So often, I see businesses begin to grow and I watch as they realize that they never invested in their brand identity. This was because they saw ‘Brand Identity’ and thought, “logo on Fiverr”. This idea leads to extreme problems in the future, maybe when you are trying to build a large social media campaign and you have to try and email ‘baseballguy2432@yahoo.com’ from Fiverr for the logo files and you haven’t heard from him in 2 months. (This stuff happens…often)
Set yourself up for success and build your brand as you grow your brand. Follow the 5 Big Questions before you begin your branding journey and you can avoid trouble down the road.
THE BIG QUESTIONS
WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE WHY
(Yes, I know this idea is not new but just keep reading, it helps the lesson stick in your head)
WHO
(What is my market)
Who are the people that will be purchasing your product or service? Are they old or young? Jock or Goth kid? Bookworm or Skateboarder? You get the idea. Understanding your product or services demographic will give you vision, through the eyes of the consumer. How do they see advertisements? What platforms do they use? Do they watch TV? Seeing through their eyes allows you to see how different brands connect with these consumers and the way the consumers respond.
Young Audience
Minimalism = A higher quality
Use minimalism to achieve a higher value appearance. Simplicity can feel elegant.
Be Bold
Using bright and powerful colors can attract an already distracted audience. Using larger, thicker text for quick and easy readability.
Be Authentic
Young people are looking for a good story. Oftentimes they see past the facade many brands have of being relatable or making up a story to sucker you in. Tell the story of your brand through your branding and the content with it. It will show.
Older Audience
(When I say “Older” I just assume that people who paid an arm and a leg for a VCR are “Older”)
Perceived Quality is key
An older audience does not necessarily require the same level of flashy brightness to pull them in. With an audience that has had time to accumulate some wealth, (fingers crossed) they want to invest in products and services that provide real value in their life (or perceived value).
Cool relaxed colors
Watch HGTV for an hour or two and you will understand the colors that an older audience gravitates towards. It’s clean, subdued, professional, and simple. Keep it simple but exciting.
Give them an experience
This applies to everyone but I found it even more critical with an older audience. From the moment they find out about your business to the second it shows up at their door or in front of their eyes, your brand should be on their mind. From websites to packaging, you need to build a brand that can be scaled up and down and used across many mediums to build that consumer experience.
WHAT
(What are you selling)
The product you are selling will extremely influence the way you go about building your identity. High quality or Low Quality, T-Shirts or Earrings, Lawn Mowing or Piano Lessons. It is important to look at similar products in the industry and see the way they handle their branding materials. Certain products or services will have Industries with similar identities. Look at Home Improvement stores use their brand to pull in more consumers.
Each of them uses a thick font usually with a single color like blue or orange to keep it simple. They know that their products are not designer or elegant and they want to be bold with how they present themselves because their audience is not actively admiring the brand.
Understand the people who are buying and the product that they are buying and how it fits into the industry you will be competing in.
WHEN
(This one isn’t as crazy)
Before we move on to the next one, there is some value here. If you have many years of experience or the business has been around for a while, USE THAT! You will soon find out that your story is the most important tool for marketing your business. People flock to a good story and if you already have a history, then by all means use it to your advantage!
WHERE
(Don’t design wine bottles for kids)
While yes, I will always stand by the idea of not designing wine for kids, I think it is a good metaphor for what many brands attempt to do.
When the consumer finds your product or website. The branding should fit in with the brands around them The branding and labels of wines often feel repetitive because they all want you to feel like you are buying a high-quality wine. Kids do the same but with perceived fun.
Knowing how your brand is perceived next to similar brands is critical in fitting in but can also be a tactic in differentiating yourself in the eyes of the consumer. A great example is how Rockstar Energy markets its product compared to 3D Energy. Rockstar uses the “Pretty Lights” technique which involves immediately pulling the consumer’s vision in when they are in range.
3D on the other hand pulls the consumer in by having next to nothing. In such an oversaturated market, consumers find pleasure in brands that do not have a million things going on. Minimalism can be a great tactic to stand out in a crowd, with bold elegance.
WHY
(This is the big one)
The first four questions are the building blocks that are all important but each of them stacks onto this question. Why?
Why should the consumer purchase your product or service? What makes you different? What is your story? How did this come to be?
Taking a deep dive into the “Why” of your brand will allow you to have a full account of the process your business has gone through and also look to the future and what you are attempting to accomplish. Your brand identity is not just a logo, it is the act of taking your story and using a logo, color, typography, imagery, video, advertisements, and anything else that gets in front of the consumer’s eye, to bring that story to the consumer who wants to be a part of it.
Look at the reason why you are doing what you are doing and let that flow into your presentation. Are you marketing a product to people in the upper class? Tell the story of quality and product design using elegance and minimalism to show value. Are you selling stickers on your website? Use imagery from the design process on your website and build your brand around the colors you use in your stickers. Connect your story to your identity and show it to the world.
This may all seem like a lot and maybe you are asking yourself, “Well, I still need a logo and Facebook Banner”. Using services like Fiverr can leave you wishing you just went to a trusted designer with a consultation. Find someone you know can do good work and bring them these questions you asked yourself. Tell them your story and together they will help you bring it to life.
Wait a second…
We are a marketing agency that specializes in branding! These questions and thoughts apply to any business no matter where you are but if you are looking for a brand identity, we have been doing it for years and we like to think we know what we are doing.
Want to learn more about Finden Marketing? Finden Marketing is Duluth, Minnesota’s leading Gen Z & Millennial marketing agency. With years of experience, hundreds of thousands of dollars managed, and a dedicated team we can help grow your business to its true potential. Our team offers a wide range of services, including PR, Branding, Content Creation, Paid Media, Graphic Design, as well as Web Development. Also with over 30 projects in the bag, Finden Marketing is becoming a staple marketing agency in Duluth, Minnesota. To learn more about Finden Marketing, check us out here, or visit us at our office in Duluth, Minnesota.
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