Branding makes businesses human. Build relationships with your audience, create engaging people-first experiences that support your products, and eventually cultivate an army of loyal customers.
Most clients come to us with specific marketing needs. (To which we obviously reply, “GREAT! We can help.”) But our next question is usually about what they’re bringing to the table: Do you have a functional, existing brand?
See, we want to make you look really good. And a great website (or great marketing content, or great packaging, social platforms, etc.) can only be as good as its brand.
When you say BRAND, most people think: “You’re talking about my logo, right?” Mmmmm… kindof.
A logo is a PART of your brand, but we’re really talking about all of it — all of the tangible, intangible, reputation-driven, visual, and perceived parts of your business; colors, typography, icons and infographics, your logo, how you sound and come across to your customers, your style and vibe, price and reputation — ALL of that (and more) makes up your brand. It’s a complex, ever-evolving, living organism of design, human elements and consumer touch-points that can either add or detract from the real, monetizable value of your business.
So what are we even talking about when we “DO YOU HAVE A BRAND?”
Ok, but why ARE BRANDS important?
We’re looking to inspire positive feelings on behalf of your business because of your brand.
In a split second, your perception of how something looks and feels can make an impression that impacts preference, purchasing decisions and loyalty. And investing in your brand has the power to make your customers FEEL trendy, powerful, resourced and intelligent *OR* regretful, wasteful, tired and frustrated.
It starts with a first impression, is reinforced by a myriad of touch points (your product, your logo, your website, social media, a review left by a customer), and is solidified by a series of brand interactions (a phone call with customer service, how much time it took someone to find something on your website, how faded a logo was on your company truck, etc.)
Your brand will fall within a perception spectrum that ranges from good to indifferent to bad, and your investment into curating and nurturing every brand interaction will determine where on that spectrum you’ll fall.
How do I even know what I need?
It’s complicated, we get it. The great news, is that we can help. It’s also what we do reaaaaally well. We’re kindof brand gurus.
Great brands don’t just “happen” overnight. Even if (and when) you kick off your business with a kick@$$ logo, design and sweet suite of marketing content, it will take consistent, passionate cultivation of your brand to get it to grow to the success you dreamed about when you started your business.
The process
There’s a pretty straight-forward brand development process that will set your marketing efforts up for success.
1 /
Evaluation & Strategy
We run a diagnostic evaluation of your brand and business to see where in the development process we need to pick up your marketing efforts.
2 /
Brand Infrastructure
We develop (or refine) your brand infrastructure based on our diagnostic evaluation. It’s important to poise your brand for sustainability and long-term growth. During this stage, we design (or redesign) your logo, build out your website, digital platforms, style guidelines and brand elements, and storefronts to reflect your new brand direction.
3 /
Content Creation
We create a network of touch-points and stylized content to populate your brand infrastructure, support your marketing launch, and resource your engagement. You should have a 3 to 6 months of content built out to support a successful brand launch.
4 /
Launch
Once you’ve established the appropriate brand direction, infrastructure and content foundation, you’re ready to engage with your consumers. All marketing should support your business’s growth goals. Here is where we launch a series of marketing funnels and targeted campaigns with the purpose of ongoing engagement and visibility.
5 /
Visibility
Reputation + visibility = value. Be visible on as many interconnected platforms as possible, telling a consistent, relevant brand story.
6 /
Engagement
Your goal is to reach people and reinforce brand positivity. Engagement requires and investment of consistency and creativity to drive brand growth.
7 /
Diversification
Once you’ve built trust and value behind your brand presence and business offerings, your customers will want more. Look for opportunities to refresh your relevance and provide more for your target audience.
8 /
Growth
A brand is a living, evolving entity that requires refinement and attention to remain healthy and valuable. Reevaluate and update your brand, business model and growth opportunities on a consistent basis to maximize the success of your business.
