Brand Strategy

Brand strategy is invaluable to your business in an increasingly competitive market to ensure you reach and secure new customers and continually satisfy existing ones. After all, your brand identifies a promise of a particular service or product to your consumer. The foundation of your marketing communication is your brand strategy. Without a brand strategy, you may not be communicating effectively to your customer.  Once you have a brand strategy in place, we can help you deploy it by developing your web application or design.

C&S – Digital art

Brochure design

Annual Reports

Is a logo a brand?

When we talk about branding, it is not uncommon for people to think only of their company logo as “branding”. Please remember your logo is only one piece of your brand strategy. Your logo is a symbol that can provide consumers with instant and powerful brand recognition of your business and the services or products you offer.  It is critical to remember that this is just one piece of the branding strategy. You will need to incorporate much more than a logo to your branding strategy.  For instance, Nike’s branding strategy: their logo – the “swoosh,” a tag line – “Just do it,” and showcasing the product in action in a traditional media outlet – a commercial .

Colors as more than just brand assets.

Color is an important brand asset (think Starbucks and forest green, or Target and fire engine red). Colors help clients and consumer prospects recognize your company or product.  Color serves to support more than just brand recognition.  Colors have also been shown to to lead to specific behaviors and illicit different emotions. Blue suppresses appetites while red is a stimulator.  Yellow enhances concentration, but  a room painted in yellow causes babies to cry more. By familiarizing yourself with colors, you can further differentiate your organization from your competitors, revitalize an aging product, and engage and unite your clientele.

Websites as cornerstone to branding strategy.

A website promoting your company or your product is the greatest, most cost-effective branding tool you have in your branding strategy.  A website reiterates your branding strategy on multiple levels: through colors, logos, messaging, and social media integration. With your website you will create a platform to enhance your visibility on a global scale.  Having a professional, skilled website developer is critical to ensuring you’ve branded yourself effectively and successfully through media.  The upfront cost of paying a website developer today will reap dividends over the long run as you are better able to incorporate your branding.

Brand Management

When looking at the broader picture of branding, you need to consider what your brand management will be.  Effective brand management includes a clear definition of the brand’s audience, how the the brand is positioned in the market, and the desired long term reputation of the brand.   Keeping these concepts in mind, your brand should be comprised of the company personality, image, core competencies and characteristics.

Your branding is the lasting impression on your clientele.  With a strong brand you build credibility, have more influence on the market, and motivate customers and clients to purchase from you.  To determine your brand objectives ask yourself the following questions:

What do you want your brand to do for your company?
What do you want others to know and say about your products or services?

Corporate brand strategy

Your objectives may include:

Receiving an award for excellence in your field.
Picking up a certain number of choice projects.
Gaining a specific number of new clients in a year.
Positioning your company as an industry leader in the next five months.

Define your tasks to accomplish objectives:

Have members of your team speak at Trade Shows.
Schedule lectures at professional group gatherings within your industry.
Write and publish articles in newspapers, magazines, or online media.
Create a buzz about your brand on social networks.

Once you have determined your objectives, the next step is to build and develop your brand strategy by listing out the tasks – the how, when, and what you are going to do to accomplish and meet your brand objectives.

Allow your branding to be a reflection of the hard work and detail you put into your company and the services you provide your customers. Create a marketing budget that reflects your objectives for growth within your company. Do not over-spend your marketing funds, but do not under-spend either! Please feel free to ask us for help when it comes to your online brand strategy.