Walk Brand

14/11/2019

31/05/2019

6 reasons why a strong brand is important for your small business

Beyond just a memorable logo, good branding increases the value of a company, provides employees with direction and motivation, and makes acquiring new customers easier. So what exactly is a brand?
The short answer is: everything.

A brand represents the sum of people’s perception of a company’s customer service, reputation, advertising and logo. And when all of these parts of the business are working well together, the overall brand tends to be healthy.

Take it from Ramona Jones, a small business owner who learned first-hand just how important branding was to her success. Jones founded Discover, Learn & Grow because she wanted to provide affordable education and child care in Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania. But to make it happen, she had to get the word out about her business.
As one of six businesses in Bristol Borough selected to receive a marketing revitalization through Small Business Revolution — Main Street, Discover, Learn & Grow was able to strengthen its brand with help from the Deluxe team of marketing experts. Ramping up its brand helped Discover, Learn & Grow get attention, build trust and attract customers.

1. Branding improves recognition
One of the major components of a brand is a logo because, as the “face” of a business, it’s what people instantly recognize. A professional logo design is simple enough to be memorable, but powerful enough to give the desired impression of your company.
Though Discover, Learn & Grow had a logo, it didn’t reflect the educational nature of the learning center. Parents and guardians needed to know that the business was a preschool program run by an expert with more than 25 years of experience in the field of education.
For that reason, Jones looked to the Deluxe team to design a logo that would better represent her business. They delivered a positive, modern design that conveyed growth and development. To clearly articulate the unique programming and services offered by the business, the team added the words “early learning center” to the logo. The finished logo is simple enough to be memorable, but powerful enough to make the right impression with customers.

2. Branding creates trust
Just as people are more likely to purchase from a business that appears polished and legitimate, families need to feel comfortable before committing to a child care program. The Deluxe team used the business’s new logo on business cards, staff T-shirts and the outside of the building to give the business the professional image it deserved. Passersby and others who encounter the logo can now easily identify the business as a trusted center for education in the community.
In addition, the team helped Discover, Learn & Grow enrich their website with robust content that answered the questions and concerns parents have. To establish credibility, the site features in-depth bios of the early learning center’s staff, a list of their certifications and answers to common customer questions. The website features the same look, feel and colors of the logo, reinforcing the sense that this business is a reputable, consistent expert in its field.

3. Branding supports advertising
Advertising is another important component of a brand. Both the medium chosen and demographic targeted for advertisements help build a brand. Discover, Learn & Grow added its logo to apparel, packaging and printed materials to spread the word about the business and stand out from the competition.
Since Discover, Learn & Grow hosted birthday parties, the Deluxe team recommended Jones add the new logo to goody bags for the children. This would offer yet another brand impression to parents of children attending the parties, and it would turn the logo into a walking billboard — free advertising to get the business noticed.

4. Branding builds financial value
Companies who publicly trade on a stock exchange are valued at many times the actual hard assets of the company. Much of this value is due to the branding of the company. A strong brand often guarantees future business.
Whether a company is in the position to borrow funds for expansion or rolling out to an IPO, being perceived as more valuable will make the process advantageous for the owner. The greater a company’s devotion to building its brand value, the better the financial return from its efforts. A unified, consistent brand means Discover, Learn & Grow is well-positioned for any future expansion it wants to make.

5. Branding inspires employees
Many employees need more than just work — they need something to work toward. When employees understand the mission of a business and its reason for being, they are more likely to feel that same pride and work in the same direction to achieve the goals the business owner has set. Having a strong brand is like turning the company logo into a flag the rest of the company can rally around.
Like most educators, Jones and her staff are passionate about what they do. The early learning center’s consistent and unified brand, which all stems from the updated logo, reinforces that passion and can continue to inspire Jones’ team even when challenges arise.

6. Branding generates new customers
Branding can also help a business get word-of-mouth referrals. After all, would a client be able to tell a friend about Discover, Learn & Grow if they couldn’t remember the brand of the learning center? The most profitable companies, small and large, have a single thing in common. They have established themselves as a leader in their particular industry by building a strong brand, starting with a strong logo.

31/05/2019

Very soon the days will sprint past December and into 2019. Another decade will come to a close. While the year 2018 has been an interesting one for brands with chatbots, voice engagements, Instagram and Artificial Intelligence top of mind for most brands, the end of this decade is a bridge to the beginning of the 2020s and all rules are out the door. In fact, from our preliminary forecasting, what we’re seeing is very human and filled with creativity in a world awash in data and technology. Here’s what you should be thinking about now as you ready for fiscal year brand planning in 2019…

1. Quirky Brand Influencers Are the New Spokespeople – Conformists and celebrities are boring. By trying to appeal to the masses they appeal to no one. Brands need to understand that there are customers and then there are “customers.” What I mean by this is there are always niche groups of customers who go above and beyond and really support the brand. So a brand that actually takes one of these influential personas online and converts them into their spokesperson becomes unique and interesting compared to someone who probably has never even used the brand.

2. Post Digital and Phigital Will Be Common Utterances – What we mean by this is digital is no longer the sole way to reach people. That was the big talk of strategists for much of the 2010s but now people are living everywhere. And that means assuming digital ads will be the answer is not thinking long and hard enough about behavior. People live online but we live in the physical world and sharing stories isn’t limited to what one shares on a social network. This means brands who can be more creative and holistic and tie the matrix together have a better chance of reaching people and retaining them. An example of physical brands going digital and vice versa? Now we have brands born in augmented reality and then becoming physical. There is no single path to success.

3. Why Are Sales and Marketing Departments Sitting in Silos? – Companies who say, “That’s the job of sales,” or “Hey marketing, give us enablement materials,” will fail fast in 2019. In Disruptive Marketing I spoke about the need to become a hybrid within marketing. But now that isn’t even enough. Sales and marketing not only need to collide but blend and become a whole new animal. A whole new way of emotionally being that simply hasn’t existed for much of the 21st Century. Sales isn’t about selling, it’s about coaching and connection. Marketing isn’t about marketing as much is it is about education and enablement. Brands that have one team with hybrid skills have the advantage.

4. Customers Drive Brands, Not the Other Way Around – Brands still assume they dictate the rules. But we’re in a customer’s market and may always be in one. Using the analogy of real estate, when you’re in a seller’s market you can make the buyer jump through a number of hoops before considering selling to them. But when it’s the other way around it is concession central. Brands need to think in the latter. Assuming people will follow what you dictate to them means you’re not really listening or empathetically understanding them.

5. Brands Who Create, Compose and Coach Will Lead – As automation continues to pick up speed there is less of a need to talk to anyone at a brand or rely on any of their content or owned information or knowledge to make a decision. In fact, almost everything is in the hands of the decider. But there is a way for brands to break through this and stand as one with their customers. Using the example of a clothing retailer, instead of that retailer saying, “We created these fashions for you to consume,” the new create attitude is, “We created tools for you to design your own fashions.” Instead of saying, “We’ve composed the ad campaign for you to aspire to,” the new compose attitude is, “We’ve partnered with our customers on our communications.” And instead of saying, “We know best because we’re the brand,” the new coaching attitude is, “We are always learning and learning based on our customers needs in the world.”

07/05/2019

05/12/2017

The psychology of logo shapes: A designer's guide

When it comes to developing a brand, logo design is king. The power of a logo to elicit an emotional response can have a resounding effect on the way customers and potential customers view a particular product, service or company. A powerful logo may look simple but there's nothing simple about creating effective logo shapes.

How humans view logo shapes
Example Nike Logo: the combination of curves ending in a sharp point offers a strong suggestion of movement.

Our subconscious minds respond in different ways to different logo shapes. Straight lines, circles, curves and jagged edges all imply different meanings and so a skilled logo designer can use shape to infer particular qualities about the brand.

- Circles, ovals and ellipses tend to project a positive emotional message. Using a circle in a logo can suggest community, friendship, love, relationships and unity. Rings have an implication of marriage and partnership, suggesting stability and endurance. Curves on any sort tend to be viewed as feminine in nature.

-Straight edged logo shapes such as squares and triangles suggest stability in more practical terms and can also be used to imply balance. Straight lines and precise logo shapes also impart strength, professionalism and efficiency. However, and particularly if they are combined with colours like blue and grey, they may also appear cold and uninviting. Subverting them with off-kilter positioning or more dynamic colours can counter this problem and conjure up something more interesting.

-It has also been suggested that triangles have a good association with power, science, religion and law. These tend to be viewed as masculine attributes, so it's no coincidence that triangles feature more prominently in the logos of companies whose products have a masculine bias.

-Our subconscious minds associate vertical lines with masculinity, strength and aggression, while horizontal lines suggest community, tranquillity and calm.

-The implications of shape also extend to the typeface chosen. Jagged, angular typefaces may appear as aggressive or dynamic; on the other hand, soft, rounded letters give a youthful appeal. Curved typefaces and cursive scripts tend to appeal more to women, while strong, bold lettering has a more masculine edge.

Before you start designing a logo for your client, write down a list of values and attributes that the logo should convey. (This is one of the reasons you need to get to know your client and their business as well as you possibly can.) Ask your client to compile a list of corporate values or take a close look at their mission statement.

Once you have a feel for the message the logo needs to disseminate, you will be able to look at how to match this up with not only logo shapes, but also colours and typefaces as well.

Use these three elements in combination to your advantage: for example, if you pick a strong shape but find it too masculine, then introduce a colour or colours that will tone down the male aspect.

29/09/2017

Your company brand is your mark of distinction; it's what sets you apart from your competitors. When you establish and adhere to a brand management strategy, your level of commitment reassures consumers, suppliers, and anyone else that your company does business with that they can trust you.

Brand management is so important that, 72 percent of consumers say reputation influences their buying decisions; 80 percent of employees will accept less pay to work with a company with an excellent reputation; while another 89 percent say reputation is a tiebreaker between equal products. Whether you're trying to influence key decision makers or attract and retain top talent, you'll want to consider the following tips on managing your company's brand.

How to Manage Your Company's Brand: Finding the Right Marketing Vehicle

There are many marketing vehicles that can drive home your brand message, including:
• Public relations and publicity
• Trade shows
• Phone directories
• Online (your website, blog, social media such as Twitter and Facebook, advertising)
• Broadcast media (television, radio)
• Print media (newspapers, magazines, specialty publications)
• Print displays and direct mail (brochures, fliers, signage)
• Professional assistance (consultants, designers, and agencies)

It's best to choose the communications vehicle that you're comfortable implementing and that will reach your intended audience, If you don't enjoy the mediums you use for marketing, you won't use them often enough to keep your brand top of mind.

Think about how to maximize those brand communications activities that you currently use. For example, if you are going to be speaking at a conference, how can you use social media to publicize that event, get feedback on the content your audience would like to hear, and use that content in an enduring way after the live event (like video clips)? What happens most of the time is that we show up at the event, deliver our speech, hand out a few business cards, and cross our fingers that it turns into something more.