Communicating Brand Identity

A business with a poor sense of its identity will often follow the competition, latest trends or worse the status quo. On the other hand a business with a clear sense of who they are and what they do well will operate in their strength zone and reap the rewards of doing so. One of the greatest things that we can do for a business is help define its brand identity.

Your identity is what makes you unique, its the essence of who you are, your values, strengths and reason for being. Just as every person is unique so is every business. Discovering a unique identity is at the heart of creating a great brand. In fact identity and brand are very closely linked so we often use the phrase 'brand identity', let me clarify ...

Our definition of ‘brand’

A brand is a collection of perceptions that a person has of your business or product, it’s what comes to mind when people think of your business. Great brands make a promise, contain a big idea, tell a compelling story and touch people at an emotional level which ultimately makes good business sense.

‘Products are created in the factory, brands are created in the mind’ Walter Landor

A good brand goes to the core of an organisation and finds the extra value that the company offers over and above the tangible things that it sells and then expresses that value in every area of the company.  It can effect every level of the company, such as: strategy, pricing, product development, people management and yes, promotion.

We use the phrase brand identity to refer to the tangible expression of the brand, it could be visual or verbal, it could be the name, slogan, logo, signage system, advertising, web site and so on.

The benefits of defining brand identity

A business who has a clear sense of brand identity will:
• project confidence because they know their place in the world,
• have more effective promotion and communication because they are speaking from a platform of conviction and belief,
• get noticed because they stand out against those who haven’t taken the time to articulate their identity.
• reduce the effect of the competition and almost render them irrelevant because competitors can’t beat you when you operate from your unique strength zone,
• attract more customers because people are attracted to shared values, big promises and compelling stories,,
• motivate staff because people want to invest themselves in endeavours that stand for something bigger than themselves
• Make better decisions because you don’t want to get involved in opportunities that oppose your identity
• creates efficiency as you only get involved in activities that build the brand
• breaks barriers to growth as a brand can be bigger than anyone person or localised limitation
• creates an assest that can be sold or transferred or possibly legally protected,
• Make more profit because brands enable you sell products  or services for more because their perceived value is higher,
• own something that you become immensely proud of.

So you want to build a great brand - where do you start?

Downing Design is able to help you throughout the whole process of creating, building and promoting your brand identity. It can be a process to get there but the end result is that you get a story to tell about your business that is a true reflection of what you are all about, a story that customers want to be part of.

This journey of discovering your unique business identity starts with us asking questions about your history, culture and the context in which you operate. We ask about your strengths, values, and what makes you unique. We also like to  learn about the people who connect with the business, customers, suppliers and staff.  We then use this information to form your unique story using words and images, symbols, colours, sounds and what ever experience we can deliver to enhance the identity in the minds of the audience.

Call us today to see how we can help you.