The basics of a brand

Branding.

It’s often thought of as logos and graphics (which isn’t helped by the use of the word ‘brand’ to describe a visual identity). But a brand is much bigger than that. And so is branding.

And although the process can sometimes seem involved (and it’s certainly not always easy), the premise is simple enough. It’s about creating perception.

Everything an organisation does (its ideas and actions), from how the phone is answered, to the customer service approach, the creds deck, the packaging, the choice of words in messages etc, all build a perception in the mind of the audience.

That perception is the brand.

So the purpose of branding is to define how an organisation should approach the various things it does (to deliver its product or service), so that it creates the right perceptions in the mind of the audience. This approach is the brand strategy and it should form the foundations that everything else is built on.

The reason strong brands are strong is because they create the right perceptions for the right audiences at each and every opportunity. This in turn creates a competitive advantage—they get chosen more (after all, how often do you buy from a company you don’t have a positive perception of).

Developing your brand is simply about getting chosen more often.

And whilst logos, graphics and words help to create the visual perception for a brand through communications, they are just one part of the bigger picture, not the be-all and end-all. And as such, they often shouldn’t be the starting point when thinking about branding. You need to have the foundations in place first.

So with that in mind, if you’re thinking about the perceptions your brand creates, and how to make them stronger, you might want to have a quick read of the following:

The two questions you need to have an answer to

The power of difference

Why you need a plan

Hopefully that helps—at a very basic level—clear up a few misconceptions around branding. And if you’ve got any questions—however basic—feel free to drop me a line, and I’ll do my best to give you a smoke and mirrors free answer.