Creating and growing a brand can be quite a challenge. One of my first branding projects was Connect Insolvency Ltd, a firm of liquidators & insolvency practitioners based in Newcastle upon Tyne and I created a simple, clean and professional brand for them using vibrant colours. Years later, I still help companies with branding and I successfully do that by following the rules below.
Competitor Research
Competitor research is an important step in the whole process and it does not help you only with creating a successful brand, but with starting a successful business too. By doing this, you can get some interesting ideas, understand the market and find this unique touch that will set you (or your client) apart from the competition.
Understanding your target audience
Target audience is the audience that your brand should best speak to, so, understanding what they like, what they do not like, their age, goals, interests is very important – or let’s put it simply, you need to identify buyer personas in order to create a brand that speaks to them best.
Simplicity – Less is More
Yes, keep it simple, stupid. Creating a clean and simple style and following it through when creating all corporate materials is very important and you need to remember that simplicity is key to success. Do not get carried away and overcomplicate the logo – as much as this might seem interesting, it will confuse your target audience, trust me. If you are tempted or think about adding more elements to a logo, think about Nike, McDonald’s or any other successful brand that uses a simple logo.
Consistency
So, creating a simple logo and following the style consistently will help your brand send a unique message and be recognized. Starting from the style, fonts and colour palette you will set standards that should be followed in order to ensure brand consistency. Creating brand guidelines is something you should do in this part of the process as this will help you immensely with managing your brand too.
Communicate with your target audience
One of the main goals you need to set for your brand is to speak with your target audience. Understanding your target audience is the first step towards this goal and after you have found out their age, interests, likes and dislikes, you will be able to use this knowledge and implement it when choosing the font, colour palette, mission, vision, values and slogan.
Brand Management
Managing your brand is an ongoing process that you should be actively involved in. Once you have created your brand, you should not stop there. So, how will you be heard, how will you share your story with your target audience and differentiate your products or services from your competitors? Managing your brand might lead you to rebranding even and do not be reluctant to do that is it turns out to be necessary.
Hope the tips above help you with your branding project. If you have any questions or need help with branding, contact me, I’d love to chat with you!
