Effective branding is crucial but what exactly goes into creating a brand?

It’s about building an image that creates expectations in the minds of your customers.

How do you create this image? By ensuring that every time a customer encounters your business – through say a website or advertisement – they receive a strong, consistent and memorable brand message. Known as touchpoints, these encounters are key aspects of your branding mission and it’s essential to focus on those that matter the most.

You don’t have to be a large organisation – with a large marketing staff and budget – to reap the benefits of successful business branding. Here are seven of the most important customer touchpoints for small business owners to create a successful brand.

1. You 

The fact is your personal image is part of your brand. Because in business, first impressions count.

It’s a truth that plays out every time we meet a prospective customer at a function, conference or networking event. A quick handshake and a brief conversation is all it takes for most people to decide whether it’s time to do business – or time to move on.

But these customers are actually basing their decision on a whole range of subtle presentation factors – such as grooming, clothing and etiquette – that provide valuable clues as to your credibility, professionalism and potential.

You are your business, so it’s essential to pay attention to what your personal image says about you. Remember you are your business 24/7.

2. Logo and business name

Your logo and business name are the cornerstones of your brand so it’s vital that they capture (in both words and design) exactly what your business is all about. Keep the logo simple and self explanatory. If you need to explain why you logo is what it is then it is to complicated.

Make certain to include them on all your business communications such as letterhead, business cards, envelopes, invoices, newsletters, advertisements, twitter, Linkedin etc. Stamping your logo and name on building signage and company vehicles is another excellent way of advertising and spreading your brand message.

3. Printed material

Make sure that all your printed business communication materials such as brochures, letterhead and business cards use the same fonts, graphics and colours. Doing so will help establish your business as a credible and professional organisation.

Printing on the highest quality paper you can afford will also give your business communications more authority and substance.

4. Website and social media

Worldwide, companies of all sizes are moving more and more of their marketing efforts online. Your website will often be the first point of contact for prospective customers who are searching online for products and services. As a result, it’s absolutely crucial that the site reflects your brand image.

Keep your website on-message by ensuring it is consistent with all printed materials (i.e. uses the same logo, colours and fonts) and update it every two years to keep it looking fresh, current and competitive.

When promoting your business on social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, keep the mood strictly professional – don’t include pictures of family or weekend activities.

5. Employees

Your staff are truly the key to your success and should be the best advertisement your business will ever have. Every time they deal with a customer, supplier or partner they are representing your brand and so should always be well-groomed and dressed appropriately for their role. It’s also vital that you provide them with the training and skills they need to appear credible, professional and knowledgeable at all times.

6. Intangibles

You probably think of branding as something you can see. But it also covers aspects of your business that make it easy for customers to find and contact you. For this reason, you should consider getting website and email addresses that use your company’s name instead of the name of your internet service provider.

As a small business there is no reason why you and your business should not be branded to give the right message. Sometimes it is not what you say but how you and your business is seen by others that guarantees success.

Author Bio: Cosimina’s range of services cover all aspects of professional and personal image presentation. She has transformed the lives of private clients and worked with organisations big and small. Comprehensive, informative and enjoyable, Cosimina is a result based image specialist. To learn more about Cosimina and to read more of her articles view her profile

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The effective branding of a business is critical to its survival. Without it, the firm merely blends in to the competitor landscape. The power of branding may not be obvious to the untrained eye, but it is the shrewd businessfolk who realise that aligning their product or service with a distinct and unique identity can be what separates them from the pack.

At Lumino, we follow five rules of thumb, the importance of which we always impress upon clients. Follow these simple tips and it might just give you the competitive edge you’ve been searching for.

1. Understand what makes your target market tick

In order to reach specific customers and satisfy their unique needs, it’s essential that you clearly understand their desires and motivations. It is not enough to simply target the mass market – a broad brush strokes approach will not elicit an emotional response from consumers. That’s why it’s extremely important to find out everything you can about the customers you intend to pursue. You have to understand how to “speak into their listening” and build relationships by tailoring the brand experience according to the research you have gathered.

2. Define your unique proposition

Your point of difference, what distinguishes your offer from that of competitors, is your promise to the market. In order to effectively connect with customers your business needs to cut through the advertising clutter and assert your brand’s uniqueness. After all, what makes you different is also what will give you the competitive advantage. But make sure your offerings are important to your target market and are not already being delivered to consumers by your competitors. Customers need a reason to select you, therefore it is essential that you demonstrate what benefit is derived from your product or service that is unique and will ultimately satisfy a customer need.

If you don’t have a unique selling point, then make your brand itself your point of difference – by creating set of powerful core values that customers can connect with and by inspired by.

3. Develop a name that expresses your core values, is memorable and is distinctly different from the competition

Finding a relevant, unique and memorable name is essential when branding your business. The business name and accompanying positioning statement should express the identity and communicate the personality of the business. It’s a bad idea to name the business directly after the service you provide, for example, ‘Garden Maintenance’ or ‘Computer Repairs’, as this lacks originality and does little to set you apart from the competition. It’s vital that your name is memorable and demonstrates the uniqueness of your product or service, as this will leave the door open to future business development opportunities and assist brand recall in new markets.

4. Develop an identity that visually expresses the brand essence

Your identity should be consistently demonstrated throughout all elements of the business – from logo, business cards, newsletters and website design through to interior décor, signage, typefaces and other business related collateral. If you’re going for a sexy, young and vibrant image, you must ensure that what you express visually is consistent. It’s important to maintain visual continuity across all facets of the business so consumers can accurately perceive what it is you’re about. As the average consumer is exposed to thousands of advertisements per day, it is critical that the branding strategy you implement has a consistent message which reflects the essence of your brand and communicates your point of difference.

5. Develop a positioning statement to sit with the identity that expresses your unique proposition to your target market.

A well-crafted positioning statement establishes the direction of your business; it says what you do and who you do it for and builds on your unique proposition to the market. Your positioning statement should be active and generate a positive emotional response in the mind of your target market. It should avoid being too broad, as overgeneralised positioning statements will fail to engage your target audience. This error can be particularly fatal for small businesses establishing themselves within a particular niche market or in an industry saturated by strong competition. Remember, strong brands rest on compelling and distinctive emotional connections with their customers.

In today’s competitive business environment it is essential that business owners see branding as more than a logo. It should run through the veins of the entire business. Setting yourself apart from the competition is one of the hardest aspects of starting or expanding your business, but if it is done correctly the rewards are infinite. An effective branding strategy, combined with a real thirst for success, will help take your business from one of the pack to the top of your game.

Author Bio Pip McConnel-Oats is the founder and creative director of award-winning Brisbane brand consultancy, Lumino. In the 17 years since launching the business, Pip and her team have developed & managed more than 30 brand campaigns for a diverse range of clients and nationally recognisable brands – from free flow tolling system Go Via to international airline Strategic Airlines. With a trophy cabinet that boasts awards from the Design Institute of Australia, the Brisbane Advertising and Design Awards and the National Print Awards, it’s fair to say that Pip knows a thing or two about what constitutes a successful brand. For more information on Pip McConnel-Oats view her profile

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Within the last few years companies have become more serious about branding, which is a good thing, but creating a successful brand is not an easy task and requires a lot of time and patience.

Although, branding is not rocket science, there are some things which, if ignored can kill your overall branding campaign. In this article I will highlight some of the most common mistakes that you should avoid while branding your products.

Copying competitors

This is the most common mistake businesses do while creating their branding strategy. Branding is to stand out of the crowd, so doing the same thing as your competitors won’t help you a lot. To stand out from the crowd and to leverage the real benefits of branding, you need to do something unique.

Ignoring real strengths

Time and again, we see companies who overlook their real strengths and make fake claims in their branding campaign. If you can’t ship your customer’s orders within 24 hours then don’t promise it. Be honest and avoid making false commitments. Find out your real strengths and stick to them during your entire branding campaign.

Overpromising

Don’t overpromise to your clients. Overpromising can definitely help you in creating initial buzz in the community but inability to deliver what you have promised to your customers can put you in danger of losing credibility and harm your brand reputation. The best way to keep your customers happy is under-promising and then exceeding their expectations by over-delivering to them.

Not having the right vision

Branding without a vision will not be sustainable for a longer period of time. Your branding strategy should always be driven by your vision and not by your short term goals i.e. the goals of your branding campaign should be same as the long term goals of your organization. For example – If your vision is to become the biggest iPhone accessories manufacturer, then brand yourself as one stop shop for iPhone accessories and not as the manufacturer of iPhone covers, cases or screen protectors.

Inconsistency

Branding is a long term process where one should not expect overnight results from a branding campaign. Many companies stop their branding campaigns when they can’t see quick results they were expecting. Do not consider branding as a quick solution.

Considering Branding as a different thing

Most of the Companies treat branding as a different thing which is not true. Branding could be and should be done at all the levels of a company from company’s CEO to the ground level. Don’t consider branding as a part of marketing only. Branding is much bigger than that. From the quality of product you sell to the services you offer to current clients, from the process you follow in manufacturing a product to the way your employees present themselves in the public meetings. All these things are going to play an important role in your branding strategy.

Branding on the basis of Price

Never brand your company as the provider of the products at the cheapest price. Because you’d always be having competitors who are ready to offer products at prices cheaper than yours. Branding should always be based on the values, services and the quality of products and not on prices.

Not tracking results

Although, there is no index which you can use to measure the success of your branding campaign. But still tracking your results is important to ensure that the money you are spending on branding is being utilized in a proper way. The best way to determine the effectiveness of your branding campaign is to ask your new clients about how they heard about you – trade shows, friend’s recommendation, PPC campaign etc. Taking feedback from your new clients will help you to find out which strategies are more efficient than others and why, so that you remain on the right track.

Do you know about other mistakes which one should avoid while branding? Then feel free to share them in the comments below.

Author Bio: Gagandeep Singh works as Internet Marketing Executive for Fortepromo which creates customized promotional products startups that help them to promote their brand in market.
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For years, corporate researchers have invested tremendous resources seeking the meaning of colours and their impact on the world of marketing. Scientific studies have proven that colours can influence the body’s physiology and mental state. In a 1981 study conducted by H. Wohlfarth and C. Sam, 14 handicapped children were observed when the colours of their environment were altered. Changing the colours of the room they were in resulted in a noticeable change in the children’s blood pressure and a marked decrease in aggressive behaviour.

More than meets the eye

Choosing the right colours to identify your business is more than finding a soothing combination that is pleasing to the eye. Colours stimulate our nervous system and evoke various states of emotion. The colours of our environment induce the brain to release various hormones. A simple example are mood swings based on the colour of the sky, blue versus grey. If colours are so powerful, it makes perfect sense to harness that power for our business needs.

Humans tend to respond far more quickly to non-verbal cues as opposed to verbal cues. Simply put, responders in our brain will react to colours before the brain can translate the text attached to it. This is not to say that your advertising should be text free. However, a good catch phrase or slogan needs your corporate colours behind it. When used effectively, the colours will imprint on your customers’ mind. Your marketing goal, thus, should be the consistent use of a particular colour scheme so that your company becomes associated with those colours.

Is there a right colour for me?

Of course, choosing the best colours is no simple matter. There are numerous considerations as well as various legal questions. Some of the major corporations in the world have actually patented their colours. While patenting a colour may sound rather far-fetched, it should not be cause for concern. In the first place, computer generated colour wheels can create a tremendous variety of colours and related shades. Thus, there seemingly should be enough colours for everybody to use. Secondly, patented colours generally apply only to the specific industry of the patent holder and, usually, only to the countries where they are legally registered to do business and have registered that colour as a trademark.

When choosing colours, the legal aspect should not be your only concern. Using a colour that another company has clearly established as theirs can lead customers astray. For example, Coca Cola’s red is clearly recognized worldwide. Using that shade of red would clearly be unwise as anyone seeing the colour in an advertisement would assume that the soft drink is being promoted, not a different product or service.

Translating colours in advertising

The various meanings of colours depend on several different factors – culture, race, gender, age. Therefore, the colours you choose should not only reflect your product or service but also should associate with your target market. If you were marketing books for young children, the books would be designed in primary colours that appeal to the children who will read them. But, young children don’t buy books – their parents and grandparents do. The marketing material, therefore, would be dominated by colours that would reflect trust and stability (blue), security and nurturing (pink) and playfulness and happiness (yellow). A practical example is the website for Jaguars. Jaguar is a luxury vehicle with a very specific market. Their customers are high income individuals with a self image of sophistication. These individuals seek prestigious vehicles. Jaguar’s advertising is dominated by shades of black (colour of sophistication) and silver (prestige).

Making the most of your colours

Your corporate colours should not be exclusive to your logo or corporate letterhead. The repeated use of these colours will eventually imprint on the public. The use of promotional products to advertise your business is a highly effective mode of marketing and is an excellent venue to help infuse your colours on the consumer world. If you decided to imprint on hats, tote bags, or t-shirts – large items with great visibility – it would be wise to have the products produced with your colours as the base. Keep in mind that your product should continue to infuse the desired effects on the user. If you distribute key rings, be sure that the advertising continues to influence the holder and anyone who sees it. The essence is not the free gift – it is your identity with the customer 24/7. Combined with print advertising utilizing the corporate colours, the colours become your calling card.

Certainly, finding the right colours is not easy. They should reflect the essence of your business while, at the same time, attract the right customer base. It is imperative to accurately know the culture of your customers. For example, in North American mainstream culture, white is a colour of purity, cleanliness, or youthfulness. However, in Chinese culture, white is the colour of death. Therefore, logic would dictate that if your customer base serves both cultures, it may be wise to not use white as the primary colour.

When choosing your colours, don’t rely only on your instincts. Do your research and consult with media experts. Also, before converting to new colour schemes and designs, it may be wise to test your colours on small, sample markets. Sometimes, merely altering the shade of a colour can make a distinct difference. Black and white have come to represent true and false. But, remember, when the colours are combined, everything changes.

Author Bio: Matthew Bywater – Having spent almost 15 years on “both sides of the fence”, Matthew has first hand knowledge on what are the most effective promotional options. He has been employed by and currently work with some of the world’s largest companies. This gives him a breadth of knowledge of how to get maximum return on the advertising dollar. To see all of Matthew’s articles and to learn more, click here.

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How consistent is your corporate identity?

What kind of message does your targeted potential customer get if he sees that your business card looks completely different to your flyers, your letterhead and your website?  A very confusing one, that’s what kind!

Strive for consistency in all aspects of your branding

Consistency has to be a major priority in creating and maintaining your corporate identity.  Or why go to the effort at all?  The Commonwealth Bank’s colours are undeniably yellow and black.  What if they released some printed collateral that was purple or green?  Chances are you’d totally miss the fact that it was a message from the Commonwealth Bank!  What if Cadbury did away with their oh-so-familiar purple branding and started using yellow instead?  It could turn consumers away in droves! They’d never risk it.

Quite simply, your corporate identity MUST be uniform throughout all visual avenues.  Your website designer must be shown examples of your business cards, your letterheads and whatever else you’ve already gone to the trouble and expense of designing and having printed.  Or, if the website is built first, your printed material must be designed to match.

The more your target customers see your logo, your colour scheme, your font or anything else that’s been created or implemented for visual identification, the more they’ll relate it to your business.  If you start mixing it up and ignore the rules for consistency in your corporate branding, you waste huge chunks of valuable opportunities that you’re investing in.

Don’t try to design your corporate identity yourself, unless you have training in this area.  Getting your branding right - from the start – can spare you any wasted money later on, and it also means that you establish your business on a strong footing.

What happens if you’ve already strayed from the path and your corporate branding is a hotch-potch of mixed messages?

Fix it!  Don’t waste a minute more.  Consult a graphic designer or a marketing professional and sort it out now.  Together, you can decide what works, what doesn’t, or if you need something entirely new created.  But don’t kid yourself that it doesn’t matter.  It really does!

Does a corporate identity only involve visual strategies?

No!  From the way you answer the phone and your driving conduct on the roads in your branded vehicle, through to the consistency of your written content in all marketing materials, your corporate identity revolves around somany elements.  If it all seems overwhelming, well it can be, but one step at a time, and by keeping uniformity and consistency in mind, you’ll surely develop your brand so that it’s recognisable, familiar and comfortable.  It takes time, but the more you work at it, the more successful your business’s image will be.

Author Bio: Gina Lofaro is the wordmistress, offering professional copywriting services. Running a successful online store has provided her with the expertise to know what sells. To find out more about Gina, read her profile or visit her online at www.wordmistress.com.au.

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The main function of a logo is to be effective, the creative ingenuity of the logo is important but it is not the main function. There are 5 main rules for creating an effective logo:

1. A logo must be simple

A simple logo design allows for easy recognition and allows the logo to be versatile & memorable. Good logos feature something unexpected or unique without being overdrawn.

2. A logo must be memorable

Following closely behind the principle of simplicity, is that of memorability. An effective logo design should be memorable and this is achieved by having a simple, yet, appropriate logo. Rule of thumb – if a 5 year old can re-draw your logo then it is easily assimilated with the brain and is more likely to be remembered.

3. A logo must be timeless

An effective logo should be timeless – that is, it will stand the test of time. Will the logo still be effective in 10, 20, 50 years? If you have to change your logo continuously to keep up with the times than you are not building brand equity.

4. A logo must be versatile

An effective logo should be able to work across a variety of mediums and applications. Think beyond print media and business cards, there are many places you will need to use a logo that may require it in portrait or landscape, full colour or monotone etc. Your logo needs work across print media, websites, stationery, promotional products, uniforms, outdoor signage etc

5. A logo must be appropriate

How you design the logo should be appropriate for its intended purpose. If you are designing a logo for children’s product, it would be appropriate to use a childish font & color scheme. This would not be so appropriate for a law firm.

Author Bio: Matthew Bywater – Having spent almost 15 years on “both sides of the fence”, Matthew has first hand knowledge on what are the most effective promotional options. He has been employed by and currently work with some of the world’s largest companies. This gives him a breadth of knowledge of how to get maximum return on the advertising dollar. To see all of Matthew’s articles and to learn more, click here.

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Think of your logo as the “boss” of your brand, and the Visual Communication elements as its “employees”; in many design applications and finished materials, your logo won’t appear by itself.  It will have the help of all of these visual elements to accomplish its job of communicating and connecting with your target market.

Your Visual Communication can include design elements such as:

Font styles: You should have a small collection of typefaces, font weights, and styles that you use regularly in your materials. Consider fonts for both print and web use, and specify styles for headlines, subheads, and body copy in each case.

Colours: Creating a colour palette for your business can add flexibility to your marketing materials and give you an easy resource to go to when choosing colours for illustrations, graphics, or any other part of your Visual Communication. If you keep your colours consistent and limited, then you’ll develop a more focused palette that will be easier for your audience to associate with your business.

Shapes: The shape that you use for your bullets, break-out boxes, colour-blocked areas, and even borders in your materials can create a strong visual component that will contribute to your memorability.

Layout: The layout of a marketing piece covers elements like the number of columns and the placement of all of the other Visual Communication elements.
Backgrounds: Using background screens or shapes, or even a specially designed watermark, can give your materials extra flair. You can also develop a special background that will make your materials stand out.

Photographs: Photos can add a lot of personality to your materials and really help you to make a connection with your target audience. You can purchase stock photography inexpensively these days; buy a few shots that are compelling and really match the rest of your Visual Communication. Make sure that you buy the highest resolution and the largest possible size to ensure you have images for both print and web.

Special textual treatments: For very special text that you want to highlight, such as your tagline, marketing bullets, sidebars, or bullets that detail your specialties, consider specifying a particular typeface, size, and colour to use in all of your materials.

Paper type: Printing your materials on a special type of paper can make them look even more interesting. Papers come in different colours, textures, and thicknesses that can contribute to the uniqueness of your business marketing material.

Crafting a tool kit for your visual communication and then using it consistently will define your business in the marketplace and create a strong brand.

Author Bio: Claire Connelly is the Director and creator of Papercut. With many years experience in creative arts, visual merchandising and a dedication to brilliant design, Claire’s motivation for starting her own studio was a drive to direct a unique communication service, while also leading Canberra studios in a new era of sustainable design. For more information about Claire, or to get in contact, view her profile.

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A trade mark will add value to your business

An appropriate trade mark should be an integral part of the marketing strategy for your goods and services. Your clients will identify a certain quality and image with goods and services bearing your trade mark.

Types of trade marks

A trade mark can be a word, phrase, letter, number, sound, smell, shape, logo, picture, aspect of packaging or a combination of these. Commonly a trade mark is associated with a logo or brand.

Registration of your trade mark

Once your designer has created your logo and you have approved it, you can then apply to register it. A registered trade mark gives you the exclusive legal right to use, license or sell it within Australia for the goods and services for which it is registered.

Always search existing trade marks before using a mark or applying for registration. You may find yourself the subject of legal action if the mark you propose to use is already registered or in use by someone else.

Go to IP Australia for more information www.ipaustralia.gov.au

What does it all mean?

There’s the TM symbol, which basically means “I’m thinking about, or am in the process of registering my design as a trademark – or I just have this design and want to claim it as protected”.

Then there’s also the ® (register mark) symbol, which means “I went through the process with IP Australia and registered this thing!” You’re not allowed to use this symbol in trade until you get the certification that your logo has passed their tests.

So, when you embark on this registration process, technically you should end up with 3 sets of logos:
1.Logo with no symbol (you need this to register, and it can come in handy in case you’re printing anything that’s too small to have the TM symbol visible),
2.Logo with TM symbol, and;
3.Logo with register-mark symbol.

Author Bio: Claire Connelly is the Director and creator of Papercut. With many years experience in creative arts, visual merchandising and a dedication to brilliant design, Claire’s motivation for starting her own studio was a drive to direct a unique communication service, while also leading Canberra studios in a new era of sustainable design. For more information about Claire, or to get in contact, view her profile.

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Put simply, a brand is how a business differentiates itself from all other businesses, especially its competitors. The brand is its personality; and the way that personality is perceived may differ between stakeholders – the general public, customers, staff, media, shareholders, etc.

According to Wikipedia, a brand is “a collection of images and ideas representing an economic producer; more specifically, it refers to the descriptive verbal attributes and concrete symbols such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme that convey the essence of a company, product or service. Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the accumulation of experiences with the specific product or service, both directly relating to its use, and through the influence of advertising, design and media commentary”.

When a business goes through a rebranding process it is changing its identity – its personality – and therefore the way it wants stakeholders to perceive it. This may involve significant changes to areas including logo, tagline, jingle and business name, along with its marketing and public relations strategies.

Following a successful brand re-fresh in 2009 with the new tagline ‘Let’s make the right move’ Mortgage Choice shares these key points for businesses considering rebranding:

1. Ask why you are doing it.

Are you planning to rebrand for necessity or to stroke your own or someone else’s ego? Is it really what your stakeholders need from your business? Examples of positive reasons include: rebranding to reposition a company to take advantage of changing market conditions or because a business has stagnated and it is a way of kick-starting a brand.

2. Review what you are saying about yourselves as a business.

his needs to be reflective of the consumer experience: what franchisees offer is the ability to put consumers in a position to make clearer, well informed choices

3. Perform a comprehensive audit of all the factors that make up your brand.

It is more than the collateral, more than the physical attributes, more than your logo, your colours and your posters, TV or outdoor ads. Wyatt describes a brand as ‘the movie that plays in someone’s head whenever your brand name is mentioned’.

4. Include a review of your corporate culture.

It is about creating perceptions and about what all your stakeholders feel are the promises you make to them.

5. Be very clear about why you are doing it and what you are trying to achieve.

Rebranding can often be a costly exercise and you do not want to unnecessarily spend time, money, resources and effort on a strategy that is not fully thought out. Work out the strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats involved before going ahead.

6. Allow plenty of opportunity for people in the business to express their concerns about a rebranding strategy.

Discuss the whys, wheres and hows with everyone whose role is affected by the new direction and make time for follow up programs, to review timelines, etc.

7. Sell your rebranding strategy to all internal stakeholders in a way they need to hear it.

Make sure everyone involved in the business is aware of the new brand push, from the lowest ‘rung’ of staff to the managing director. Communicate it in a way that is suited to your audience i.e. webcasts, emails, phone calls, word documents, staff meetings, management conferences, state conferences, etc.

8. Ensure all brand deliverers are enthusiastic and engaged believers.

Particularly for service-based businesses, there is a real need to realise the brand is about the people delivering on a brand’s promises. Hence, there is a strong need for high engagement from all the internal stakeholders who communicate the brand, whether deliberately or unintentionally i.e. staff, franchisees, etc.

9. Use various forms of communication to communicate to external stakeholders.

The rebranding strategy needs to be filtered throughout all the avenues the business uses to send messages externally. Consider revamping areas such as the call centre contact method, print/radio/TV/online media coverage (advertising and editorial), consumer website and referral marketing materials.

10. Keep it going. Staying true to the desired brand is an ongoing effort.

Constantly reassess your business activities and plans to ensure you are continuing to reinforce the business’s personality… that movie in your stakeholders’ minds when they think of your brand.

Author Bio: Kristy Sheppard was a crucial team member in the recent rebranding of Mortgage Choice. For more information from Kristy, visit her online at www.mortgagechoice.com.au.

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Our minds are the real marketplace. In fact, the real estate of people’s minds is probably the most precious business commodity we can attain in this age. The price you will end up paying will depend on the quality of brand/advertising you purchase and the follow up—the point where your company culture meets the consumer. The responsibility is therefore equally on the brand development professionals as well as every aspect and member of the company itself.

The functioning human brain is an incredible supercomputer, subconsciously filtering out the overdose of marketing or advertising messages, and only remembering the few that fit certain pre-programmed criteria. In fact, it is now generally accepted that the mind holds a limited number of ‘slots’ for information such as which company to use for which product (e.g. Kelloggs for the breakfast cereal slot), and the brands that fill those slots will depend on which gives the strongest impression and connection to pleasure. It may sound strange and complicated, but simply put, all human activity can be reduced to the innate need to avoid fear and gain pleasure. And it is these aforementioned memes, combined with the fear/pleasure key, which unlock the door of direct access to those slots and enable companies to secure the #1 position (and there is only one real position).

Effective brands must connect with their target audience through positive emotion-based concepts. It is also a necessary consideration to find ways to connect on some level with the influential peers of that target audience. Get the peers of your audience using your product in public, and you’ve created a powerful association (your audience wants to become their peers in every way).

The new brand is a performer—in both the business and theatrical sense—evoking a positive emotional connection (or neural bridge) to that brand, thus, creating a commitment and desire to buy in order to maintain the feeling. Our evolving marketplace wants products and brands that figuratively dance and sing in their mind. It is my opinion that marketing professionals need to spend more time studying Neural Science, and less time thinking up the most ‘creative’ ad of the century. Don’t get me wrong, I love and uphold uniquely creative concepts as one of the fundamentals of great advertising, but not if it interferes with the message that’s going to make the neural connection. To me, a simple meme-based tagline alongside your logo—with enough white space around it for the sake of clarity and impact—is going to do much more for your brand than some of the ridiculously ‘creative’ concepts I’ve seen lately plastered across a series of massive (and massively expensive) billboards.

For example, a certain fast-food company produced a high-exposure billboard ad that, to this day, I still have no complete understanding of. And although it caused me to remember the ad (brand awareness), it also associated a neural connection of “that’s stupid and confusing” with that brand. Their marketing department’s ‘smart’ idea, was not too smart in my mind. Confusion is not a pleasurable feeling as far as I’m concerned. The most interesting point about the ad (which I realised much later—after the negative neural connection was made) is that their tagline could have been an effective meme (thus, making a positive neural connection in the viewers) if they knew anything about the power of simplicity.

My advice is to forget the idea of quickly attaining ‘perfection’ in the art of marketing. I say this because perfection is non-movement, which—in neural terms—is the same thing as death. If you want to move forward and strengthen your brand in this new sociocultural evolution, forget ‘big fish’ vs ‘little fish’—but rather, remember: old fish stink. Think in terms of ceaseless development. Change is the only constant, so we need to not only accept it, but find endless enjoyment in the challenge of change. I would go so far as to say that stagnancy is one of the greatest turn-offs in today’s market.

Whatever you do, keep moving forward.

Matt Cumming is a results-focussed branding specialist, graphic designer and web developer, with over ten years experience helping many types of businesses create genuine, bottom-line success.
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