Collins English Dictionary defines brand image as “the attributes of a brand as perceived by potential and actual customers.” A company’s branding is a lot more than just their logo as it encompasses everything from their employees dress code to their website to the service they provide. Quite simply put, it’s anything that consumers can see and therefore make a judgement on. We’ve put together some key points to think about when developing a powerful and meaningful brand.
Making the right impression
Brand identity is the term coined for how the company wants to be portrayed and if this doesn’t exactly mirror the brand image then you may struggle to attain your desired customer base. You and your customers should be on the same wavelength and they should understand exactly what they are getting from you. A strong brand will build confidence, which in return produces loyalty with customers that keep returning for repeat business.
Keeping consistency throughout
You want the visual elements of your brand to be easily recognisable so that people can, at a glance, identify you and distinguish you from your competitors. We’ve been working with Dogrobes since 2013. The first step in the process was to create a striking logo and establish brand colours. This was utilised on the product itself, business cards, packaging, letterheads, gift bags, advertising, and signage to name just a few.
Reflect your company’s personality
This means assigning human characteristics to a brand in order to make it relatable and to connect with your target audience. Just like people, no two companies are the same. You want your company to be friendly and approachable and your customers should be able to see themselves, or what they aspire to be, in the face of your company.
Brand guidelines
Brand guidelines are essentially an owner’s manual of how to “use” your brand. It is important to create a comprehensive document like this to list the specific colours, fonts, imagery, taglines etc in your brand and ensure it is used correctly across the board. For example, if you were having an advert created for you in the paper, the guidelines could be helpful by stating how far from the edges your logo should be placed and the amount of whitespace that is acceptable around it. It’s small details like this that are important in helping to maintain integrity.
When it comes to building an impactful brand the devil is in the details. It’s important that enough time and attention is allocated to the actual brand itself and not just the logo. Think of it like a jigsaw, with all the small components of the business interlocking firmly together to create an overall image of your company. Once you have everything laid out, that’s half the battle and you can rely on us to help you piece them altogether in the correct order.