If you have a business and a brand, you need branding elements to communicate that brand. Branding elements answer an age-old question for your company: Who am I? It sounds easy enough for a company to know who they are and what they sell. Out in the world, however, consumers are easily confused as hundreds of businesses just like yours vie for their attention every day with catchy phrases and beautiful images. A strong brand is necessary to make you instantly identifiable to everyone.
You would think that in today’s world brands are getting more and more distinct, but some experts report that is not the case at all. In a world where many brands prioritize “clicks”(website engagement) or “clios” (advertising creative awards) brand integrity can suffer. For example, if a brand wants to be known as exclusive, how accessible to the mainstream will they make their products and services when business is on the decline?
Knowing your brand is important, and your brand elements are the pillars that support that brand out in the world. Every brand element should be carefully considered and designed, in alignment with the brand itself. For example, if your brand is casual, your brand might feature fun, lively, breezy colors, fonts in a loosely shaped design. A brand steeped in tradition and history might use more formal hues, serif fonts, and a rubber-stamped-looking, bordered logo that bespeaks elegance and stability.
No matter what your brand is, one way to get it out into the world in a consistent, specific way is with your brand elements. Take a look at the list below and evaluate your organization’s brand elements and your usage of them with clients, customers, and prospective customers as well. Is your brand identifiable?
BRAND COLORS.
If you’ve ever shopped for paint or even chosen a color font on your computer, you know that basic colors come in scores of shades on their own, or carefully blended with another complementary colors. With so many different shades out there, businesses should be able to find their very own color to represent their brand. The trick is keeping the exact same color match throughout the brand elements. Doing so will mark elements unmistakably yours!
BRAND VOICE.
Your brand voice encompasses the words you use to communicate with your customers and prospects. Like a writer’s prose, the words you choose comprise a brand element and create a particular impression about your business. Your brand voice tells clients whether you are very formal and corporate or approachable and casual. At JJR, we typically create a “word cloud” as we offer branding solutions for our clients. The cloud contains words clients want to use in their marketing communication and also the types of words and qualities that they want customers to use when they describe their brand. Then we carry that “brand voice” into all of our projects going forth to create brand consistency.
BRAND IDENTITY.
Your brand identity pieces can flow easily from your brand colors and voice. Brand identity is typically thought of as your logo (and it is!) but it is so much more. The brand elements that make up your identity extend to every piece of marketing communication that your organization may create. This includes packaging, signage, collateral like brochures, letterhead, business cards, folders, and even merchandise like t-shirts, hats or the corporate flag unfurling atop the flag pole at your headquarters! Throughout all these pieces, your brand identity must be consistent. Launching a new logo and handing a customer a business card with the old logo can be awkward and even confusing for the customer.
BRANDED SOCIAL MEDIA.
It’s amazing how many times we visit a client’s social media and the profiles look nothing like their brand. Consistency is the name of the game when it comes to branding elements. They should be standardized everywhere, and that means online too!
BRANDING STANDARDS.
Governing each of the branding elements above is the big daddy of all branding elements–the branding standards guide. The branding standards guide describes the brand and clarifies all branding elements for company. It is a document that should be made available to everyone in the organization. The guide pulls together guidelines on all things concerning branding, including exact pantone colors in the logo and colors to be used in conjunction with the logo, and allowable backgrounds and positioning of the logo. Brand standard guides also typically have information on language to use (and not use) in marketing communication, as well as allowable, taglines and buzzwords.
So how did your organization do? Are your brand elements in place and serving your company well? If not, please call us at JJR Marketing. We can help you refine your brand elements and create the brand integrity and stability your organization deserves!