In this blog post, we will further discuss how to create a powerful and memorable brand and how you can apply it to your own business. Creating a strong brand is essential for any business—let us show you how it’s done! What comes to mind when you think of some of the world’s most powerful and memorable brands? Coca-Cola, Apple, Nike, McDonald’s—these are all brands that have created a powerful and memorable brand for themselves. 

Building a strong and memorable brand is a complex process. There are several factors to consider, all of which must be effectively coordinated. Success in brand creation is not the product of a flash of inspiration, though this is vital. Consistent work with a global vision and the ability to coordinate operations is salient. It is a long-distance race that needs concentration, rigor, persistence, leadership, and resolve, all of which are demanding qualities.

From a methodological point of view, to build a brand that adds value, it is necessary to work in four large areas. They are:  strategy, identity, activation, and brand management. ‘

1. Basics

If you were to choose between owning the Coca-Cola brand or owning its factories, which would you choose? I think most of us would choose the brand, despite the huge infrastructure that the company has. 

But building a successful brand is not easy, and few companies manage to make their brands important to people. However, companies with powerful and memorable brands compete better, are more profitable than their competitors, and, in general, have the ability to endure over time.

When a brand is well built, its users perceive it as the only solution that meets their wishes and expectations.

2. Brand Strategy

Having a well-defined and developed brand strategy provides focus and direction, provides its own discourse, and is a guide for the future. The strategy is the basis on which the entire process of building a memorable brand is supported. It sets the framework and inspiration for everything a company does, including, of course, communication.

A good brand strategy aims to:

• Connect with the wishes and needs of your customers. It should be the basis for inspiring the messages and actions of the company, both internally and externally. 
• Be a catalyst for the transformation of the organization and 
• Be the transmission belt between the corporate strategy and the company’s marketing strategy. 

A successful brand strategy is located at the intersection of reality and innovation. It responds to the reality of the company, distinguishes it from its competitors and is relevant to its customers. To develop the brand strategy, you have to:

• Define their own distinctive point of view about the product, market and the context in which they operate. 
• Reflect on the company’s DNA and how it reflects the skills and characteristics that make it unique and different from the rest. 
• And, finally, to synthesize these tangible and intangible elements into a purpose and value proposition that makes our brand unique, relevant to our customers.

What is your brand’s purpose, value proposition, personality, pillars and territories? 

These reflections must be synthesized into a model known as the strategic brand platform that must consider at least these aspects. The result will be a roadmap that indicates short, medium, and long-term plans from a global, multi-departmental, and multi-stakeholder perspective.

3. Brand Identity

Brand identity is the filter through which we experience what a brand is and what it offers us. The elements that make up the identity of a brand are the name, the basic signs of identification (symbol and/or logo), and visual-verbal style, although aspects of sound and olfactory identity must also be taken into account. A world-class brand identity should include:

1.Verbal Identity

Brands must have a verbal and writing style that defines how the brand speaks, writes and communicates. A world-class brand identity should include words, phrases or expressions, verb tenses or grammatical structures that will help characterize and distinguish the brand. 

It should also contribute to making the public empathize with the brand and therefore develop a positive predisposition to interact with it and acquire its products or services. 

Elements of verbal identity include:

• Voice Tone

What makes up the verbal identity of a brand? It is based on the personality traits defined in the brand platform, the way of speaking, territories of action and the main codes of verbal communication. It must contribute to differentiating itself from its competition, building positioning and strengthening its connection with its audiences.

• Naming

A good name can help build the desired brand image. A bad name will force you to invest more time and money in communication and marketing. As an essential manifestation of the brand, and beyond choosing one “that we like”, the name must respond to a process. This allows the choice to be made as objective as possible, even knowing that it is something that is subjective by nature. 

For this, there are some key criteria and a rigorous process in which going hand in hand or being advised by experts is critical.

2. Visual Identity

The definition of a visual identity consists of planning and developing a visual system and visual resources that allow a characteristic and recognizable style to be given to all the expressions with which a brand is manifested. 

It must inspire the creation of all kinds of communication materials, harmonizing its style and creating a perception as a whole, but at the same time allowing it to adapt to different situations, audiences, etc.

The visual identity is made up of the following elements:

• Logo

Before ‘designing’ it, it is necessary to define what type of logo suits us, what it should express or where it will be used, among other things.

A good creative approach must answer questions such as: 

• What is the tone and approach that the corporate identity should have, according to the brand concept? 
• What functional requirements of the application in support exist? 
• Do we need a typographic logo or must it have a symbol? 
• Are there elements of the current identity that can or should remain? 

• Color

Since many brands share a color, it must be taken into account that just as important as choosing a color and its atonality is how to use it and its combination with other elements such as typography or images. The perception of the same color can be very different depending on the size of the surface on which it is applied as well as the materials on which it appears. 

• Typography

Typography is another of the fundamental elements of a brand’s visual identity and it is important to ensure that the chosen typeface contributes to expressing the personality of the brand. 

In general, a serif typeface is associated with classicism, sophistication, and traditionalism, and a sans serif typeface with simplicity, modernity, and proximity. But this should not be understood as a strict or immovable rule.

• Visual Style

The definition of a visual style consists of systematizing certain graphic solutions, image treatments, light, frames, and other visual resources to achieve identity and recognition. It is also necessary to take into account the movement, or what is the same, to define the behavior patterns of the brand identity elements in audiovisual media.

3. Sound/Olfactory Identity

The sound identity or audio branding identifies the brand in media that include audio, from the web or videos, to simply waiting for a phone call or a characteristic sound of the product. It can be a hymn, a human voice, a tune, a sound or a bank of sound effects. 

On the other hand, the olfactory identity can be key for some brands and a decisive factor in the memory or loyalty of a customer with respect to the brand.

Takeaway

The competition for the attention of potential customers is fiercer every day, and creating sales opportunities is a maxim of all companies. The offer is also beginning to be more and more similar—the products are very similar in characteristics, quality, and price, so it is difficult to convince consumers to try, buy, and buy from you again. 

With so much information and product similarity, the only way to stand out is through branding. Stay tuned for How to Create a Powerful and Memorable Brand Part 2!