Category: Top Post

It is common knowledge that consumers gravitate towards brands. As a consumer, it doesn’t matter where you are or what walk of life you are from, the concept of a brand signifies something positive to you. It can be something you can currently own or something you want to grow into.

As a business, your consumer’s perception of or feeling toward you or your business defines your brand. It is what customers, clients, and patients say about you when you’re not in the room. It’s also how they connect with you on an emotional level.

When starting a business or rebranding an existing one, it’s important to understand all aspects of the branding process. To create a strong, positive brand identity, your business needs to be aware of two approaches:

• One is strategic, which comprises understanding who you are and defining your values along with researching your market to find chalk out your brand strategy
• The other is technical and visual, which comprises creating your brand identity and developing your brand awareness.

In this article, we will be focusing on the process of conceptualizing and developing your brand identity and how to structure your brand awareness strategy.

Branding process:

Source: Think bold, Think brand

Once you have conceptualized your brand strategy and identified your market, it is time to convert your conceptual identity into a visual representation that people can then put a face to.

This is what we call your brand identity. It will be the most visible expression of your brand and can be thought of as your public persona. Your brand may be an intangible concept; however, your brand identity is very much composed of tangible visible elements that your audience can connect with, resonate with, and reinforces the perception that your audience has of your brand.

What are the elements of your brand identity?

A brand identity is the cornerstone of your entire branding process. Some common elements of a brand identity include:

Brand logo

Source: wallpaper house

Your brand logo is the crucial element and the primary identity marker for your brand identity. It is the first thing that comes to mind when people think of your company or product. The logo is central to the other elements of the design and it needs to line up with the broader emotional appeal of your brand.

All in all, your brand has to convey your whole personality through an easy-to-recognize image. Your brand logo goes on every single asset your brand owns—from your business cards and merchandise to your business cards and social media. This means that it needs to be timeless, easy to reproduce, and needs to work in a range of different sizes.

It might be prudent to go for a logo that is simple and instantly recognizable. a simple logo has an open attractive canvas that customers can then fill with many positive experiences with the brand. Additionally, a simple logo allows it to be incredibly versatile.

For example, when you think of the brand logo for Apple, a few things probably come to mind— the bitten apple, the simple typeface, and the colors. Together, these elements create a strong and recognizable image that is associated with the company.

• Shape:

Source: wallpaper house

Shape is an important part of a prolonged branding strategy, the reason being that this does not refer to the shape of the logo but the shapes of backgrounds, layouts, and even packaging and business cards.

Keep in mind that you are not locked into a single shape or type of shape, as long as it conforms with and accommodate other essential elements of your design, then it can be anything you want.

For example, Apple uses a variety of shapes in its product designs, from the circles and curves of its devices to the sleek lines of its packaging. This allows their designs to convey a sense of fun and approachability, while still maintaining a feeling of sophistication.

• Color scheme and palette:

Source: Visme

The color scheme is an important element of any branding process and should be unique to your brand. It should be used consistently across all of your marketing materials. Additionally, your color palette should reflect the mood and feeling that you want your brand to evoke.

Colour psychology is intuitively understood by most people. Depending on the shade of colour used, you can adjust or evoke the emotions of your audience. For example, a lighter tint of red is associated with joy, while a darker shade is associated with anger.

Nike’s color scheme is black and white with accents of red. This color scheme is simple and elegant, and it perfectly reflects Nike’s brand values of being modern, stylish, and athletic. IN its audience, it evokes emotions of excitement and eagerness.

When you’re putting together your color palette, consider these three factors:

• The emotions you want to evoke in your audience
• The overall tone and feel of your brand
• The colors that are most associated with your industry.

Brand voice

Source: YouTube

Your brand voice is the overall tone and personality of your communications. It’s what makes your brand relatable and human. When choosing a brand voice, consider what kind of personality you want your brand to have. Do you want to be funny or serious? Formal or informal? edgy or safe?

Your tone of voice is vital in conveying any kind of content you put out. It helps people understand what you’re saying, and how you want them to feel.

If you’re not sure where to start, consider these three factors:

• The kind of relationship you want to have with your audience
• How formal or informal your writing should be
• The overall personality you want your brand to convey

Your brand voice is how your company speaks to its audience. It’s the personality of your company and should be consistent across all channels.

Your brand voice should be:

• Consistent: across all channels
• Appropriate: for your target audience
• Memorable: so that people remember your brand
• Distinct: so that you stand out from the competition

For example, take Coca-Cola, their brand voice is young, friendly and informal. This is incorporated into their entire branding process and shows in their advertising campaigns, which often feature young people enjoying themselves. It also translates into their taglines and social media presence.

Conversely, a company like Mercedes-Benz has a much more luxurious and formal brand voice. This is evident in their marketing materials, which often feature sleek images of their cars and use language that is more formal than friendly.

Positioning and style

Source: Younix

Your brand positioning is the niche in the market that your brand fills. You have already determined this when you design your brand strategy and is crucial to the entire branding process. Your brand style is how you visually communicate your brand positioning.

Your brand style should be consistent with your brand strategy. It should be based on your target market, your brand personality, and your brand promise.

Once you’ve decided on a general personality for your brand, you need to choose the specific words you’ll use to communicate that personality. This is where a style guide comes in handy. A style guide is a document that outlines the specific language choices you’ll make for your brand. It should cover everything from the tone of your communications to the words you use to describe your products.

Style:

As you learn more about your customers and what resonates with them, you can update your style guide to reflect those changes in your branding process.

• Creating a style guide can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. Start by thinking about the overall personality you want your brand to convey. From there, you can begin to flesh out the details.
• Once you have a draft of your style guide, share it with your team and get their feedback. After all, they’re the ones who will be putting it into action!

Once you have determined your brand style, you should develop a set of guidelines that will ensure that your visual identity is used consistently. These guidelines should include specifications for your logo, typography, colors, and other design elements

For example, consider a brand like Kingfisher, which is known for its budget-friendly prices. Its target audience is people who want quality products without spending a lot of money. As such, the company’s branding includes low-cost items like its “Blue Light Specials.”

Typography

Source: 99designs

• Font and imagery

Your font is the glue that holds together your logo and color scheme and effectively connects them to deliver the sort of visual effect you require upon your consumers. The font you use in your branding can say a lot about your company. For example, a more playful font might be used for a children’s toy company, while a more modern font might be used for a tech start-up.

Much like color, fonts display and evoke different emotions and traits. And just like with color, less is more when it comes to font. Using too many different fonts will make your branding look cluttered and confusing.

Choosing a font:

When it comes to choosing a font for your branding process, there are a few things you should keep in mind:

• Readability: First and foremost, your font should be easily readable. This is especially important if you plan on using your branding on things like website headers and business cards.
• Personality: As we mentioned before, font can play a big role in conveying the personality of your brand. So, take some time to think about what kind of personality you want your brand to have before settling on a font.
• Simplicity: Less is almost always more when it comes to fonts. A simple font will be much easier to read and will help your branding look more professional.
• Flexibility: When choosing a font for your branding, make sure to choose one that will be versatile. You want a font that will look good on a variety of materials and in a variety of sizes.
• Memorable: Finally, you want to choose a font that is memorable. Your font should be unique enough that it will stick in people’s minds, but not so unique that it is difficult to read.

Choosing imagery:

The imagery you use is just as important as the font you select. The imagery you use, including your gradient and patterned backgrounds or even your packaging and banners, works closely with your brand colors and shape to convey the visual image of your brand to your audience.

Tagline or slogan

Your brand’s tagline or slogan is another key element that helps to convey your brand message. Your tagline should be short, memorable, and easy to understand. It should also be in keeping with the tone of your brand.

The tone, the message, and even the font used should convey what your brand offers and how you are planning to offer it.

For example, there are some well-known taglines out there like Subway’s “Eat Fresh” or Coca-Cola’s “Taste the feeling,” or even Nike’s ” Just do it”. All three aptly describe the company’s stance, their message, their personality, and the vibe they are trying to put out.

The best part about taglines is that they can change and evolve. As your brand changes, so can your tagline.

Interactions

Even if you don’t have a physical storefront, your brand has to interact with people. It’s likely that you will have some sort of customer service, whether it is through email, social media, or phone. Therefore, as part of your branding process, your interactions should always be consistent with your brand’s message and persona. This is your chance to show the world what your brand is all about!

For example, take a well-known interactive brand like Google. Google is known for being helpful, so their customer service interactions always reflect that. No matter what Google’s customer service team is dealing with, they always try to be as helpful as possible. This is just one example of how a brand can reflect its message and persona through interactions.

• UX/UI:

Source: Designrush

Your brand’s message should also be reflected in your website’s design and user experience. This means that your website should be easy to use and understand, and it should reflect your brand’s message in its design.

For example, if your brand is all about being fun and friendly, your website’s design should reflect that. Your website’s user experience should also be consistent with your brand message.

• Sound:

Your brand’s sound is another important element that reflects your message.

This includes the music you use in your advertising, as well as the voice you use in your videos and other marketing materials.

For example, if your brand is all about being fun and friendly, your sound should reflect that. A brand like Cadbury used a lively and fun sound like “Kiss Me” in their advertising to reflect their message, evoking cute, sweet, and warm fuzzy feelings in their audiences, which is exactly what the brand is about.

Conclusion:

All of these elements work together to create a consistent look and feel for your brand that will be easily recognizable by your target audience. And that’s what branding is all about: creating a recognizable identity for your business that can be easily communicated to your target market

When developing your brand, it’s important to keep in mind what you want people to think of when they see your logo or hear your company name. Do you want them to think of you as being modern and cutting-edge? Or maybe you want to be known for being reliable and trustworthy. Whatever it is that you want your brand to communicate, make sure all of your branding elements reflect that.

So, if you are in the lookout for a branding company that specializes in developing identities for businesses of all sizes, then Pixel Street is here for you. We believe that every business, no matter how big or small, deserves to have a strong and recognizable brand. If you’re starting a new business or rebranding an existing one, we can help you create a brand that accurately reflects who you are and what you do.

Although branding and marketing are ultimately communication tools for a brand, their objectives and how they go about achieving them are quite different. Although you might argue that both of them serve to communicate the brand to the consumers; however, their paths diverge from there.

Branding aims to influence and shape how customers perceive a brand whereas marketing aims to reach them as frequently, as effectively, and as convincingly as possible. In actionable terms, branding and marketing form a communication team, in which branding is the substance of the message that is intended to influence the consumer, and marketing is the channel/s that ensures that this message reaches the consumer and urges them to take action.

In this article, we explore both these concepts in the context of branding a business and the role that both these communication tools play in contributing to the growth of a brand.

What is Branding?

“If people like you, they will listen to you, but if they trust you, they will do business with you.”

-Zig Ziglar

A brand is born from how your consumers feel about and connect with your company. However, you need to give your consumers a compelling reason to form an impression of you in their minds.

Branding dictates how you influence your consumer’s perception of your brand. It encompasses telling your target audience who you are, what you stand for, what your aspirations are, and what you seek to achieve. In doing so, you aim to help form an image and gut feeling about your brand in the minds and hearts of your consumers

Branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem. Good branding allows your brand to stand out and be distinct from its competition – a unique story that identifies you to your consumers, and subsequent byproduct of how you communicate who you are to the world.

A real-world example would be a flagship store like Apple. Consumers are willing to pay a premium for the products and services because they believe that Apple is the best at what they do.

What is Marketing?

Source: Guessing Forum

“It’s important to remember your competitor is only one mouse click away.”

-Douglas Warner III, Former CEO, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co

Companies spend billions of dollars every year on a marketing budget; all so that they can promote their products and services in an effort to create relevancy, establish presence, generate leads, and close sales. Marketing outlines how you are going to reach your target audience. It is the process of creating awareness and interest in your brand through various channels like advertising, public relations, social media, etc., using a set of tools, processes and strategies.

Targeted messaging and positioning helps you  reach the right people at the right time, and  being able to track and measure results allows you to optimize your campaigns for greater success. This includes leveraging technology in order to reach more potential customers, like using SEO, PPC, and other forms of digital advertising. It’s also about understanding how to use storytelling and other techniques to create an emotional connection with your audience.

At the end of the day, successful marketing centers around understanding your target market, creating valuable content and experiences for them, and constantly optimizing for higher conversions. When done correctly, it can help you generate more leads, drive traffic, increase brand awareness, and increase ROI.

What’s the Difference Between Branding and Marketing?

Source: Mann-co

Branding and marketing have often been used interchangeably in the past. Even today, in many organizations, they do not clearly differentiate between the two; however, there is a stark difference based on what they seek to achieve. Yes, they are communication tools, but what they are communicating is entirely different.

Branding communicates who you are and marketing makes sure as many people as possible can hear you. Let’s bring up an analogy:

Having a strong social media presence is a solid marketing strategy. There are numerous ways to promote your brand on these platforms. Now, marketing constitutes what platforms you’re using, what tools you’re using on these platforms to distribute your content, and even what content you are publishing. Branding, on the other hand, comprises what content you are publishing, how you are distributing it, how you communicate with your audience, and even  how you design your profile. It’s all about establishing a distinct identity and making sure your audience can relate to you.

Who is it for?

Source: Venture Harbour

Branding is for the audience whereas marketing is for your customers and the business. In other words, the focus of your branding strategy is your audience and creating an indelible impression on them. This means targeting their emotions and thoughts by providing value, building trust, and establishing credibility. As such you are attempting to shape your audience’s perception of your brand.

A marketing strategy, on the other hand, is made with the business itself in mind. It maximizes the strengths of the business to various channels such that it reaches the intended target audience.  As such. it revolves around the 4Ps – Product, Place, Price and Promotion. This means it emphasizes the promotion of products and services so that more people can know about them. Essentially, it is a blend of creative and analytical activities which involves understanding consumer needs, analyzing market trends, tailoring messages according to target audience behavior and leveraging various channels to maximize reach.

Influence

Branding inspires and cultivates audience loyalty whereas marketing expands reach, cultivates customers, and increases sales. A branding strategy describes your identity, your vision, and your essence. All these aspects are vital for any customer to build a connection and a relationship – 46% of consumers say they would pay more for a brand that they trust (Salsify, 2022). This means that a relationship is necessary to cultivate brand loyalty. 

A marketing strategy, on the other hand,  serves to identify the target audience, their behavior and needs. It then helps craft messages that speak to this particular audience in order to increase visibility and reach. This includes leveraging various channels such as print, digital, social media etc. in order to reach as many potential customers as possible.

To maximize success, it is essential for businesses to combine both relationship and marketing strategies in order to cultivate long-term relationships with customers while also ensuring they are being seen by potential leads

Branding is as much for your employees as it is for your consumers

Source: Dlinkers

Branding is how you instill pride in what you do and who you are as a company as well as being the sum total of how your customers, employees, investors, partners, and other stakeholders perceive you. Marketing is for your customers and prospects, it’s how you reach them and communicate your message.

Think of branding as the roots of a tree and marketing as the branches and leaves. The roots provide support and stability, while the branches and leaves reach out to the sun and rain. Marketing is important, but without a strong foundation (branding), you will never grow as tall or be as stable.

Your employees won’t really be affected by your marketing strategy and means. They will develop and implement. But that is where it ends. Your brand, on the other hand, definitely affects and impacts your employees. Your employees need to believe in your message if they are going to be passionate and committed to their work.

Branding first, Marketing second

Quite a few sources say that branding must come first and marketing second. However, is this completely true? Marketing strategies, trends, methods, and even channels might change with the times and technology; and even though our brand stays the same, how you are executing your branding strategy adapts to suit your audience. 

Without an established brand identity, your product or service would be just another marketing advert that most people ignore. Whereas, without marketing, your brand would be forgotten even before you get a chance to establish your identity. The ideal solution would be for your branding strategy and your marketing strategy to work in tandem.

How can marketing and branding work together?

Source: Panorbit

The key to successful marketing and branding is finding a way to integrate them so that they reinforce each other.

Some ways to do this include:

Define your brand’s identity and purpose:

This gives you a clear direction for your marketing efforts that helps you create messaging that is aligned with your brand.

Developing a style guide will ensure that all of your marketing materials are consistent with your brand identity. Thereafter, using customer insights to inform your marketing strategy will help you better understand your target audience and help you create more effective marketing campaigns.

Develop a consistent visual style:

Your visual style should be consistent across all of your marketing channels. This includes the use of your logo, color palette, and typography. This will go hand in hand with creating compelling content. Your content should be interesting and informative, but most importantly, it should be aligned with your brand identity. Posting relevant and engaging content on a regular basis will help you attract and retain customers.

Make sure your marketing materials are on-brand:

All of your marketing materials, from your website to your business cards, should reflect your brand identity. This is important for both online and offline marketing efforts. Your branding should be evident in everything you do, from the way you answer customer inquiries to the design of your packaging. This will allow you to use your brand to guide your marketing decisions.

Summing up, your brand should be the north star that guides all of your marketing decisions. From the colors you use and the images you select to the messaging you craft, everything should be in alignment with your brand.

What is the impact of your marketing and branding working together?

Connecting with your audience:

Assuming your customers support your business, it means that they have shared values. When you align your marketing with your values, they will recognize it and feel more connected to your brand. This will allow you to find out what your target audience values and how best to reach them. This will allow you to resonate more closely with your existing and potential target audience.

Balances your priorities

Your business is affected when either your branding or marketing efforts get left behind. A continuous effort with both these approaches allows them to complement each other and send a more holistic and consistent message with the kind of reach you envisioned, if not exceeding it.

Conclusion:

To sum up, branding and marketing are both important tools for businesses to connect with their target audiences. Branding helps businesses build trust and loyalty, while marketing helps businesses reach new customers. Both branding and marketing are essential for businesses to grow and succeed.

So if you need an agency that specializes in helping businesses create and strengthen their brand identity, Pixel Street is your man. We would be happy to help you grow your business! Our team will help you outline a suitable branding process that will be customized to suit your business. Thank you for reading!!