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The key elements of Building a brand
Whether you’re starting a new brand or rebranding, having a strong and authentic brand is essential for success. When it comes to building, emphasis is always placed on the foundation of the building; a strong building is built on strong foundations. Likewise, a successful brand has to be built on strong foundations.
These brand foundations work as a support to keep both the internal and external aspects of your brand in place and cohesive. By defining the key structures supporting your brand, you can ensure your brand is well-positioned from others in your target market place.
Values
In order for a brand to have a solid foundation upon which to thrive, it is vital to create a strong identity based on a longstanding philosophy such as values, beliefs, ambitions and long-term goals. Whilst your brand has to stand out amongst others, it must also fit naturally and cohesively in a marketplace.
Value is an aspect that brands need to assess thoroughly when building a brand.
Messaging
Brand messaging is the set of practices that defines how brands communicates their unique value proposition and personality through its verbal and nonverbal messaging such as brand promise, tone of voice, language and core messages. Brand messaging should be specific and developed with key target audiences in mind and an evaluation on all forms of value it brings to those audiences.
When a brand is competing in a crowded and competitive market place, it is important to remember that customers are always looking solutions and also to communicate how each unique value fits into those solutions.
One of the best ways to communicate a brand value is through a brand proposition or promise; it serves as a brand’s foundational unique value and reveals what consumers can expect from a brand across all touchpoints, from its messaging to its customer service.
With the current rise in digital trends, brands have more opportunities to establish and explore their personality, proposition and channels through in a wider and diverse community.
So, how do you craft a creative yet unique brand message?
Defining a brand message requires an in-depth research to identify a brand’s value proposition, knowing your audience, observing market trends, brainstorming messaging opportunities, brand’s tone of voice and communication principles.
It is important to provide coherent messaging that resonates with your audience across all sectors so prospective consumers immediately understands what the brand is about, what they stand for and why they should engage with the brand. When it comes to anything relating to your brand, the most important critics are your potential customers.
Identity
An identity is a collection of elements used by a brand to portray an image to its consumers or target audience. A brand identity is different from a ‘brand image” or “branding,” although these terms are sometimes used interchangeably.
An identity consists of attributes that connects with consumers or a specific target audience, either through a brand name, distinctive logo, typography, choice of colours, visuals, slogan and product packaging. These attributes should correlate with your unique values, brand value proposition, beliefs, long-term goals, competitive position in the market and the emotional experience stored in the minds of your audience when they interact with your Brand.
The first and the most important identity element that a prospective target audience or consumer can associate with is a brand name and logo. It personifies all values and proposition a target audience has about a specific brand and its products. A brand name is memorable, relevant to a specific industry and relates to the target audience expectations.
Consistency is key to creating an effective brand identity; the brand name and visual elements should be approached strategically in ways to portray an identity that truly reflects the values and personality of the brand, communicates a brand story and effectively conveys a message about what the brand actually delivers to its consumers.
Growth
Brand growth is always an exciting prospect which requires a well thought out strategy with realistic and clearly defined objectives. It is a challenging task to build a brand that really stands out from the crowd if you don’t know what you’re competing against nor how to reach and emotionally capture the hearts of your target audience.
Before putting plans into action, it is important to understand what growth means to your brand. Start by setting objectives, preparing support strategies, defining value propositions and improving experiences. When these are in place, an action plan that outlines these processes has to be established.
A good competitor’s analysis will help you to recognise the areas where you can compete against other brands in your industry, fit naturally and cohesively in the marketplace and identify means by which you can offer your unique values to prospective consumers.
Brand strategy establishes your brand’s strongest attributes whilst integrating them into a unique value proposition for growth. It consistently positions your brand in the minds of your target audience whilst developing a culture based on your values, mission, goals and ambitions combined with an extensive analysis of your competitors.
By constantly monitoring and measuring brand awareness, association as well as customer perceptions, you can ensure that your brand is consistently resonating with your target audience whilst achieving your goals.
Conclusion
Building a cohesive and solid brand foundation is critical for success in the current digital age. Considering the elements required for a cohesive structure, brands need to ensure that these elements are implemented in the right form whilst also establishing the right growth strategies.
Once you’ve taken the time to establish a cohesive structure for growth, success depends on your ability to live up to the promise being made through your brand’s unique value proposition.