Key Terms

Brand: Has a meaning beyond functionality and exists in people’s minds. It is the sum/total of all that is known, thought, felt and perceived about your company’s products/services.

Branding: The process that views every customer-related experience (good or bad) as part of the branding process and manages it accordingly.

Brand Identity: These are the unique characteristics and associations by which you aspire your company to be unmistakably recognized or known for.

Brand Image: The reality in which your company image is presently perceived in the marketplace.

Brand Assets: Every visual thing you use to identify your company.

A Brand identity isn’t just your logo, your company slogan or your packaging, and it isn’t just for big companies. Whether you’re a one person enterprise or a Fortune 500 company, recognizing and strategically positioning the identity of your company to meet the buying expectations of your customers can increase your overall chances for success in the marketplace.

Review the following information and answer the questions regarding your company’s present brand identity program. Keep tally of your "No" responses. Use your answers as a starting point to measure the effectiveness of your efforts in the marketplace.

Business Development: Growth. Brand development takes an in-depth look at where your company is, where it’s been and most important where your company wants to go. A strong brand can aid in the overall development of your company by strategically aligning its plans for growth with the buying expectations/demands of your customers. To effectively do so, a brand identity must be viewed purely as a strategic endeavor that is managed, measured and universally supported by key officials in the organization as a long-term investment rather than a periodic expense. It has been said that smart companies who invest in their brands are in the game for the long haul. This is true mainly because they understand that over time the positioning strategies set forth by their brand identity will steer their company through critical stages of its development whether it is during times of expansion or loss of market share.

1) Do you annually enlist the expertise of your creative firm to tweak your brand message so that you are positioned to exploit new market opportunities as they develop?

2) According to your present business plan, does your brand message/marketing initiatives directly support your company’s overall plans for growth?

Company Tag Line: Positioning. Your company tagline is a statement or slogan that communicates the most unique functional (tangible) and emotional/self expressive (intangible) benefits of your products/services. It helps to position the benefits or features of your products/services in the minds of potential customers and gives them a reason to choose you over anyone else. You can only stand for one primary thing; otherwise you risk confusing current and potential customers. Every time customers come in contact with your company, they develop expectations that are formed by the promise of your tag line. Each bad experience may seem small by itself but when several are taken into consideration, as a whole they can communicate a poor image to customers. Over time every experience, good or bad, will help to either build or destroy your initial promise.

3) Do you know the number one reason why people do (or should do) business with you?

4) Has that reason been crystallized into a statement that is of compelling interest to a significant percentage of your target audience?

5) Do you periodically survey your customers on their experiences with your products/services?

Response Key

DANGEROUSLY IMPAIRED
"No" to all of these questions. By serious contenders’ standards you’re not really in the game. You’ve played it pretty smart for years and have gotten this far, but unfortunately it’s very likely that your company will be in exact the same place several years from now. All is not lost, unless of course you’re perfectly content with not growing or moving your company forward to the next level. We can help you to begin incorporating some very easy and fundamental strategies of branding to get your company back in the game.

ON A SLIPPERY SLOPE
"No" to three or more of these questions. Your present brand identity program contains some serious communication gaps. Re-examining your program will ensure that your company is benefiting from every possible opportunity to reinforce its exceptional capabilities and service performance in the minds of its consumers. We can provide you with a step-by-step plan to get your company on a long-term track of growth.

YOU’VE BEEN BLINDSIDED
"No" to less than three of these questions. You’re on the right track and probably doing well. But you’re dragging your feet on a couple of important details and could be doing even better. What are you waiting for? It probably wouldn’t take much to get your brand identity program up to its full asset potential.

THE BIG SHOT
"Yes" to all of these questions. You’re not just growing blindly. Every visual and non-visual action you take is a strategic step forward to meeting long-term business goals. You know where you’re going and most importantly where you want to be in the future. You’re either one of the top players in your industry or you’re positioned to advance to the next level. We’re just the company that understands and can support your efforts.

Logo/Logo Type: Perception. Perception can be just as important as fact. Before anyone actually experiences your products/services you’ll need for them to perceive you as a top player in your industry. Your logo plays a vital role in fueling this ideal perception. Not all logos are created equal. Good logos are easy to find; the top players in your industry usually own them. Unfortunately, bad logos are also everywhere. Some of the tell-tale qualities of amateurish logos include a hand-drawn appearance, type that is too chunky or is out of proportion to the symbol or worse, a generic, clip art-type imagery that has absolutely no distinction and can easily be obtained and reproduced by anyone else. You may not be aware of trends such as typefaces that go out of style but they do exist and your logo can take on an old look in a marketplace of fierce, contemporary contenders. On a subconscious level a poor perception of your company can undermine its true capabilities and service performance.

6) Do your corporate colors work with a contemporary palette of colors?

7) Is your logo/logo typeface up to date?

Brand Assets: Synchronization. Your brand assets include your signage, company vehicles, Web site, packaging, company literature and anything else used to visually identify your company. They speak on your behalf in your absence. Collectively they help to communicate the personality of your company/products/services by telling customers who you are and what your company stands for. The consistent use and thorough integration of the same images, colors and language throughout all of your company’s brand assets effectively reinforces your desired message in the minds of your target audience.

Many companies settle for an inexpensive Web site that fails to carry recognizable visual elements and messages that are associated with their brand identity. This can be a costly mistake. The inconsistent use of your key marketing message here can cause prospects to distrust your site/business or prevent them from going further because they don’t recognize you. Your Web site should be a natural extension of your business with the same look and feel of your off-line collateral. When visitors log on they should feel as if they are knocking at your office door.

8) Are key visual elements of your positioning strategy thoroughly and consistently integrated throughout all of your company’s brand assets?

9) Does your Web site have the same look and feel as your off-line collateral?

Standards and Guidelines: Consistency. Graphic standards are not meant to be restrictive or expensive. On the contrary, they give your company’s graphic identity organization and consistency. Graphic standards provide a concise set of directions on the correct use of your company logo, corporate colors, etc. As your company grows, these guidelines will ensure that individuals don’t use their own expertise — or lack of it — to design or produce official collateral materials. These standards keep your company’s identity consistent and strong, reinforcing your unique characteristics and preserving a look of unification and personality in the marketplace.

10) Do you have effective standards and guidelines in place for your corporate identity?

Tonya Brookins is the principal and also serves as a senior designer for Dame Design. She’d like to hear your questions and comments regarding any portion of The Brand ID Challenge.

We create enduring brands---memorable relationships that focus on improving the quality of other people's lives.