Branding is possibly the biggest buzzword in business at the moment, but there is still a common misconception as to what a brand actually is and does. For many a brand is just the logo, when in reality it is so much more.

For many, branding still conjures images of searing symbols into livestock backsides with a hot iron, when in fact it’s history goes back as far as the medieval times, where makers of everything from pottery to loaves of bread imprinted their mark. It wasn’t so much about what the mark looked like, but more as a method to identify their origin and integrity.  It is this approach that created what we now know as branding, but in today’s marketplace a brand is far more than just a mark.

A brand is the image and feeling that consumers conjure as a result of all their experience with you, your name, your logo, your service or any other aspect of your business. It is what creeps into their minds and influence them into how, what and where they should buy. It’s the complete personality of a company and is what builds customer perceptions, rather than just how the identity (logo) looks.

It has to deliver a promise about who you are, what are your company ethics and what is your unique selling points (USP). A good brand will also create an emotional attachment, developing trust to a point that a loving and passionate consumer relationship is formed, thus resulting in complete loyalty and devotion to your product or services. An interesting example of this is to look at peoples clothing. It was only recently I met up with a group of friends where one of them was wearing a TVR (car company) t-shirt and another wearing an Apple Mac (computer manufacturer) jumper. Neither worked for the companies so why was they brandishing their logos? They weren’t doing it solely because of what the brand identities look like, but more for what they stood for and what others see them as being e.g. TVR = sporty, fast, expensive and Apple = thinking different, creative, modern. They’re relationship with these brands were such that they were not only happy to be unpaid walking billboards, but actually consciously wanting to be associated with the retrospect brands and what they stand for. If I had asked my friend wearing the Apple t-shirt would he ever purchase a Dell computer over a Mac, he would have probably looked at me in disgust and swiftly told me where I should depart. It is this hugely strong bond that us marketers strive to generate, as consumers will spend more time and money to obtain a brand that they trust and believe in.

Engineering your brand
In today’s marketplace pretty much anything can have a brand, celebrities use their name and own personality profiles. Even so, a brand cannot be developed without first understanding its purpose and direction - what is it actually going to do, look like and promise? How will it fit amongst its competitors and will it deliver the message you require?

One of the most important aspects of building and developing a brand is creating its identity, as it will be the face for your company and in many cases be the consumers first encounter with your business. Many painstaking hours and much head scratching is undertaken in just deciding what the company or product is going to be called, let alone what the identity is going to look like. It is vital that a brand identity is not only memorable, but offers some suggestion of what the company does, its ethics and its values. Here at Graphic Evidence we try to adhere to the following rules when creating and developing a brand:
1. Is it easy to pronounce and spell? No point having a name that no one can say or easily search for on the likes of Google.
2. Will it work on a wide variety of formats?  It may look good on a letterhead, but will it shine on a website or clothing? 
3. Will it go in one ear and out the other? Is it unique enough to be distinguishable, but not so much so that it’s not memorable
4. How is it portrayed? I.e. will it reflect what the company is and does?
5. Room for growth? Is it going to have the ability to expand with your business.
We also recommend research into its availability i.e. trademarks and domain names. This will ensure that there is not going to be any future conflictions and disappointments.

Branding is a huge aspect of marketing and I have only lightly touched on the subject in this article. If you would like to speak to me or my colleagues further about branding please contact us.