Jan 25

Corporate Branding Revealed

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Simply put: Corporate branding is about the image of an organization. It is not only about looks, such as, logos, emblems, and style, but also includes the image of quality, or reliability, or lack of either. What is important about corporate branding is the image of a brand in the eyes of the consumers. The brand helps distinguish your products from those of your competitors, and if it has gained a reputation for high quality, your advertising campaign will be more effective.

Your brand will always be associated with good quality, if the image of your brand is also so associated. Such an image will be associated in the minds of the consumers as well as in the minds of the distributors.

Importance Of Branding

Success of any venture is determined, in large part, by the success of its brand. Not only does branding of a venture display a corporate image that is constantly in mind, it also conveys what your products or services offer. The success of your venture depends on its branding, which includes the visual effects of your business cards, to your overall business identity. They may not seem so, but these are key to determining the success of your business.

Successful businesses have used branding wisely to distinguish their corporate identity from that of their competitors. People have learned to trust such corporate images, and these go a long way in helping consumers make a purchasing decision.

It does not matter whether a venture is a small business with a couple of employees, or a large global corporation. Branding is equally important. Unfortunately, owners of small ventures overlook the importance of branding of their products or services. They fail to understand that the principles behind corporate branding, whether a venture is a small one or a large one, are the same and that they are crucial to their success or failure.

In fact, branding may be more crucial to small business ventures, when compared to large corporations. Branding provides a professional look to smaller businesses, and enhances confidence in the minds of potential customers of their ability to get the job done. Branding of your venture ensures that consistent look, right from your business cards, to your website.

Corporate branding needs to be unique and easily recognizable. It is only through your brand that you leave an everlasting impression on those prospective and potential customers. You, definitely, do not want to miss that one chance, and need to ensure that there is an element of consistency across your brand identity. Branding consistency is important in elements, such as your business logo, business cards, your company signage, and anything else connected to your company.

As your branding needs to be unique, ensure that you do not use elements that can easily be used by others. It is worth repeating over and over again that consistency is what is required for that professional look, consistency in all of your marketing elements, so that they have high visibility and are retained in the memory of the prospective customers.

Brand Measurement

Equity and franchise are the two measurements of a brand. In very simple terms, equity is the ability of the brand to sell, and franchise is returning of the trust in the brand. These elements are very important. Once the equity has been established in a brand, and there is no need for advertising, that is franchise of the said brand.

Corporate branding starts with determining your target customer base. Your marketing strategy should address the needs of these target customers, and then effectively mold your brand around their needs and requirements.

Anthony Samuel is a successful entrepreneur with 10 years experience in the work at home business industry. He reviews work from home computer jobs and lists his top picks at http://www.sanjen.com
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Jan 17

Sensorial Branding – the Future of Brand Building

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?People spend money when and where they feel good.??
- Walt Disney

Most brands & products are now interchangeable. This sad statement emanates from one of the fathers of marketing, Philip Kotler.

For a brand to be identified, recognized and understood in its values is the core of every strategy, the nagging issue of every marketing manager.

However, in a competitive environment where the usage & functional value of a brand (a product or a service) can be easily copied or duplicated, what is left to stand out from the crowd? How can the customer?s preference be triggered to ensure their loyalty? How can the tie that will closely link your brand to the consumer and put you ahead of the competition be built, retained or strengthened?

These are questions to which sensorial branding answers: use senses (and their impact on the consumers? perceptions) to enrich the brand experience and build up its uniqueness and personality, while ultimately paving the way to the consumers? affection, preference and loyalty.

Sensorial branding (and sensorial marketing) fills the gap left by traditional marketing theories when it comes to answering today?s consumer mindset. This new kind of thinking finds its origins in the ?90s, with the shift from the rational mindset that formerly prevailed in the consumer?s decision-making process to the emotional and hedonist quest that now drives their desires and consumption acts.

In reaction to an increasingly virtual and pressurized industrial world, people have started seeking a way to reconnect to reality in their private sphere, for a pathway to re-enchant their world. The individual values of pleasure, well-being and hedonism rose along with a true new concept of consumption that exposed the limits of traditional marketing theories.

Consumption today is a form of ?being?. Just like any leisure activity, it becomes a place to express a piece of your personality, where you share common values with a small group of other individuals (a tribe). And maybe more than anything else, consumption acts must be analyzed as ?felt? acts, as experiences capable of providing emotions, sensations and pleasure.

Purchasing acts are driven by this desire for sensational experiences that re-ignite senses and drive emotions. No matter how effective a product may be, it is its hedonist and emotional added-value, as well as the distinctive experience it offers, that lead consumers to buy it and ensure its loyalty.

What does it mean from a branding point of view?

First, it means that price and functionality are now taken for granted (or, in other words, not sufficiently differentiating). It is now the intangible, irrational and subjective attributes of the brand offering that are the new factors of success.

Second, it highlights the fact that sensations, new experiences and emotions must be part and parcel of the brand experience. It is through these 3 channels that the brand can create greater differentiation, influence consumer?s preference and secure their affection.

In summary, focusing the brand strategy on rational arguments regarding its functional value is no longer sufficient to ensure success. What is clear is that empowered brands are the ones managing to deliver hedonist and emotional attributes throughout the brand experience. This is where brands can add meaning and, therefore, value and sense to products and services, transforming them from interchangeable commodities into powerful brands.

This is where sensorial branding is competent: exploring and unveiling how brands can connect with people in a more sensitive way, at this true level of senses and emotions. To put it more clearly, it focuses on exploring, expressing, and empowering the brand?s hedonist and emotional potentials.

In this theory, sensations prevail because they are a direct link to consumers? affections. Senses are directly affected by the limbic part of the brain, the area responsible for emotion, pleasure and memory. In a way, it is no big surprise. This is all about going back to basics, to what actually appeals to a human being on an everyday basis. Sense is a vital part of our human experience. Almost our entire understanding and perception of the world is experienced through our senses. A growing number of research shows that the more senses your product appeals to, the greater the brand experience.

While communication & visual identity focus mainly on sight and sound, an accurate poly-sensorial identity integrating touch, smell (and taste when applicable), sends a more powerful emotional message to consumers, multiplying the connections or touch points through which the consumers can be attracted, convinced and touched by the brand. It enables and encourages consumers to ?feel? and ?experience? the brand (product or service) with their ?emotional brain?.

As Martin Lindstrom, author of best-selling book Brand Sense states, success lies in mastering a true sensory synergy between the brand and its message.

The first brand to intuitively implement the sensorial branding theory was Singapore Airlines. Like any other airline company, Singapore Airlines? communication and promotions primarily focused on cabin comfort, design, food and price. The breakthrough was made when they decided to incorporate the emotional experience of air travel. The brand platform they implemented aimed at one simple, but rather revolutionary, objective: to present Singapore Airlines as an entertainment company. From that moment onward, every detail of the Singapore Airlines travel experience was scrutinized and a new set of branding tools were implemented: from the finest silk and colours chosen for the staff uniform, to the make up of the flight attendants that had to match Singapore Airline?s brand colour scheme; from the drastic selection of the flight attendants that had to be representative of the ?Asian beauty archetype?, to the way they should speak to passengers and serve food in the cabin. Everything had to convey smoothness and relaxation to transform the Singapore Airlines travel experience into a true sensorial journey. Right after turning the Singapore Airlines flight attendant into an iconic and emblematic figure of the brand (the famous ?Singapore Girl?), they broke through the barriers of marketing again by introducing a new dimension to the brand: a signature scent. They specifically designed a signature scent, called Stefan Floridian Waters. This olfactory signature was used by the crew, blended into the hot towels served to passengers, and it soon permeated the entire fleet of planes. Described as smooth, exotic and feminine, it was the perfect reflection of the brand and achieved instant recognition of Singapore Airlines upon stepping into the aircraft. It soon became a unique and distinctive trademark of Singapore Airlines, capable of conveying a set of memories all linked to comfort, sophistication and sensuality.

Another example given by Martin Lindstrom is Rolls Royce. To recapture the feeling of older ?rollers? and maintain the luxurious aura surrounding the brand, Rolls Royce analysed and recreated the unique smell made by materials like mahogany wood, leather and oil that permeated the interior of the 1965 Silver Cloud Rolls-Royce. Now every Rolls Royce leaving the factory is equipped with a diffuser in the underside of the car?s seat to convey this unique identity of the brand.

What we learn here is that only when all the sensory touch points between the brand and consumer are integrated, evaluated and leveraged can true enrichment of your brand identity be achieved. In the future, it can become the most cutting-edge tool to stand out from the crowd, boosting the brand experience and eventually influencing consumer loyalty.

Few brands today are truly integrating sensorial branding in their strategy, while forward thinking companies are already implementing it with success. Adding a sensorial dimension to the brand experience is surely about to become the next competitive asset.

In the future, brand building for marketers may lie in one simple question: what does my brand feel like?

Vladimir Djurovic is the founder and Managing Director of Labbrand, a Shanghai based innovative brand agency specialized in brand research, strategic and creative services. Labbrand website at:http://labbrand.com/ is also the portal to Labbrand branding blog: http://labbrand.com/english/news_and_articles.php/

which collects fresh ideas, trend analysis and reviews of branding related hot topics, with a special focus on China.

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Jan 13

An Insight on Branding in Recession

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Recession, meltdown, slowdown, economic doom, downturn, stagnation ? whatever you may call it, is the best time to invest in branding. Why? Well, when money is tight people tend to cling to their wallet. They think twice before spending their hard-earned money and thus they intensely study a product now, more than ever. From branding perspective this thinking helps in brand building.  So, think strategically and work towards to make your brand more visible now.

Positioning Your Brand

A brand is the face of your company. It represents the services that your company promises. What comes to your mind when you think of branding? An attractive logo, a catchphrase? If brand positioning is done correctly it can catapult your business to new heights. Thus, positioning a brand is very important in terms of gaining people

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Jan 07

The Importance Of Corporate Identity Branding And Rebranding Services

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Corporate identity branding and rebranding services, is an area which requires immense thought and great care. Aspects of corporate branding that may seem quirky or fashionable today may not appear so in five or ten years’ time. Identity branding is an aspect of any company’s business plan which cannot be rushed into, and must be considered carefully with the future in mind.

One of the key considerations in terms of successful branding is the nature of the business, product or service. To a very significant extent it will be important to keep these aspects of your business in mind, and not simply seek an image that looks cool or modern. Images, colors and even the style of artistry used in any logo or brand image will all prompt customers or potential clients to make assumptions before becoming familiar with it.

Whether these assumptions are accurate or correct is immaterial: your corporate identity branding will give rise to them irrespective of your own motivation for the way your business is branded. Colors and logos which appear vibrant and up-to-date may work today, but one needs only to look at those companies formed five or ten years ago to see that many of them already look tired and dated.

History and existing businesses can also have an impact on perception – or could make your business work. As a simple example of this, an intended up-market eatery would undoubtedly fail with the name ‘”McDonald’s Sushi Bar” – or would it? Perhaps not, especially if that as your name, but market research would help to determine that.

This is often why many businesses enter into a rebranding phase. Initial success could drift, or an image could become dated or worn. There is no doubt that reviewing and updating your corporate image can prove to be successful, but it could also fail. There are two good reasons why corporate rebranding should not be undertaken too lightly.

The first is, of course, the cost. The branding of a company, no matter what its size, will necessarily cost a significant amount of the budget. The face presented to all of its potential customers must be right. This will involve artists, designers, marketing and consultants, not to mention a massive amount of printing, labeling and promotion.

Further to that, if your business already has a recognized brand image, then rebranding it can cause confusion. Many customers may not realize that the company has been rebranded, and believe that you are a new company. This is likely to cause many customers to reconsider their business with you, and compare the market for alternatives.

Rebranding can cause divide and instability if not treated carefully and appropriately. Using experts who are familiar with this process and the obstacles which can appear along the way is a very sensible idea. Perhaps anyone can sketch up a nice looking logo and decide on a couple of colors which look good together. It is quite another to manage the whole process smoothly and efficiently so that customers and clients do not feel unsettled, confused, or liable to consider that your company has changed as dramatically as the logo.

Of course, updating a corporate branding image can have many very positive consequences. That, after all, is almost certainly why you are considering undertaking such a process in the first place. Updating the image can be tailored to coincide with the updating of the company itself.

It is well worth being aware that, in the current climate, corporate branding is something very much on the minds of customers and clients. So many companies are struggling, being bought out, taken over, sold off and merged together that the number of brand names leaving the shelves, or changing in the high street is highly noticeable.

Your branding process should not give the impression to the customer that you are undecided, or covering up issues that might be of concern. You will need to think carefully about why you consider rebranding is necessary, and to some extent, justifying this to your customers.

Hurling a completely new logo, color scheme and image at your existing customers entirely unannounced will cause confusion, with many feeling that the company may have been bought out, and their details passed on to an unknown buyer. To avoid this it will be essential for you to communicate your intentions to your customers well in advance of putting them into practice.

This is where the services of experts who are experienced within this field can be of vital importance. They will be able to manage or advise the corporate branding process smoothly from beginning to end, ensuring that both the company and its clients are happy and understand what is happening. Just as importantly, your customers will be able to understand what is not happening too, such as the company being sold off or bought out.

If you are starting up a new company and are considering your brand identity for the first time, you might assume that these issues will not affect you directly. Whilst it is true that your existing customers are unlikely to be concerned, you will still need to ensure that your corporate identity branding ticks all the right boxes in terms of what customers expect and look for in a such a company.

Regardless of your company’s experience in business or even in corporate identity branding or rebranding, that is a field in which professionals can help you with professional job that you can’t do yourself.

Surge Design is based in Atlanta Georgia. Contact Surge Design today to talk about corporate identity branding atlanta georgia as well as their other services which include: Catalog Design, Corporate Identity, Name Development Messaging, Name Positioning, Stationary Systems, Marketing Collateral, Corporate Presentations, Corporate Promotional Campaigns, Corporate Press Kits, Business Advertising, Restaurant Menu design, Corporate Packaging, Business Event Graphics, Tradeshow Graphics, Business Signage, Direct Mail Campaigns, HTML Email Campaigns, Website Design and Interactive Advertising.

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Jan 03

Digital Branding With Business Web Hosting

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The thing about branding is that the subject has taken a sort of turn into another direction, especially with the greater field of play that corporations and companies have. Digital branding has been added to the mix and more companies realise that a lot of their target audience are not tech savvy and now have moved on to the internet to find most of their solutions online.

This was not the case just a few years ago, but the ease of the internet and how widely available it is coupled with the efforts of banks and retail merchants to make online buying and selling all that much easier has created the advent of the electronic shopper. And with this digital awareness comes the need to extend the brand pillars of a company beyond the physical world and into the online world. This actually is quite easy and this is down to the tools that are available online to the end user to achieve this.

The internet is a very interactive and dynamic arena where companies are able to employ a whole host of electronic and technological tools to increase the brand image of the company. And this is much more than what can be done with normal advertising – which only purpose is to inform and educate the consumer on the brand identity of the products and of the company itself. A good example would be Adidas, whose urban, hip and young brand association has always run through all its collaterals as well as their advertising online. Now this brand can be further extended by using the power of the internet, the power of flash and online games, online quizzes and designing the entire website and projecting short movies to further enhance this.

The brand message is not limited by ad times or the switch of a remote control when talking about a website and the very nature of the website and the internet can be used to reinforce and subliminally expose the end user to images and messages that would further reinforce the brand pillars of the company and what their products represent. If this was a technological company, the internet itself would be a place where they can also do this. As a fact, the internet itself is a brand, a brand that represent progress and being on the cutting edge of the latest developments and that will never stop.

No matter where a company comes from or what products they represent, they will always look to go online not only to extend their market reach; but to brand themselves innovative. Digital branding is just as important as normal brand solutions nowadays, and no company can do without it. With a market reach that just cannot be compared to any other medium in the world today, the internet is a solution to fortify the brand pillars and extend brand awareness to literally millions of people all over the world. With web hosting, your product, your business and your identity has no limits and no boundaries.

Vodien Internet Solutions provides all-in-one web hosting packages. Find out more details about their Singapore web hosting packages and Singapore VPS Hosting packages at their website.
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Jan 02

Branding and Marketing – The Primary Differences

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Differentiation and ownership is a key component of any Branding process. The mental image, strong emotional connection and understanding in your customer?s mind about your product or service is considered brand. This usually involves establishing differentiated identity, philosophy and personality around your company, product or service which fulfils a specific customer want or need. Branding then really is the promise your company makes to the customer and employees, and the relationship you have with them.

The development of channels and methods of communicating these brand messages is what?s considered marketing. For example, whenever an employee has a conversation with a client or customer, they?re effectively marketing your brand.

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Dec 29

Sound Branding: Building a Sound Identity

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An effective brand identity is commonly perceived as a good brand name and logo, trendy package design – dimensions which mainly concern visual senses. However, this common perception of branding is incomplete.

Human beings have five senses, so why would brand strategists leave four of them aside? Over the past few years, senses other than sight have been explored by brand experts and marketers. Although the senses of taste and touch are more difficult for brands to reach, some brands like Singapore Airlines and Rolls Royce have already used scent to build brand identity, also known as olfactive branding. (Please see our article on Sensorial Branding ). A new area of focus is now sound branding, which will be explored in this article.

Sound can be seen as a vague notion, so let’s define it first. Daniel Jackson, the author of the book Sonic Branding, distinguishes three types of sounds: voice, ambiance, and music.Voice covers any sound produced by human-beings, from a baby crying to Pavarotti singing. Ambiance refers to every sound produced by our environment, from weather to machines. Finally, to define music, we will quote the New Oxford Dictionary of English: “The art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.”

Hearing: A powerful human sense

First of all, while visual, taste or touch features of a product or brand requires people to directly interact with it in order for it to be perceived, a sound characteristic is a good way to reach consumers without them doing anything. We are all exposed to sounds whether we like it or not, and we do not have to do anything to hear them.

Moreover, as Michaël Boumendil, the founder and general manager of Sixième Son* (a leading agency worldwide for sound branding based in Paris) explains, each of us has begun our communication life by decoding sounds as early as when we are in our mother’s belly. At this formative stage of our life, we had already heard and memorized sounds, the most important being the mother’s heart beat. We were able to interpret that a beat of 60 pulsations per minute means a calm and comfortable state. Due to this early biological exposure, human-beings are naturally sensitive to sounds and their meanings.

In addition to influencing our mood by making us feel energized or sleepy, happy or sad, sound has an amazing ability to inspire us and remind us of the past. Psychological studies have shown that humans strongly associate sounds with a particular memory. Thus, sound has this unique power to recall certain experiences, which is a crucial advantage when it comes to building a strong brand in the minds of consumers.

Sound Branding Examples

Many companies are now starting to realize the effectiveness of sound branding, also known as sonic branding, audio branding or auditory branding. Here are some examples of famous and efficient sound trademarks: the Intel jingle, McDonald’s “I’m loving it”, the Yahoo yodel, Apple computer sounds, and Nokia’s ringtone. These major brands evoke a strong and unique identity on their own, but their foothold in customers’ minds is made even stronger when coupled with a distinguished and memorable sound. All of these leading brands have built their own unique sound personality as an integral part of their brand identity, and they are now recognized not only through a logo or a slogan, but also through a few musical notes. The McDonald’s Corporation itself has set out an aggressive sound branding campaign here in China, and even commissioned the famous Chinese pop singer Leehom Wang to sing “I’m loving it” in Chinese.

Royal Air Maroc recently reviewed its entire brand identity and created a sound identity with the help of Sixieme Son. Wafaâ Ghiati, the marketing manager of the company, explains that the idea of a sound trademark came naturally with the whole brand revamp. Royal Air Maroc’s sound identity had to convey the five core values of the airlines, which are Moroccan, majestic, magical, maternal and modern, while respecting the oriental roots of the company and being strongly oriented to the future. The goal of this new identity was triple-fold: to better differentiate the airline, express its values, and reinforce the impact of its communication. Wafaâ Ghiati describes the new sound identity as music which is modern without being too “fashionable”, and which has personality without being aggressive. This sound trademark is used for TV and radio ads, on the company website, as a jingle at air terminals, on CDs for clients, ring tones, and more. Although the sound aspect of Royal Air Maroc’s brand identity is very recent, the success is already measurable: on the internal side, comments about the sound trademark have been very positive, and on the external side, the music of the TV ad has been well received and many people have asked for a way to obtain it.

Sound branding gives a brand a unique audio identity, which can over time become a valuable trademark. Branding in this sense not only helps trigger memory and associations, but it is also perceived as an indication of quality and trustworthiness.

How can a brand create an effective sound identity?

The five most important characteristics of a brand sound identity are:

* length and clarity
* distinctiveness
* relation to the product
* pleasantness
* familiarity and accessibility

The first four characteristics can be managed during the creation process, and the fifth one can be reached through an effective marketing strategy. However, a sound which is familiar to customers does not mean instant success for the brand. Marketers have to make sure that customers associate this familiar sound with the corresponding brand. An easy and efficient way to guarantee this correlation is to include the brand name within the sound itself.

Although sound branding may at first seem complex and abstract, when prepared and communicated effectively in accordance with brand strategy, it has the power to build your brand in an “unheard of” way.

Written in collaboration with Michaël Boumendil from Sixieme Son, a strategic partner of Labbrand.

1. Jackson, D.M. (2003). Sonic Branding. New York: Palgrave Macmillan New York.

Vladimir Djurovic is the founder and Managing Director of Labbrand, a Shanghai based innovative brand agency specialized in brand research, strategic and creative services. Labbrand website at: http://labbrand.com/ is also the portal to Labbrand branding blog: http://labbrand.com/english/news_and_articles.php/
and reviews of branding related hot topics, with a special focus on China.

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Dec 28

Branding The Ford Motor Company

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Have you seen the new commercial and re-branding from Bill Ford and the Ford Motor Company? As you know Ford is in big trouble. So they seem to be changing their positioning and re-Branding. Here’s the brilliant re-positioning they came up with (and it pretty much includes everything):

1. American Auto Industry is facing new challenges and fierce competition: Ya think Bill? Maybe the writing has been on the wall for the last 15 years? Maybe Bill Ford was on a golf course somewhere counting his millions. You’re too late Mr. Ford! Telling us that you’re behind is like leaving the barn door open…we know it.

2. Ford is making new investments in R & D: Wow, Ford, you’re blazing a new trail…By the time you catch up to BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Lexus, Toyota, Honda they’ll be out with their futuristic space age models that fly which will again put you 20 years behind. Face it Ford, we don’t buy your cars because of R & D. We use to buy your cars because they were American made and RELIABLE. Now they’re made everywhere and they are not RELIABLE (hmmm, am I hinting at the correct positioning Bill?). Since you can’t have the luxury, sports car markets why don’t you make your cars more RELIABLE.

3. Hybrids: Here’s what I think of Hybrids: It’s like when you go to a vending machine and look at the choices. You can pay an extra quarter and get some trendy healthy tastes bad power bar or you can reach in and grab old comfortable Snickers. Since we’ve branded a national vending company we already know the answer. Here it is; People say they want to eat healthy and they scream for it but when it comes time to buy they buy unhealthy. Same will apply to Hybrids (see Diesel cars).

4. Working with Volvo to find new safety innovations: Man oh man, why is it that company’s think they have to be everything to everyone. People who buy a Volvo buy it for the safety and for nothing else. What a great brand identity and brand image Volvo has. Kudos to Volvo for doing it right. But Ford, are people buying Ford’s for the safety aspect? I think not. Why is it anyone buys a Ford? That’s your secret weapon. Draw your line in the sand and then build your new Branding!

5. Retake the US roadways and as always innovation is leading the way: This coming from the worst innovative carmaker in the world. Here’s what Americans want from Ford. A good, RELIABLE car made in good old USA. Stop trying to be everything to everyone and your re-Branding will pay big dividends (wink, wink).

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru http://www.brandidentityguru.com a leading brand consulting and market research firm located in Boston, Massachusetts.
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Dec 27

How to Improve Your Corporate Branding Strategies

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Do you know what define you in the public eye? Yes, you are right it is your corporate brand image. The answer may sound very simple but creating an effective brand image is not at all easy. Your business can succeed or fail depending on the strategies you follow to build a unique brand image.

While a strong brand image boost your business a feeble one can easily break it. A good image is very necessary in order to create a good impression in the market. Do you want to create a corporate brand from scratch or you just want to utilize some re-branding opportunities. Whatever it is, you need to keep a few things in mind.

The most important thing in brand identity marketing is longevity. Many companies do the same mistake of going for short-term projects. It may be because of their budget. But ultimately it will not help you to get good return on investment. Don’t imply any strategy to get result in immediate future. Think of long term achievements. People have faith only in those brands which have lasts through thick and thin. A brand that survives the storms is a true winner.

A new name, a new tagline or a new logo attracts people initially just because they see something different and want to try them out. But soon it will become history unless you have thought of the long journey. It will help you to improve your business not only in near future but also in distant future.

The greatest aspect for branding strategy must be consistency. You should take this very seriously as your potential clients also consider this as one of the most important corporate branding strategies. If your brand image remains consistent people will surely appreciate it.

This consistency should reflect in everything starting from your business card to letter headed notepad, envelop to leaflets, storefront to website. Consistency also helps people to remember your company name. In order to maintain consistency you should consider the design of your logo or the content of your tag line.

The logo should be suitable so that it doesn’t look odd anywhere whether you see it in the notepad or in the website or in the road side banner or in the TV screen. It should be relevant to your business as well. Designing such a logo is really difficult. So it needs much concentration, thought and research.

The case is quite similar to advertisements as well. What works for internet branding might fail for offline branding. Your ad should be perfect for all the mediums. See the same ad on a banner and on TV screen. Now forget that you own the company and try to think just as your customers will think. Are you equally impressed seeing the same ad in both of the mediums? If your answer is yes, then you can move on without any hesitation.

Lastly while choosing the strategies don’t focus only on the market and your target audience. But also try to see what your competitors are doing. Identify the strategies that work and then implement them in your own way to stand out among the crowd.

Steve is a media professional and writes for different online publications. For more information on brand marketing news or branded entertainment he recommends you to visit http://www.brandweek.com

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Dec 26

Branding Is Complicated Choose Wisely

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Choosing the right branding company can be a daunting task. The problem with the selection process is that every word of mouth, advertising and graphic design company says they are a branding agency.


This of course is not the case. To be a true branding company they must focus on one thing. Branding. Branding is not about media buys, logo designs and direct mail. It is about developing your clients brand and positioning in the market place. Inherently that is where advertising agencies, and graphic design firms fall flat on their face.


A branding company should be about long term strategic thinking concerning their clients brand. Some of the strategies and tactics a branding firm should take is branding research, brand planning, brand branding, brand image and internet branding.


How to choose the right branding company? First do a Google search from the phrase branding company or agency. Then start calling the top results of your Google internet search. These companies have done the things necessary to appear in the rankings or Google has put value on these firms. If it is in the top results they are most likely a good company to work with.


Now that you have narrowed your selection down to say 3-5 agencies start setting up conference calls or meetings. It is nice to hire a local company but by no means is it necessary. In the internet world we are in today dealing with someone in another state is pretty par for the course. Do not dismiss them just because they are far away.


Be prepared for your first conference call or meeting. If they sound like they are really an ad agency, or graphic design company dismiss them immediately. You are looking for a true branding firm. You will know right away as ad agencies will push media spending, graphic design firms will push, well, graphic design work.


Ask them what they do to develop a brand identity and positioning. Follow that up with questions about internal branding and how to go about setting up an internal strategy for brand development. Ask to see samples or case studies of each of these elements. A real branding agency will be able to talk intelligently about internal branding.


Branding research is another area that you may want to focus on. Branding research and branding research are two very different things. When you conduct brand research it is more about understanding how customers and prospects feel about your product or company versus quantitative approaches that branding companies take.


Finally go with your gut instinct. The gut usually tells the story.

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru a leading branding agency. and market research firm located in Boston, Massachusetts. As a branding company we specialize in strategy and creative.

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