Brand identity

Why is brand identity so vital?

Brand Identity is a promise. One given from business to customer to expect certain things. Whether that promise involves product quality, service, price or a million other things varies from brand to brand. But the one thing common among all brands is the need to be a strong brand. Having a brand identity that resonates with your market is important, but not at the expense of the people within your company. They need to not only get it, but also be your brand's most fervent ambassadors. Do your employees believe in your company? Do they feel like they have a vested stake in its success? Companies with solid brand identities can say yes to these questions. Can yours? If not, here's some things you can do:

A strong brand identity can position a company above its competition all by itself. But having a brand that's strong takes time, money and effort to develop. It's not as simple as just redesigning a logo or rewriting a tagline. Brand identity is the reason you offer for your customer to choose you instead of your competition.

How to rework your brand identity

Successful re-branding involves "evolution," not "revolution." You must impress upon your existing customers that your new brand is just a new and improved version of the same you. It's important to not get too crazy with a re-branding effort because you could end up destroying fragile emotional ties and customer loyalty.

Brand identity is much more than marketing

1. Get every aspect of your company on the same page: Easier said than done, right? Well, that doesn't mean it's not necessary. Get all your departments talking to each other and understanding each other. 2. Promote everyone to the position of brand ambassador: Give everyone a common understanding of the company, its mission and their part in it. They should feel like they have ownership—even if they don't. 3. Reinforce brand values and behaviors: To do this, use the tools you have, such as internal communications...and like a good basketball coach, consistently promote these fundamentals until they're second nature.

These days our minds are in such overwhelm processing the demands of visual stimulation that we filter out anything too colourful, complicated and wordy. We want simple, positive communication we can relate to and remember easily. The dynamics of new economies intensify the role of branding and demand clear and cut through communication. Changing markets, increasing competition and educated consumers make it more challenging to build brand recognition.

Nothing reflects a company’s vision, personality and strategy more than its brand identity. And nothing expresses an organisation’s brand image more quickly than its brand identity. Your brand identity, or brand identity, is the visual centrepiece of your organisation. As the primary visual connection with consumers your brand identity has a powerful influence on brand perception, and whether consumers decide to engage.

How can my brand identity stand out?

The answer lies in a back to basics approach: simplicity. There is no greater visual relief than a simple, well designed brand identity that at first glance captures the name and feel of a company.A good brand identity needs to evoke a specific emotional response in the consumer for it to be remembered. Imagine your brand identity to be a dynamic organism with its very own characteristics. Like a person it has a certain personality that is visually captured in its design, look and feel. Bubbly or serious, funky or conservative – the important thing is to make your brand identity accessible to the people it comes in contact with and create an emotional connection with the consumer.

Emotional connectivity and simplicity, in fact, increase your brand’s chances for longevity, a crucial factor in building a successful brand.

Let’s briefly consider some of the most successful companies of our time, all of which feature a simple brand identity at the centre of their brand: IBM, JetStar, Greenpeace and BMW, coupled with all time branding favourites McDonald’s and Coca-Cola. All proudly stand behind extraordinarily simple brand identitys. For most it’s their company name written in a unique typeface and typically stylised. Whilst their brands are powered by intelligent marketing campaigns their brand identitys remained untouched.

The important message here is to demand less of your brand identity and approach it from a perspective of simplicity. Initially, furnish it with the bare essentials and allow it the freedom to evolve.

Designing your brand identity for the future
Every brand undergoes revitalising to adapt to new challenges and maintain relevance.
Most successful global companies today have undergone at least one re-branding process. Some, such as National Australia Bank (now known as NAB) started from scratch and introduced a new brand identity along with a fresh brand image and strategy. Others such as Apple opted to keep their brand identity and instead simplify and streamline its look to sit effortlessly with their marketing activity.

A vital component for a successful re-brand is detachment. There is no way a brand identity can become a successful brand ambassador if the company it represents remains too attached to an outdated image. Attachment can be counterproductive to rejuvenating a tired brand and can eventually mean its downfall. As a basic rule; if decreasing sales, global trends, changing environments and vanishing consumers signal change, it’s time to let go and follow suit.

Embrace change. We all need and desire change and it’s only fear that holds us back from becoming who we truly like to be. Remember that fear is simply an illusion and serves only to encourage our growth. The same applies to your brand identity. Make it bold and courageous and you’ll be surprised where it takes you.

How can I simplify my brand identity?
It is a legacy of the 90s that sees most company brand identitys overloaded with marketing messages competing for space with other equally weighty brand identitys.

The most effective way to rectify this is to start from scratch, as did NAB. Discard what you don’t need, condense the messages down to a simple statement that summarise into a company tag line, and virtually strip down your brand identity to the name and personality of the company.

If starting at point zero is not an option consider a re-brand. As mentioned previously, a re-brand is a perfect way to revitalise a company image, create new momentum, stimulate existing clients and even attract new customers. Sometimes the simplicity of a new colour and typeface, or an edgy style of photography makes a significant difference.