Table of Contents
What is Brand identity?
Brand identity is basically the face of your business and amongst creative marketing strategies. Values, services, ideas, and personality are represented through brand identity. It is able to generate customer loyalty along with making employees proud to be a part of the organization. Through brand identity, companies can:
- Set their business apart from competitors
- Represent their brand promise
- Improve brand awareness
- Motivate employees
- Establishing synergy throughout every way of communication
- Generating of active buyers
Having a strong brand identity, companies can attain:
- Brand Preference
- Brand trust and loyalty
- Good financial returns
- High credibility
Definition of Brand Identity
Brand identity is that image which the company wants to project in its customer’s mind. This type of brand strategies has features that are associated with a particular product, service, company or individual and is expressed externally and is distinguished from other products, services, companies and individuals within the same aspect. Companies tend to use a different brand image such as logo, imagery, positioning, campaigns, etc.
How to Develop a Strong Brand Identity
Developing a strong identity requires companies to understand the brand preferences of its customers. Building and maintaining a strong brand identity is not a simple job to do; however, those who do this properly are rewarded greatly. Following is a simple guide to developing a strong brand identity:
Asses your Brand Perception
It is important that you understand your brand. How is it perceived by customers individually and in comparison with competitor brands? Are consumers aware? Are they engaged with it? Determine the gaps in the brand performance and this can be done through brand research which will stand where the brand stands and why.
Develop Brand Strategies
Companies need to prioritize emotional and rational brand perceptions which tend to communicate major brand benefits as well as including drivers of brand loyalty, engagement, and repurchase.
Monitor and Audit Your Brand
It is important that brands are maintained and monitored to assure that they retain relevance with its key audiences. Different tools such as brand mapping provide ongoing market-driven feedback in measuring, improving and maintaining a strong brand identity.
Essential Brand Identity Elements
Essential elements of a brand identity include:
- Concept: The basic idea underlying the brand. For example, authentic rides for building the best snowboards.
- Visual branding: Determining the visual symbols of the brand like the logo.
- Values: What values are embraced by the brand such as sustainability?
- Quality: Delivering quality products and services that bring in value to its users.
- Mission, Vision, and Promise: Brand content which explains the brand representation like its mission, vision and promise.
- Culture: The culture which has emerged around the brand.
- Customer experience: The intangible product and service elements such as those products that are designed to be fun to use.
Brand Identity Examples
Brand identity is a combination of functional and mental associations with the brand. These associations may not be the ‘reason-for-purchasing’ but, they may offer differentiation and familiarity which is not replicable. These associations can be signature tune like the one for Britannia ‘ting-ting-da-ding’, logo ‘Nike’, trademark color ‘blue color in Pepsi’ and the tagline “Apple’s tagline “Think Different”.
Strong Brand Identity Examples
- Gravy: Gravy is an award-winning creative studio where not only the features are great but their branding is wonderful as well. Their logo has smooth lines and the swish mark makes the brand appears to be smooth. The swish acts as a separate entity which provides gravy more collateral to work when designing brand pieces.
- Marjoram: Marjoram is a restaurant which specializes in unique flavors. The chefs here make use of a wide range of spices and herbs which makes their dishes tasty and memorable. Similar to their namesake, herbs illustrations is the focal point of their brand identity.
- Yolo: Yolo is a sweet product line for those who are not surrounded with the continuous worry of their waistline size. Its name, Yolo is a commonly used acronym for ‘You Only Live Once’ and also embodies the same message for the brand thereby creating brand identity.
