Building a brand takes a lot of time and energy not only to get it started but to keep it running, too! How can you be proud of it, promote it, and/or advocate for it if you don’t truly LOVE your brand? To love anything - to have a deep, sentimental affection - you have to know everything there is to know about it. Regarding a brand, you must be able to identify your brand, know your brand’s voice, have affection to the image, style, and look of the brand, and understand the value of your brand. Let’s dive in.
Identifying Your Brand
Who are you? Do you ever ask yourself that question? When thinking about your brand, you have to do the very same thing. You and your team must understand what makes your brand unique as compared to others. You have to know what makes you “special.” To determine this, you have to put yourself in the shoes of your target audience. Think about the people who buy your product or service or the people you want as your customer. You also have to consider what people associate with you when they hear your name. For example, when you hear the brand “Coke,” do you think of their logo or the color red or a polar bear or the actual drink or a flavor within the brand family? When considering your brand, you want an identity that stands the test of time. You don’t want something that doesn’t represent who you are or where you want your company in the future. You have to create it to where you love it!
Brand Voice
On the telephone, you know it’s me by my voice (even without caller ID). You begin to attach a person’s voice to their personality. Your brand voice is much the same. Think about a super bowl commercial. What commercial can you link to a certain brand before you ever know what the brand is, just by the personality of the communication. The personality your brand takes on in ALL of its communication (website, social media, print media, tv commercials, etc) is of the utmost
importance. The flow of words and the way you “talk” to your customers has to be consistent. It must always be directed at your target audience. A great brand voice helps minimize the “noise” for the consumer, allowing your brand to stand out from the rest, ultimately contributing to brand loyalty.
Brand Look + Style
Be in love with the look of your brand! Work on the logo until it's your style and it resonates with your target audience. Think about the colors you choose. Do you want to wear them? Do you want to look at them everyday? Joking…not joking…if the colors in your logo don’t “speak to you,” then you probably need to go back to the drawing board. Think about the meaning of colors, the
personalities that colors take on, and how they make you feel. Are you proud to look up your website or to refer clients to it or does it make you cringe when you see a particular page? It is extremely important to “test out” the images, the look, and the style on product packaging and social media before you finalize it so that you can be sure you are visually conveying your brand in a way that you love and your audience connects with it.
The Value of Your Brand
Bringing together all these elements creates value for your brand. By knowing your brand, connecting with your audience through your brand’s voice, look and style, you start building equity in your brand. Your brand becomes stronger and loyalty ties become deeper. Over time, through the consistent efforts of your brand through marketing, your audience gains a deep love and appreciation for your brand. So loving your brand creates more value for just you, but value for your audience, too.
What are some key takeaways you can love your brand? Shoot us an email, share with us on Facebook or Instagram, or get in touch with us about why you love your brand.
Ready to grow your brand and elevate your marketing efforts? Contact us to learn about opportunities at Oak + Willow Creatives.