The goal of any great business should be one thing: crafting a product or service that’s more than just the surface. Nike is more than a shoe. Apple is more than a phone. Ray Bans is more than sunglasses. These companies add value to the product - they add an experience. They add branding. But let’s take a step back. What exactly is branding? Put simply, it’s what differentiates one product from other products. It’s the difference between Coke and Pepsi. Branding is made up of what your brand says, what your values are, how you communicate your product, and what you want people to feel when they interact with it.

WHAT IS BRANDING?

Essentially, brand identity is the personality of your business and a promise to your customers. Branding makes a business memorable

Great branding doesn’t develop overnight. Luckily, we’ve put together this quick guide to get you going as you develop your brand. We call it The Five P’s of Proper Branding.

PURPOSE

Why does your company exist? What will it do for people? What problem does your business solve? Purpose is the reason for the brand to exist beyond just making money. A great resource when finding your why is Simon Sinek’s TED Talk “Start With Why.” If you’re looking for more clarification, Nike is a great example. Their purpose isn’t to sell sports gear, it’s to “unite the world through sport to create a healthy planet, active communities, and an equal playing field for all.” Sounds a lot better, right? Defining your purpose will define the rest of your brand, as well as drive the people in your company toward a greater goal.

POSITIONING

Brand positioning describes how a brand is different from its competitors and where, or how, it sits in customers’ minds. This means brand positioning correlates directly with customer loyalty. If brand positioning is effective, then that brand is perceived as favorable and trustworthy in the eyes of consumers. For a business to successfully position itself, it has to know who their customers are. You’ve got to understand what they want and how your business can meet those needs. You’ve also got to understand how your competitors meet those needs. From there, a business has to reflect its positioning in everything they do.

PROMISE

A brand promise is a value or experience a business’s customer can expect to receive every time they interact with that company. It’s an extension of a company’s promise. For example, BMW’s mission statement, or purpose statement, is to “become the world’s leading provider of products and premium services for individual mobility.” Their promise? To build “the ultimate driving machine.” A brand’s promise is the product of its purpose. It’s a guarantee.

PERSONALITY

Now, this is the fun stuff, but also the hard stuff. Have you ever reached for a certain product in the store and not even known why? It drew you in. That’s because it had some charisma - some personality. How can a product have a personality? Here are some examples:

• The personality of Apple is sophistication.
• The personality of Nike is excitement.
• The personality of Jeep is ruggedness.
• The personality of Disney is sincerity.

Brand personality is what makes your brand human. Consumers can relate to it, love it, and keep coming back for it. It’s communicated through tone, visuals, and voice. If your brand doesn’t have a clear personality, consumers will have trouble coming to the conclusion that your product is the perfect fit for them.

PRONOUNCEMENT

This is the part you probably think of when you hear the word “branding.” It’s also probably one of the first things you thought about when you dreamed up your company. It’s the logo, it’s the tagline, it’s the aesthetic. It’s how a brand expresses their personality. The word pronouncement is a powerful one, and if we think of it in terms of speech, it’s how you say what you say. This matters just as much in speech as it does in business.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Branding is the intangible feeling your customers have when they interact with your brand. It’s the experience behind the product and it’s an indispensable part of building a company.  The better the job done in branding, the easier the time a business will have in other aspects of the operation. It’s the reason IgnitePost exists - to further your brand through the use of physical messages that say more than the words on the page. We help you create a vibe, a story, through our products that say more than you might otherwise be able to.