Brand Identity Archives

Repetition

In a previous blog post I have discussed how we need to identify each and every touchpoint with our brand to examine how we can use them to build it, and how we need to make sure that we consistently deliver the same brand experience through each of those touchpoint. This is not enough though. You also have to remember to repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat and repeat again.

It’s Great to Be Bored!

Repetition is absolutely key in marketing and I can promise you that if you are doing your marketing right, you will get bored. You will get bored of your brand identity; your colours, fonts, images etc., you will get bored of your marketing materials; your advertising, messaging etc. You’ll get bored with the whole thing. Absolutely, you’re going to get bored!

But the thing is, you’re always working with your brand, you’re always looking at it, thinking about it, it’s always there. However, you’d be really lucky if the people you are trying to reach see 1% of what you are up to. So you must remember that it’s not about you. It’s about them. You’re going to get bored but you have to pull through it and just stick with it!

The thing is if you start changing things up, changing your messaging, changing the look of what you are sending out, whether it is advertising, brochures, stuff on social media, blogs or whatever it is, you end up at square one again.

We all know how many things are there out there vying for people’s attention each and every day. So when you start changing things up they’re not going to recognize you. You’re going to have to start building awareness and recognition all over again. However if you stick with it and you stay the same, you’re going to be strengthening their memory structures of you in their minds and they’re going to end up sticking.

Snakes and Ladders

It’s a bit like a game of snakes and ladders. [Read more…]

What Is A Brand?

Many times, when talking to entrepreneurs and small business owners, I find that there is confusion about the concept of brand and branding. Not surprisingly. It is one of these things that the branding experts have managed to shroud in mystery and fill with jargon charging gazillions for development of brand strategy, brand associations, brand equity and other such fancy sounding things. It is also one of these things that people tend to associate with big business and global corporations. The Nikes, Apples and Googles of this world.

But I am going to let the cat out of the bag and tell you that not only is branding not only the prerogative of big business, but a brand is actually the single most powerful thing you can develop for your small business or startup.

What Is A Brand?

So what is this thing called a brand. First, an important point on what a brand is not. A brand is not just a logo or the designy things associated with a business (“designy” lol … well, let’s just say it’s a word ;) It is a whole lot more. A brand is everything that comes into people’s minds and all the emotions that are evoked when they come across anything to do with your business, product, service or person, depending on what the object of the brand is. So you see, saying that a brand is just the logo and the look of things is a bit like saying that a person is just the clothes she wears – nothing more – and we all know that it is not so. [Read more…]

Dare to Be PINK – a brave brand!

Have you seen my upcoming book, Marketing Untangled: The Small Business & Entrepreneur’s Map Through the Marketing Jungle? It’s undeniably pink.

Recently I was chatting to a friend on Facebook. Rather than retell the conversation, I’m going to write it as is (well, translated, as it was in Icelandic, so won’t make much sense to most people.) ;)

My friend: “New book looking really good, the cover is SOLID and really makes one curious. Just one thing that surprised me…

And I’m still trying to make sense of …”

Me: “Aha – what?”

My friend: “The cover is just so very PINK… Is it supposed to be like that?”

Me: “Ooooooooooooo yes!”

My friend: “Oh… Thought maybe the printers had made a mistake… Joking!” [Read more…]

The Clothes Do Make the Man

Do looks matter? Does it matter what your brand looks like? I mean, is it not just all about what your business does? Isn’t that all that matters? Hmmmmmm…

The simple answer is: Yes. Looks matter. We are simple creatures. We judge books by their covers. And the clothes do make the man. Just like clothes tell us a lot about the people wearing them, your brand identity or the look of your brand tells people a lot about your business, products and services.

Here’s an example. What can you tell me about this woman?

What about this one? [Read more…]