guidelines while staying true to the local flavor is critical in branding.

After the brand session that I do for my clients is complete, they have a clear documentation of all that the brand entails. Correct Pantone colors and fonts are at their fingertips for future graphic design projects. Messaging is available ready to plug into a website update. The target audiences are identified and on the forefront of the mind when creating a new advertising campaign.

Positive K Says, “I Gotta Brand. What’s That Gotta Do with Me?”

1992 hip hop music reference aside, what if you’re thinking, “But what if I already have a brand?” When engaging with a new partner, it is always a great idea to be aligned on the organization’s brand, even if it is current and doesn’t need a refresh. And always, if at first you don’t succeed, brand, brand again.

What does your current brand say about you and your company? A brand workshop is an excellent exercise to experience. It will ensure that your brand is still accurate and help you showcase what you do best in the world. Contact us today if we can help create, review, or retool your brand.

A Brand By Any Other Name

Google the word “brand”, and you’ll get 6,020,000,000 results in .66 seconds. A recent Entrepreneur article states: “Simply put, your brand is your promise to your customer”. We’ve said before that brand includes the personality of the organization—the voice/tone, language, key messages, and how the organization meets the needs of key audiences. Brand is the essence of what the organization does, its competencies, and its values.

Building a Brand
Crafting a brand is an art…and a science. What we’ve seen works best for our clients is a partnership that begins with a strategy session. And with this brainstorming process, we find it valuable to hit on what best describes the essence of the organization…and what absolutely does not. Sara Smith, a great business coach with whom we’ve worked, can be credited with the phrase “No, not that”. Sometimes, it’s just as important to know what you are…and what you’re not. This certainly applies when setting up a brand and leading to “Aha! This is it!” moment.

Often, the logo is synonymous with brand. However, there are other components of the organization’s make-up that should be considered prior to creating a logo. Is there sense of environmental awareness that the organization wants to get across in the marketplace? This might direct the logo development. Is there a certain audience that the group needs to target? Going after a high-end, luxury market is very different from communicating with a wider audience. These pieces should be considered when building a brand.

Beyond the logo comes the brand attributes, which should be a part of every external communication channel. From digital channels, like social media and website, to traditional marketing collateral, the voice and style of the brand should be consistently communicated. Once this is determined, it’s essential that all ongoing content strategy and tactics tie back to the brand.

Our Brand
When we set out to craft our business’s brand, we went through this exercise for ourselves. What type of niche did we want to work within and how will we communicate with these clients? With our value proposition, knowledge, and skillset, what exactly would we offer to the world? What attributes describe us?

You might notice our lingo is energetic and friendly. Our main color is an attention-getting bright pink; our logo is a sleek bubble. Why? Because our brand attributes include an energetic—bubbly!—approach to bringing solutions to the organizations we support. These brand attributes are not a happy accident; they’re part of a well-thought-out process to share who we are and the value we bring to our clients. And we’re happy to bring this knowledge to your business to help your brand, whether you’re starting a business or refreshing your brand. Click here to chat us up!