When marketing your brand, products and/or services, it is important to constantly review your target market and freshen up your brand’s look to stay relevant to them. If you notice something doesn’t feel aligned with your brand, go ahead and fix it! Consistency is key to growing an audience and building brand recognition.
What is brand identity and why is it important?
Brand identity is the mascot of the brand, the visible elements, such as its unique logo, colors, fonts and support graphics. These elements set the tone to create the overall brand image for all print and digital materials. It should embody the visual and emotional representation of your brand for your customers and staff.
What does a consistent brand look like?
Starbucks is one of the most recognizable brands in the world. The iconic green siren logo adorns thoughtfully sourced disposable cups and reusable tumblers with a clean, modern design to inspire and nurture their customers, fulfilling their company mission.
The Fortune 500 company carefully constructs both its products and locations to adhere to the values of its customers, creating a culture of warmth and belonging. Starbucks is the largest global coffee and food retailer, operating more than 30,000 stores in 80 markets. Their goal is to have a consistent experience in the atmosphere of their stores and through their digital marketing efforts. They do this by sticking with a core color palette of green and white.
How do you increase your branding consistency?
Build a brand strategy by picking your niche(s) and defining your business and marketing goals. Determining these will help you better understand your target market and where you want to go. Then the look and feel of your brand can be developed to target that specific audience with the right messaging, colors and vibe.
Define brand guidelines by working with a professional graphic designer or marketing agency. Brand guidelines are a set of rules that protect the look and feel of your brand. They lay out how your brand’s logo(s), color palette, typography and other designs are to be used in various company and marketing materials. When a brand’s identity is cohesive, it increases the brand’s perceived value.
Designate a brand ambassador or outsourced marketing team that reviews and keeps all materials (approved logo(s), color palette, copy/messaging, visual elements, templates, brand guidelines, etc.) produced on brand. This can be a single person or department that ensures the logo and elements are used correctly both in print and digital media.
Deliver a consistent customer experience to strengthen your brand image. Appearing professional and authentic provides a unified customer experience. This applies whether you’re a new business establishing your brand identity or an existing business looking to revitalize your image.
Creating a cohesive look and feel across all media makes your brand recognizable and stand out amongst your competitors. Need an expert to help you tackle your brand identity or establish brand consistency? Message Baer Performance Marketing today to get started.
