Branding Matters

Branding – what’s that all about then? Establishing a brand identity is key to business success yet many organisations fail to hit the mark. In this blog post we will delve deeper into why and how you can go about getting your branding on point and we touch on the psychology behind it all.

Why establish a Brand Identity?

A strong brand is invaluable as the battle for customers intensifies day by day. After all, your brand is the source of promise to your customer. It is a vital piece in your marketing communication and one you do not want to be without. As your customers are using the web to inform their decisions and make purchases, it is crucial you have a multi-channelled approach to your sales. This, combined with a results-driven marketing strategy, will be an investment in your business. Above all you need to be innovative and passionate about your business.

What’s the difference between a Logo and a Brand?

A logo is just a symbol or flag, and while it’s important to get it right, it’s not the be-all and end-all, your business isn’t going to succeed or fail on the strength (or weakness) of it. Your brand is much more important and relates to your story – who you are, what you do and why you do it. Your brand is not about a clever graphic or pretty picture, it’s about your mission, your vision, your values, the way you communicate, the way you want to be perceived. It’s story telling.

Some examples of Big Brands

When someone mentions the word brand(s) you probably automatically start thinking of a few particular organisations. This is no accident, the most successful businesses in the world value their brand to the hilt. It takes a lot of work and dedicated team effort for businesses to get to this place.

Undoubtedly – a case of great branding is Paddy Power. There are also many challenges around the promotion of gambling. The company have mitigated these obstacles by essentially becoming inextricably linked with outlandish pranks and mischief-making. This is taken so seriously by the company that they have appointed a ‘Chief Mischief Maker’ to execute these activities. Some their most well-known pranks include pretending to carve messages into the Amazon rainforest and the time when one of their PR officers was mistakenly texted by a guy called Steve who believed he was in touch with a girl he had met the night before. The texts were published on Paddy Powers 400K strong Twitter account, Steve took it well though. For more Paddy Power pranks, see this piece here.

One classic example of the power of branding is Burberry. The organisation went through trying times in the nineties as the brand was effectively dragged through the mud. It had been neglected and Burberry logos and assets were being used on a whole array of unsuitable products. Think about it if you are old enough to remember Burberry 15 years ago – do you still feel the same way? Christopher Bailey, the brand’s former Creative Director and CEO is credited with this turnaround. Thanks to his tenure, Burberry is now positioned as a quintessential, British luxury brand. To achieve this, they went back to their roots, which all began with the iconic trench coat and elements of that appear in every Burberry product. One of the ways he managed to achieve this was leading Burberry to embrace the big changes in technology that have occurred in the last 10 years. For example, they would show previews of their catwalk shows on Twitter before many of the other fashion labels did so. Their success is a combination of tradition (staying true to their roots) and innovation (staying ahead of the curve).

That’s great but I’m not Paddy Power or Burberry

If you think you need to be a big business to invest in your brand, think again. We work with businesses of all shapes and sizes and one of the main reasons they come to us is to create their brand and a multi-channelled, innovative marketing strategy around it. For example, we have worked with Blackwater Distillery since they started. You can take a look at our case study and see for yourself how the branding turned out! They have also grown exponentially in that time and are currently moving to a new larger location, exporting to overseas markets and have recently released a collaborative gin with Barry’s Tea – not bad going.

Also, we have done a lot of work with credit unions which are undergoing a lot of significant changes. Many branches are merging together to become single entities and as such a rebrand is required. One of our clients is Capital Credit Union which is one of the largest in the country. Formerly known as Dundrum Credit Union, it now has six branches across south Dublin, the result of a series of mergers in recent years. It was important to get the message out to members and potential sign-ups in a clear and cohesive way. This all started with getting the branding right and from there things just flowed. Here is our case study.

One of our most recent projects was a brand story and website for MK Health. The business is run by Michael Kindregan, a health and wellness coach who is based in Dublin/Kildare. When Michael came to us, he didn’t have any digital presence or marketing material but that is no longer the case, see here for a case study of the work we did with him. It just goes to show you can be a company of any size, BRANDING STILL MATTERS!

We can help with your branding

So hopefully we have given you plenty of food for thought. Using our many years of branding experience and our specially designed process, we can help you extract the essence of your brand and create a story that will interest and excite people.

We do this by means of a Brand Essence Review. This is a thorough analysis of a business from a marketing perspective. It takes the form of an in-depth brainstorming session with you and the key stakeholders, facilitated by us over the course of a half day.

The aim is to provide an open forum for everyone involved to describe the business in their own words, voice their opinions, share their concerns and offer suggestions on future strategy and direction. As follows are some of the key questions we ask:

• Motivation – Why would anyone buy from you?
• Performance – How do you compare to your competitors?
• Personality – What type of characteristics do you display?
• Role – What part do you play in the lives of your customers?
• Brand Essence – What are you really selling?

If you want to talk to us about your brand, get in touch on 051 580 969 or info@passionforcreative.com. We would be delighted to help you. We also have an e-book about branding that goes into a lot more detail and which we are happy to send you; just drop us a line.