Branding
Some Of the many companies we are proud to call Clients:
What Is Branding?
Branding is how people think, feel and act in relation to your business.
Branding is something we interact with every day, and it’s so ingrained in our lives that we usually don’t notice we’re making branding choices. From the brand of shoes you slip on in the morning, to the coffee you prefer, we’re always choosing one brand over another, have you ever wondered why?
Branding creates an emotional connection between the consumer and the company and that emotional connection is based on trust. We choose brands because we trust them. We know what kind of experience to expect when we use them. A strong brand consistently delivers on the promises it makes in its messaging. This consistency is what creates brand loyalty, it’s why people love Apple, Toyota, or Coca-Cola.
The Branding Formula
Your brand is a collection of elements, that together create an authentic and cohesive vision of who your company is. Branding is more than a logo and a color scheme. It’s your identity, personality, and customer experience.
Voice & Messaging: Your messaging should be intentional, strategic, and consistent.
Visuals (Identity): How you communicate your personality and values.
Values & Purpose: Your messaging should be intentional, strategic, and consistent.
Vision: A beacon to guide your brand’s focus and direction.
Strategy: It’s more than just a pretty logo & some nice copy.
Logo early Drafts
Final Product
Ok, but how does it work?
Our Branding Process
We understand that re-branding or creating a new brand can be daunting and intimidating. We’re here to be your guides, who will help create an amazing new look and feel for your company that will help you establish a positive and distinct image that will resonate with clients/customers and help build a long-term relationship with them. No big deal, right? We have a step-by-step approach to how we work with clients, and we believe in being transparent about how we do things. Below is exactly what you can expect from start to finish. We’ll keep you in the loop every step of the way.
Branding Timeline
Step 1: Branding Questionnaire
We will send you our branding client questionnaire to complete. We start with a questionnaire for a few reasons:
- It quickly gets us up to speed and on the same page, so our first meeting will be as productive as possible.
- It gives you a chance to reflect on your goals, research and share possible inspiration, and get excited about this big change.
- You can share your logo, website, and current branding elements with us and what you like and dislike about them.
Step 2: Kickoff Meeting
Once we have reviewed your answers to the branding questionnaire, we will set up a discovery meeting either in-person or virtually. The goal of this meeting is for us to ask clarifying questions based on the branding questionnaire and start discussing your intentions for your brand. We encourage you to share examples of brands/styles/logos you like so we can better visualize and understand what you have in mind. This meeting usually lasts one to two hours and should include company stakeholders.
Step 3: Research & Strategizing
This is where we use everything you’ve shared in the questionnaire and discovery meeting to start creating rough logo ideas and taglines. These rough logo ideas will be in black and white for the first two rounds to nail down the idea and not get bogged down by “is that the right shade of blue?”
Expected Timing: 2 weeks
Expected Deliverables: Black & white logo options, rough website options, taglines, typography options, brand mood board.
Step 4: Discuss
You will be presented with 2-3 variations of each deliverable and your feedback will be used to start step 4. We will meet in person or virtually to present, review and discuss our first round of deliverables.
Step 5: Revise & Hone In
Revisions based on your feedback. By this point, we will narrow it down to 1-2 logos and work up revisions + add color. Often times by this point we will have a good idea of the brand font, tagline, and sometimes even the website. The logo and colors are (usually) the main focus here.
Expected Timing: 2 weeks
Expected Deliverables: Refined logo options + color, website layout, revised taglines, brand colors, iconography, and graphics. Tone, style, and strategy.
Step 6: Discuss
We meet in person or virtually to discuss the latest round of revisions. By the end of this meeting, we should have a final decision on the logo, typography, website mockup, iconography, tone, style, and strategy.
Step 7: Final Revisions
Final revisions are made. These shouldn’t require additional meetings, so, from here on out everything else can be handled over email. (Of course, if having a meeting to answer questions and discuss ideas is needed we will schedule that.)
Expected Timing: 2 weeks
Step 8: You Have a New Brand!
We share a final brand guide with you, and you sign off on it. You’ll receive a brand guide, and files of all the brand elements we’ve created over the course of the project. This is the end of the branding process and the beginning of strategizing how to roll out your new brand to your current customers or client base and get it in front of a new audience.
Voice & Messaging
Your messaging should be intentional, strategic, and consistent.
Brand values are the core principles and beliefs that define your brand and guide its actions and decision-making. It’s the reason your brand exists beyond just making a profit. Your purpose should be authentic, meaningful, and aligned with your brand’s target audience. It reflects your company’s purpose, personality, and culture, and serves as a foundation for your brand’s messaging and marketing efforts.
Values are the foundation that we build all other elements of branding. establish a brand’s identity and positioning in the market. They also serve as a guide for the brand’s decision-making and communication, and they help to shape the brand’s relationships with customers, employees, and stakeholders.
Brand values can have a significant impact on consumer perceptions and behavior. Consumers are increasingly concerned about the values and practices of the brands they support, and they are more likely to choose brands that align with their own values and beliefs. By clearly communicating and consistently upholding your brand values, you can differentiate your brand from your competitors and build stronger relationships with your target audience.
Visuals (Identity)
How you communicate your personality and values.
Visual identity, also known as brand identity, is the visual aspect of a brand that represents the company’s personality and values. It includes elements such as logos, color schemes, typography, imagery, and any other design elements that are used consistently across all marketing materials.
Visual identity helps to establish a strong and consistent brand image and create a lasting impression on customers. A consistent visual identity helps with communicating the values and personality of a company to its customers, which can help to build trust and loyalty.
It’s how we define and communicate the unique character and values of a brand, and it plays a crucial role in building brand recognition, trust, and loyalty.
Values & Purpose
Why you do what you do.
Brand values are the core principles and beliefs that define your brand and guide its actions and decision-making. It’s the reason your brand exists beyond just making a profit. Your purpose should be authentic, meaningful, and aligned with your brand’s target audience. It reflects your company’s purpose, personality, and culture, and serves as a foundation for your brand’s messaging and marketing efforts.
Values are the foundation that we build all other elements of branding. establish a brand’s identity and positioning in the market. They also serve as a guide for the brand’s decision-making and communication, and they help to shape the brand’s relationships with customers, employees, and stakeholders.
Brand values can have a significant impact on consumer perceptions and behavior. Consumers are increasingly concerned about the values and practices of the brands they support, and they are more likely to choose brands that align with their own values and beliefs. By clearly communicating and consistently upholding your brand values, you can differentiate your brand from your competitors and build stronger relationships with your target audience.
Vision
A beacon to guide your brand’s focus and direction.
We’re nothing without a plan, and your brand vision is the foundation for everything your brand does and will do in the future. It’s the blueprint or guide to ensure that your company stays true to your values and purpose. It provides a clear direction and focus for your brand, and serves as a guide for your decision-making and actions.
Your brand vision will establish a clear and compelling long-term direction for your brand. It’s a source of inspiration and motivation for employees, stakeholders, and customers, and it helps to build a sense of purpose and meaning.
Your vision should be aligned with your brand’s values and target audience, and it should be authentic, achievable, and inspiring. It should be communicated consistently across all touchpoints, and it should be reflected in the brand’s messaging, products, and actions.
It’s more than just a pretty logo & some nice copy
Brand Strategy
Branding doesn’t end with having a vision, voice, values, and visuals. You also need a strategy.
Developing a brand strategy requires a deep understanding of your target audience, the competitive landscape, and the business goals of the brand. It is an ongoing process that requires regular review and adjustment to ensure that the brand remains relevant and effective.
Positioning
Creating messaging and marketing efforts that effectively communicate the brand’s unique value proposition to its target audience.
Messaging
The communication of the values, mission, and personality of a brand to its audience, which helps shape the overall perception of a brand.
Purpose
Why do you do what you do? This will be the guiding principle for not just all of your messaging but also your business. With a clear sense of purpose, a business can communicate its message more effectively and authentically which helps build trust and credibility. Purpose also drives innovation and creativity within a company, because it provides a clear direction and focus for employees.
Flexibility
Things change. By staying flexible and open to change, businesses can better respond to shifts in the market and consumer behavior, and ensure that their brand stays relevant and successful over time.
Brand Guidelines
A set of rules and guidelines for how to consistently communicate and present the brand across all marketing channels. Brand consistency is what builds trust in clients and customers.