How Integral Branding is for Your Business

Let’s understand what branding is not

Branding is not a logo. Branding is not the colour that you use as your company’s identity, it is not the million dollars campaign, it is not what you’re trying to project on the billboard of every strategic area.

Branding is a gut feeling. A gut feeling of a person, tribe, group, internal team, employees, producers, fans, or friends, in fact, branding is everyone’s gut feeling about a person, product, or service.

What does branding look like in societies? Let's go way back in time.

When we’re talking about how people feel about a service, product, or even an organisation, the word branding goes all the way back to when civilisation starts.

The idea of a currency in its purest form, is one of the most successful branding effort ever invented.

Who would’ve thought, that a piece of paper, with Benjamin Franklin in it, could be a life changer for some and just a pocket change for others? Who would’ve thought we agree on the value of a paper so much, that often people risk their lives in the oil rig for it?

Now that - is branding. It reaches your audience beyond logic.

Now - November 2022, a month left before 2023, how’s the concept of branding developed and grown, and what should we understand deeper in pursuit of a better brand?

The cycle of communication between the brand, and the audience, can no longer stop at the end user.

When we’re talking about the future of branding, we’re talking about the feedback loop of brand→message→audience→brand. The sacred brand communication loop should be your number one priority to audit.

Ask yourself this question, when was the last time you hear feedback about your product from your audience? If the answer was over 6 months ago, well let me tell you this, you need some catching up to do.

Identity - in a world full of colours, screens, and dynamic direction of visuals, sound and other dimensional brand touch points, how far does your brand go?

Brand identity, is at its most crucial moment in history today more than ever, due to the fact that accessibility to every brand, everyone, and every touch point in the world is at the tip of your finger, how far do you go to make sure, that people understand it’s you.

For example, if I were to open a luxury spa that wants to target the upper class, having a good digital marketing strategy, logos, and integrated colour systems in all of my digital touchpoints, is not enough.

I need my audience to understand how it smell in this place, how the people smile and the tone of how they talk to them, and what kind of materials the cushion in the waiting room use.

Branding Identity is an integral part of your business that you don’t want to overlook.

Now - how do you know if your business, has good branding?

Today, there are so many tests you can do to audit a brand, from its messaging, competitive awareness, logo distinctiveness, brand awareness, differentiation test, etc. Auditing your brand might be scary for business owners, but don’t fall to the sunk cost bias.

Understanding what’s working, and what’s not is important, repairing and owning your experience is crucial for the success of your brand.

This blog-post is aiming to raise awareness of the importance of a brand. If you’re wondering where to start on building, auditing, or even just talking about the brand, send me an email, and I’ll be happy to go over a 30mins chat with you on how can brand help elevate your business?

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