Branding is a whole range of marketing activities to manage a brand’s image: its creation, distribution, strengthening, preservation and development in order to create consumer loyalty and trust in it. Branding works through advertising, design, brand philosophy (its mission and core values).
All components of branding form the corporate style of the company, allow you to convey to the consumer the advantages and uniqueness of the product, and distinguish it from similar ones. Without this differentiation, the buyer can easily forget about the brand and go to competitors.
The term branding was first mentioned at the end of the 19th century. During this period, as a result of industrial and technological progress, mass production occurs in enterprises. Many different brands appear, but their products are not much different from similar products from competitors. Gaining the buyer’s attention becomes the main task of sellers. For this purpose, entire marketing tools are being developed, including branding.
The first steps were finalizing the packaging, developing a brand name and advertising. Products that were sold in beautiful, elegant packaging with an original name were more popular with customers. Through newspaper advertising, consumers could become aware of the brand and its benefits.
The real breakthrough in branding came in the 20th century. Radio advertising has become popular. Now you could not only read about the company, but also hear about it! The owners started talking about their brand with loud slogans and catchy messages. Following radio came television. Brands with visuals, music, and voice are penetrating more and more into the consumer’s consciousness and are becoming closer than ever.
Informational branding is giving way to emotional branding. A brand has come to be seen as more than just a set of unique physical properties of a product. It introduces the concept of reputation and the feelings it evokes in the buyer. A brand philosophy is born. Brand managers began to appear in companies; they created a positive connection between the product and the buyer, making him want to buy the brand’s product rather than a competitor’s product.
Modern branding has come quite far with the help of the World Wide Web. Now business has moved to the Internet, and many tools are used for successful positioning. However, the gigantic level of competition forces us to look for new ways.
One way a brand can now differentiate itself from its competitors is through mission-based branding. Through its brand, a business transmits values and beliefs, and on their basis a new symbolic value of the product is formed. A person does not just purchase something, but expresses himself through these products, through visual and verbal messages that identify the brand.
In the modern world, branding is not just needed – it is necessary! In an environment where competitors are constantly “breathing down your neck,” in order to bring a new brand to the market or maintain the leadership of an existing business, it is important to form a positive image of the brand in the mind of the buyer and create a strong emotional connection with it.
If the brand is recognizable, its owner will receive higher profits; the brand itself will act as an advertisement for existing products and provide easy entry into the market for new ones. Branding reveals a company’s values and mission, shapes its image, and influences how the brand resonates in the consumer’s mind and how those consumers position the brand to each other.
Branding focuses on creating a strong, competitive brand. The main goal of branding is to build long-term relationships with the consumer, to form their trust and desire to purchase goods from this particular manufacturer. Below we will talk about what tasks need to be solved on the way to this goal.
In order to successfully achieve the goal of branding in the fight for the attention of the audience, the company creates an attractive image in the mind of the buyer, reflects the importance and value of the product, debug the communication link between the company and the consumer, selects channels and strategies for promoting the product, stands out among competitors, individualizes the product,
identifies the product using visual and verbal elements, maintains the health of the brand, and tracks its further position in the eyes of the consumer.
Completing these tasks will help the company increase brand awareness and achieve high results at all stages of branding.
Branding as a way to identify your product and influence human behavior requires large investments and resources. But branding is not always justified. If the manufacturer is small or produces a limited range of products (for example, metal mining, energy generation, match production, etc.), then you can do without a detailed study of the brand components.
The consumer is more concerned about the functionality and properties of the product than how his life will change after purchasing such a product. It is better to invest the saved money in expanding the business or improving technological processes.
Same thing as personal branding. This is the promotion of a media personality and the formation of his image. The development of social networks has made this type of branding very popular. A correctly formed opinion about such a person will help position her as a professional in her field. It is important to build the right line of behavior. You don’t have to please everyone and say only what others want to hear from you. Standing up for your own beliefs, even if they run counter to public opinion, characterizes a strong person.
Political branding is the process of creating and positioning a unique image of a political party, politician or political movement. Such branding must convey a clear, understandable message and philosophy in a short time that meets the expectations of voters.
The goal of product branding is to differentiate a product from its competitors. The main emphasis is on packaging design, logo development, as well as on the ideology and style of the product, that is, on the brand book. The main difference between product or consumer branding is its focus on the end consumer.
There are many examples of effective product branding. The American corporation Apple has become the most valuable brand in history. Its success lies in building a strong emotional connection with the consumer.
Geographic branding includes creating an attractive image of a country, city or other area. The main goal is to attract tourists or investment through attractions, unique geographical location and historical significance. Examples include the holy city of Mecca, the seaside resorts of Turkey, and the cultural capital of St. Petersburg.
Branding in art is the promotion of books, films, musical groups, paintings, as well as their authors, that is, writers, artists and musicians. Advertising campaigns for theatrical performances and concerts are also part of the branding.
Service branding is a set of activities aimed at creating and promoting a unique image of a service brand. Such branding is most often used at the initial stage of launching new service products onto the market. After all, a service, unlike a product, cannot be touched and verified as to its quality, so it becomes important to initially evoke a positive emotion in the consumer.
Each brand has the same set of elements and includes the following components.
Name is the name of a brand, company, product or service. It is an important element in creating a brand. A bright, laconic name will help consumers quickly remember the brand and create strong associations with it. The brand name should be easy to read, even if written in foreign letters. Pseudo-name naming is widely used, the essence of which is to reflect the properties or advantages of the product. For example, instant porridge “Bystrov”, sports club “Arnold”, etc.
A logo is an easily recognizable graphic image of a brand that allows you to quickly identify it. For example, two golden arches are a traditional symbol of McDonald’s restaurants, and a picture of chicks in a nest represents the Nestle brand.
Color is another key brand element. It is important to work not only on color, but also on color combinations. Some colors affect a person’s emotions, so the right color reflects the values of the brand and creates a unique look. For example, bright orange is an integral element of the Fanta brand, and delicate turquoise is an integral element of the Tiffany jewelry brand.
Font. Where a brand uses text, it is necessary to choose the right font. Corporate writing style shows the uniqueness of the brand. If the consumer can recognize the company without even reading the text, then the font is chosen correctly.
Original font Neuething by Harbor Bickmore. Source
Slogan (tagline). This is an advertising message that conveys the brand philosophy. Also serves as the company’s motto. Consists of a short, memorable phrase. For example, the cosmetics giant L’Oréal Paris has been tirelessly repeating to women around the world for half a century: “You deserve it.”
Graphics, illustrations and photographs. All types of images must be in the same style. The visual image is closely related to other graphic elements: color and font. The company does not always use pictures and photographs; sometimes these are abstract lines. A brand can also create a unique character. A striking example is Kwiki the Rabbit, a brand character of the Nesquik brand.
Mission and philosophy of the company. A succinct and clear explanation of exactly how the brand makes life better. Examples include Microsoft (“Giving everyone the opportunity to realize their potential”) or Danone (“Providing healthy food to as many people as possible”).
These branding elements work together to create a unique brand with a strong position in the market for a product or service.
Market analysis and brief. At the first stage, the target audience is processed by segments. Here the pains and problems of the client are clarified, marketing research is carried out: a qualitative analysis of the competitive environment, identifying the needs of the target audience. It is important to create a customer journey and sales funnel.
To solve the problems of the first stage, different approaches are used. The audience can be surveyed in person, conducted a survey, or created a test system using focus groups. All this will allow you to collect the opinions of consumers and find out their attitude towards the brand. Regardless of the choice of format, you can get information about how the target audience sees the product and the company as a whole, from associative feelings to the desire to receive the product and the emotional component.
Each department of the company prepares a brief or technical assignment for the entire staff, from the designer to the copywriter. For coordinated work, a specialist must understand the company’s business processes, correctly determine the USP and brand philosophy – all this will help to collect effective ideas at general meetings. If the company is small, then this work can be outsourced.
Positioning intersects with image. At this stage, associations are formed that the client feels when thinking about the brand. It is important to think about what philosophy and mission the brand will enter the market with, what promises it conveys to the audience. Such unique values will help you stand out from your competitors.
Next, a unique and euphonious brand name is developed. Pronunciation should evoke positive emotions in the consumer, thus creating an emotional attachment to a specific brand. It is important to develop a unique name (not previously registered by anyone) that is easy to read and remember.
Identity is the visual identification of a brand. Expressed through packaging, logo, fonts, colors and shapes, as well as through the design of the company’s premises and website. Identity, like other elements, focuses on the features of the brand and helps differentiate it from competitors through visual techniques. A unique identity attracts the attention of consumers and increases their loyalty to the brand. It is part of the brand book.
A brand book is a fundamental document containing information about the positioning of a brand, its philosophy, mission, and its stylistic components. The guideline represents the rules on how to display the company’s corporate identity, what fonts, colors and other graphic elements to use.
Creation of communication channels. At this stage, various online and offline channels are selected to communicate with the target audience.
Company websites where you can leave data for feedback, advertising campaigns and promotions, social networks, contextual and targeted advertising, attraction through retargeting and remarketing, SEO website promotion, partnerships with bloggers and opinion leaders, creating videos about the product and the company.
It is important to analyze the consumer’s opinion about the company and its products, to understand what emotions the brand evokes at all stages of contact. Find problems and points of interaction with the brand that require special attention.
Further work with the brand. After a successful launch of a brand, it is necessary to maintain its healthy position and constantly receive feedback from consumers. If at some stage the company no longer evokes positive emotions, rebranding may be necessary, that is, changing the design of both the entire brand and an individual product. For example, you can change and rejuvenate your corporate identity. External factors can also play a role. The coronavirus pandemic has brought an unpleasant connotation to the word corona, and a major producer of drinks under the Corona brand has reason to think about changing the name for the Russian market.
If branding is not done effectively, the brand will suffer first. If the brand has no identified goals. There is a misconception that it is better to create a bad brand than not to create one at all. This is the wrong approach because the business owner must clearly understand what he wants to achieve as a result of branding. What is the mission of his brand? How does he broadcast it to his target audience? What niche does the brand occupy? Who will be the main competitor? All these questions should be answered before starting work on the project.
Misunderstanding of your target audience. It is important to have a clear understanding of who the end consumers of a brand’s products are and what their expectations are from the product. To do this, you need to conduct surveys and research to find out what your audience is looking for.
A portrait of the client has not been drawn up. It is very important not just to offer the product to everyone at once, but to segment consumers. In this case, it will be possible to personalize the buyer and know his needs and what goods he needs. This will allow you to set up a more efficient sales funnel and handle objections.
Lack of clear positioning. If a company is not ready to work on creating a positive image in the minds of the buyer and does not offer a truly worthwhile product, then the client will not see the difference from the competitors’ offer.
Ill-conceived corporate identity. Website design, logo design and other graphic elements are not just a pretty picture. These elements give the brand a unique look and also express its core values. The unique features of the brand, its mission and values should be formulated before setting the technical specifications for the designer.
Lack of analysis of the competitive environment. Taking a comprehensive look at your competitors can provide important information. The analysis helps to identify the competitor’s USP (unique selling proposition), what mistakes he makes or, conversely, what right moves he uses. By studying customer reviews, you will get an idea of what they are missing. All this allows the brand to refine its own product and launch effective marketing strategies.
Neglect of legal protection. To avoid someone from using your trademark illegally. In this case, legal registration makes it possible to sue for copyright infringement and receive financial or other compensation.