How to Create a Memorable and Attractive Brand
What is a brand?
The brand is the singular most important aspect in Marketing. Because of it’s significance, there are hundreds of approaches in how to define, build, and maintain a brand.
No matter what line of business you are in, or how established you are- you have a brand, and understanding this is important.
Imagine a child sets up a road-side stall selling lemonade. The only signage she has reads “50c Lemonade”. As one of her neighbors, you think it is odd that she is selling lemonade in the snow, but you decide to try it anyways. You pay the 50c and it takes all of your integrity to keep from spitting it back out. The lemonade solution is not only bitter, but is incredibly sour. You smile gingerly, bring it back to the house, and empty the cup into the sink. While it drains, you notice small green specks of mold. For the next three days, you feel slightly nauseous.
A few months later, your 6-year-old neighbor starts another stall in the hot summer sun. “$1 Brownies”.
From the example above, it is apparent that even without an explicit brand, perceptions can be formed about the seller, company, or product. Your views guide future purchase decisions.
The history of a “brand” comes from the identifying mark placed on cattle and livestock to show ownership. Nowadays, a brand is normally associated with marks used to distinguish different corporate or business entities. In marketing, however, a brand is even more broadly defined. A brand is encompasses all images, ideas, feelings, and concepts associated with a particular company, product, or person. The specific identifying mark is called a “logo”. Not limited to this mark, the brand includes how much of the entity is thought of, what emotions arise, how connected customers feel, and more. Which aspects are considered more important generally differ with each branding model, but remembering that the brand encompasses anything and everything which can be thought about regarding the entity will suffice.
Benefits of a Brand
While brands are often considered to be a bad thing by consumers for increasing the price of products, they actually convey three important benefits. These include risk reduction, conveying prestige, as well as allowing heuristics.
The idiom “what you pay is what you get” is often true for many products. It is common for generic, unbranded products to be much less reliable than their logo-enriched counterparts. Risk reduction not only includes physical reliability however. Having a brand name product decreases risk over many different factors: emotional, social, psychological, financial, time, and physical risks.
Buying a brand name reduces this risk in two ways: firstly, the company which sells the product is taking on responsibility for the product. If your branded mobile phone explodes while you are using it, the company who manufactured it would be in trouble. On the other hand, purchasing an unbranded phone or one from a much less established producer may not be as tested and quality assured. The second way brand names reduce risk is through previous experience. Someone who has purchased from the company before would have a better idea of what experience they will have with it. These two aspects allow for consumers to “insure” themselves when choosing a branded product.
A second benefit is prestige. This is more straightforward. Where a branded product may guarantee a certain level of quality or workmanship, they also allow the user social and emotional benefits. People who buy Lamborghinis are not interested in getting from A to B. Similarly, Rolex customers are not paying to better tell time. They are interested and paying for the prestige. This second benefit is usually what is referred to when the phrase “money doesn’t buy happiness” is used. For people who find happiness in owning a certain product, it seems that it does.
A final benefit is heuristics. Heuristics is a marketing term which simply means a rule, guideline, or habit used to make decisions. While it would be nice if there was perfect information- that consumers know everything there is to know about every single product, this is not the case. Consumers often do not like spending time shopping for low-involvement, high frequency purchases. Sometimes, customers have specific requirements or decision rules which are used to make purchases. Instead of searching through the total list of products available, brands can be used to make an informed purchase.
For example, Jimmy, who enjoys buying protein-dense energy bars low in calories and artificial flavourings finds a brand which is perfect for his needs. Next time he shops for the same product, he would ignore the other brands and go straight for what has worked for him in the past. This may even translate across categories- for example if Jimmy found the same brand of milkshake, cereal, or yogurt, he may buy it to save mental effort and time.
Besides reducing the amount of time and effort for consumers, branding also serve as a way to retain and remind loyal customers of your product. Customers may buy your product purely because they are familiar with it.
Common Pitfalls
While building a brand does not usually require immense effort, there are a few common pitfalls which many new businesses and startups face in building a brand. Four of the most common pitfalls will be addressed below.
One common pitfall many new companies and entities encounter is inconsistency. While it is very tempting to re-brand yourself to stay relevant, doing this too often could cause others to become less familiar with your brand. Similarly, having too many different variations of your brand can also cause confusion. To remain consistent, create a brand design document outlining the qualities of your brand which must remain the same. Not only related to logos, a similar language, personality, and marketing materials should be used throughout your communications. While these can be tailored to different products, audiences, or events (having a Christmas hat over your logo should not be a problem), try to keep changes minimal, and ensure that main components are standardized.
Another common pitfall is having an irrelevant or negative brand. The success of a brand requires resonating with two things: consumers and your company. If you define your brand identity as “the most fair and balanced news company in the world”, but viewers are aware that your interests are biased and your stories are often made up, this will cause dissonance. Customers will be confused. Similarly, if your brand is positioned around something unimportant to customers (eg. “The most water-absorbent sofa cushion in the world”), consumers may not be inclined to buy. Proper research and testing would help solve this problem. A final concern is a brand which is very negatively geared. While this strategy can work sometimes, often negative brands attract unwanted criticism. While designing a brand, try to create one which is classy, timeless, and not overly offensive.
Having a brand which is too common or too unique are two opposite problems arising from the same type of thinking. Sometimes, having a very similar brand to others in your industry is good for establishing yourself when you have low market power. For example, generic brands often copy the leading brand to have something more familiar for consumers. Other times, there may be industry themes. For example, logos in the car industry frequently feature wings, a circular design, or a hood-ornament style shape. Having a logo which is too similar to others, however, is not only a legal issue, but may be a marketing one too. If your brand is too generic, customers may get it confused with others. Furthermore, if you do establish a following, new entrants will be quick to copy your success. Having a clear and distinctive brand which differs from competitors allows more memorability and also gives you a unique selling point.
Similar to the previous point, having a brand which is too unique may lend problems when consumers find it unfamiliar or confusing. Many industries have motifs, themes, or conventions to how they design a brand. If you brand yourself as the most friendly management consultant and incorporate many fun concepts such as beaches, relaxation, and adventure, customers may be confused as to what line of business you are in. While this is true- there are definitely exceptions. A funeral service may brand itself as “celebrating loved ones”, and have many happy and exciting motifs. If pulled off correctly, this brand could literally put the “fun in funeral.” The most important question regarding branding here is to have one which is far enough to distinguish yourself from your competition, but not so far that it distinguishes itself from the whole industry (unless, of course, you are prepared to do a blue ocean strategy of trying to establish a whole new industry).
The final pitfall of a brand is that it is too complicated. Often, business owners are very passionate about their product or services. They genuinely believe in it and want to convey a billion benefits when building a brand. For example: “we’re professional and fun. Hardworking but casual. We’re prestigious yet affordable. We’re creative and grounded.” Not only is this too much to remember, many of the qualities contradict each other. An average consumer whom spends a fraction of a second glancing at your brand will be confused, and move on to something simpler to grasp. By keeping your branding simple, not only is it easier to stay consistent, but it is also easier for consumers to remember. A general rule which can be applied here is to identify ONE benefit you want to build in a brand. This benefit may have many facets, but there must be one. Your product is either branded as prestigious, or affordable- not both. On rare occasions (and I hesitate to say this, because this is too big a temptation that everyone will inevitably go down this path), there may be two. It is possible to connect two unrelated or even opposite ideas into something novel (tissue paper which is soft AND strong), but often it would stand just as well with just one. For the sake of my sanity, let’s not talk about three.
A brand is a fickle creature. It is build over a lifetime and lost in one bad press release. No matter what we do, however, we are always playing with branding. The real question is not whether we want to participate in this marketing “game”, but whether we are managing it correctly, or ignoring it at great peril. Brands reduce risks for consumers, they establish prestige, and serve as heuristics. By maintaining one which is consistent, relevant, sufficiently unique, and simple, we are well on our way to creating a timeless and successful brand.
Tags: brand, favourability, logo, Marketing, strength, uniqueness