Six Keys to an Effective Brand — Part 1: Introduction
A no-nonsense guide to developing world-class brands.
Crafting excellent brand expression is no mystery. Over the next several weeks, we’ll unlock six key ingredients memorable brands know and use well.
As creatives, we’re often called upon to help develop brands. That can mean redefining what already exists, refreshing it, or keeping the name, scrapping everything else, and starting over. Sometimes it means building something from scratch to represent a new entity or product.
Because we take pride in our work, naturally, we want to develop a brand that lasts. We intuitively understand that a process must be undertaken with purpose and intent, with care — we all know what happens when things are left to chance or lack real effort or direction.
But where do we start, and are we doing, exactly? What does a brand do? What does it mean? What does it represent?
What is brand?
Brand is something we must know and understand before attempting to create a great one. Is it story? A logo and some colors? Is it a relationship? Mysterious, intangible, enigmatic? Something else?
In my experience, brand is simple — Brand is perception.
It’s the way folks imagine it will feel to be your customer. It’s what they anticipate using your product will be like — how easy it will be, how powerful. Truly useful. It’s what they perceive being part of your ecosystem will be like, engaging with customer support, heck, even how being billed will go.
It’s how well they anticipate their needs might be met.
Will these experiences be smooth, easy, with excellent user experience, chock full of special moments? Or will they be frustrating, annoying? Maybe worst of all, difficult?
The companies that do it very well achieve the most coveted of all characteristics: loyalty. An excellent brand becomes a symbol they associate personal meaning with, an entity they become ambassadors for. Advocates. They wear your colors with pride, tell everyone they know about you, how you make them feel. This is the very highest pinnacle at which a brand can exist — one in which customers become your sales team and spread the gospel on your behalf — for free.
This is what people are looking for and thinking about when interacting with your brand, whether consciously or not. Every single element, touchpoint, asset, interaction, and encounter can help your brand reach this possibility and build trust — or destroy it, pushing audiences away.
Brand is perception.
So what’s the secret? How do we, as creatives, develop powerful brand perception?
In my experience, it comes down to six key attributes that are tangible, real, and achievable. And because they’re real, they can be crafted — that’s your job if you’ve been called upon to help develop a brand.
To reach the highest level of effectiveness, your brand must be each of the following six mandatory elements:
Appropriate — it must reach the right audience.
Aligned — it must be consistently executed.
Engaging — it must tell captivating stories.
Clear — it must be easy to access.
Custom — it must feel significant.
Different — it must have a unique character.
Over the next six weeks, we’ll dive into these keys and how to ensure mastery of each, putting you on the path to achieving brand excellence and effectiveness and winning over the hearts and minds of the audiences you’re trying to reach.
