Frank Mason Robinson, book keeper of John Pemberton( founder of Coca Cola) decided that Coca-Cola's logo should be written in the Spencerian script accountants used because it would differentiate it from its competitors. It's resulted in a logo that has been untouched for more than 100 years to become imprinted in the minds of people around the world!
Branding is one of those big words that marketers and multinationals see as core to business.The Coca Cola brand value today is 80 billion USD. But what if you’re not a giant company with a huge budget?
In the world of small business, where every dime counts and every mistake makes an impact, does branding deserve a place as a line item in your budget?
The Brand métier
To understand more about this let us know why is a brand created. A brand is far more than a logo. It’s more than a color scheme, a clever punchline or a visually engrossing website to showcase a product or service. It can never be manufactured internally, no matter how creative the minds behind it.
What is it then?
The definition below elegantly unravels the complex concept to five key elements:
- A promise...a commitment from the company.
The organization and its employees live up to the commitment that is at the heart of the company/customer relationship
- A customer
The company needs to understand the interests, demographic profile, characteristics, motivation of the customer. What makes them tick? Who are they?
- A quality
A value...be it an experience, physical good, or relationship
- An image
A set of mental associations that complement the interests and self-image of the customer
- A differentiation
A clearly unique proposition that is effectively communicated to and understood by the customer
So it does not seem so difficult now!
But how do you make a strategy out of it?
Here a few simple ways without spending a lot of money.
1. Make a list of your company’s guiding attributes
These are the core values of your company, the kind of message or vibe you want your clients to feel towards you. Some examples would be organic or fair trade, trustworthiness, innovation, community involvement, etc.
3. Create a strategy for your brand’s visual identity
This doesn’t have to mean you design a completely new logo and visual identity; however, in some cases this may be necessary. On a simpler note, it means reevaluating your visual identity by choosing only the styles that match your guiding attributes.
4. Develop your tone of voice
Something often overlooked when it comes to branding is the tone of voice, which you can think of as your brand’s personality. If your brand were a person, what kind of things would it say? Would it be funny and witty or more reserved and serious?
6. Echo this style through your online platforms
If you have a website, now is the time to evaluate if it fits with your new brand message and visual style. If not, it might be time to consider some improvements – your website is, after all, your most important conversion tool!
Brand is money!
Brand equity is a set of assets or liabilities in the form of brand visibility, brand associations and customer loyalty that add or subtract from value of a current or potential product or service driven by the brand.
It takes longer to build a brand, but the brand built without money is that much stronger than the brand built with money. One is more hollow than the other. Or to put it positively, one is stronger than the other. Brands built bottom up are stronger than top-down built brands. So go for it. Don’t abandon the journey even before it has started.
And why this effort towards building a brand?
There will be less reliance on advertising for a long-term, enduring brand. Word-of-mouth is so effective right now. Look at the companies with the highest brand values on Interbrand. Google is near the top of that list and they spend next to nothing on advertising.
