all the
questions.
you wished you asked at the last meeting but were too shy to.
01
what is branding?
branding is the conscious act of articulating, expressing and reinforcing what your business stands for, what makes it relatable and magnetic for the people it wants to attract. in that sense, branding is a ‘designed act’ - intentional not accidental. define your brand instead of letting it be defined by your audience.
02
what makes a brand ‘good’?
meaningful.
distinctive.
cohesive.
a good brand has a clear, relatable story that is packaged in a disintinctive image that is communicated verbally and verbally in a cohesive manner across its business. a great brand reinforces this image with behaviours, actions and deeds through the experience it creates for its customers and community.
03
isn’t branding advertising, marketing?
yes and no.
they are an essential component of brand-building but they are everything that branding means.
that’s because there are 2 aspects of branding.
upstream and downstream.
upstream. is where the foundation for the brand is created.
the brand’s positioning in its market. its story and messages. its name. its logo. the design of all the business’ touch-points - from communications to its spaces and its products.
this becomes the ‘playbook’ for managing how the brand carries itself in its marketplace.
unless the business undergoes dramatic change and needs to be re-defined, this ‘playbook’ should not change - at least for 5 to 10 years.
in a way, it can be seen as a long-term investment. an asset.
downstream. is where the brand actively promotes itself, its causes and offerings to its target audience.
sometimes, the term ‘brand activation’ is used to describe this, encompassing a whole range of activities carried out with the help of specialists - from advertising to digital marketing and public relations,
these are by nature more short-term in nature but by no means less important or strategic in value.
’brand activation’ agencies use the ‘playbook’ and ‘assets’ developed for the brand as an essential guide to create content for the ‘campaigns’ they implement.
a good brand ‘foundation’ or ‘playbook’ provides clear direction to ensure the original intent behind the brand is communicated faithfully while providing room for brand activation specialists to exercise their creativity in interpreting the brand for specific objectives.
04
so what kind of ‘branding’ do you do?
upstream brand-building.
we are specialists in building the brand foundation that supports a business’ growth ambition.
we are passionate about defining and designing the brand’s DNA so that it can your business, product or cause can build a disintinctive and engaging presence in the market
initiated and done well-ahead of a planned communication campaign, a project to put in place a solid brand foundation adds a layer of meaning and identity that has long-term value.
this ensures money spent on the brand’s short-term or annual communications activities help reinforce a clear long-term message.
05
so what kind of ‘branding’ do you do?
upstream brand-building.
we are specialists in building the brand foundation that supports a business’ growth ambition.
we are passionate about defining and designing the brand’s DNA so that it can your business, product or cause can build a disintinctive and engaging presence in the market.