Take me to... . . . . . . . . Print Work Logo Work Web Work . . . . . . . . About Clients Articles . . . . . . . . Estimates Terms Directions Links Contact ! Home

Branding – A necessity!
by Jennifer Proia

---

"A distinctive and consistent visual message applied across multiple media will help you achieve mind share, and, ultimately, market share."

---

You've probably heard a lot of buzzwords when it comes to creating a company “brand” that people will identify with and remember. But what does that really mean, and how do you do it? This article will help business owners understand the “ins and outs” of the branding and image development process, and how you can use the concept of branding to strengthen your logo and marketing materials.

*The fact is that an effective brand can be the reason customers choose one product or company over another!

It acts as a shorthand reminder of all of the benefits, imagery, personality, and attributes of your product. It makes things specific – do you want a shoe or a Timberland boot? Do you want to go to an amusement park or Six Flags?

These key definitions will help you understand what "branding" is, and why it is so important to business success:

1) “The Brand” is the philosophical and emotional “GUTS” of the company: Who you are, what you do, what you believe in, and why you are the company people must choose to do business with. Think of NIKE, for example, and you think of their winning tagline “Just Do It”. It’s motivational, active, contemporary, powerful. That tagline, in combination with their “swoosh” logo and a clean blue/white color scheme, is branding – everything connects to something larger. Successful branding will get prospects to see a company as the only solution to fill a particular need. Other examples of strong brands are BMW, Volkswagen, The Gap, Lancôme, Ralph Lauren, Macintosh, and Intel.

2) If “The Brand” is the overall whole, consider “branding” to be the PROCESS of making that whole come together. It is the act of creating and implementing the crafted brand with consistency throughout all marketing, identity and PR efforts.

3) The “Corporate Identity” is simply the company’s “LOOK AND FEEL” as conveyed through the logo, stationery (letterhead, business cards, etc.), web site, marketing materials, trade show graphics, signage, etc. It reinforces the brand. >>

[article 5 of 8]