The five phases of building a successful brand
17 May 2018
Brand image is the most vital thing an organisation can do to build profitability.
Brand image goes far beyond a logo and product displays on a flyer or on a website. Brand development is a major investment, and positioning and developing your brand profile in this fast-moving, multi-channel age of marketing, requires a multifaceted and sustained marketing communication effort.
Ultimately, a brand is a promise to your consumers or customers – it is their expectation of products and services and differentiates a company from its competitors. Your brand and values are derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be.
Understanding what your brand stands for and finding a brand purpose is the first logical step when building a profile for a company, but it is often overlooked in a brand marketing plan. Considerations that need to be included to discover the brand purpose are: a customer analysis to identify trends, motivation, unmet needs and segmentation; competitor analysis on brand and image identity, strengths and strategies and vulnerabilities; and self-analysis on the existing brand image and heritage, strengths and capabilities and the organisation’s values.
There are five phases to building a brand and brand identity:
1. Review the company positioning
Identify the core values in the business – the role, what does the business stand for, aspirations, outlook, meaningful connections with internal and external stakeholders
2. Define the strategy
Develop the positioning strategy, a big idea that underpins the meaning behind the identity and ensure it is aligned to the business DNA.
3. Design identity
Create and bring to life the new brand and explore its identity through its logo, look and feel colour, graphics and imagery.
4. Create Touchpoints
Design refinement and design development of the brand identity along with the implementation of the brand identity across all touchpoints.
5. Manage Assets
Maintain a consistent use and experience of brand identity.
Building your business’ brand is one of the most important things to do to lay your stake in the market. Brands that have identified their purpose will stand out from competitors in the eyes of their customers, identify a strong corporate culture, and believe their brand will improve the consumers’ lives.