Branding Basics: What is a Brand, and How Do I Strategize It?

What is a brand? Expert Marty Neumeier classifies a brand as, "A person's gut feeling about a product, service or company." Almost all companies use visual identifiers (logos) as a component of their brand strategy to help them differentiate themselves in the marketplace. But it shouldn't stop there. In fact, when I hear a company mention branding, most often they're referring to their logo. Unfortunately, that's selling the concept and process of brand strategy short.

So what is brand strategy? I 'd propose that it's a planned effort by a product, service or company to use consistent practices, interactions and design language in order to build a sense of value and trust in the eyes of current and potential customers. Yes, that includes the logo (right there in that design language part).

You might be thinking, "Value and trust— Got it." But there is a third component which could be the most important aspect of brand strategy, and that's consistency. To demonstrate why consistency is important, allow me to use an example: Suppose that you stopped at the corner coffee shop each morning on your way to work  (which isn't much of a stretch for some of us). For the first four days of the week, the coffee is amazing. Perfect roast, great flavor, etc. Then, on Friday, you swing by the same coffee shop for your daily cup of joe only to get to work and find that the coffee is awful. Not just questionable, but absolutely unpalatable. Are you going to go back to this same coffee shop week after week? After all, 80% of the time, their coffee is great. My guess is that you probably won't. There are plenty of other options in the coffee marketplace, and you're not going to waste your time and money on an inconsistent experience. Consistency is the difference on whether you continue to patronize that business. They've diminished their value by violating your trust that they'd provide a consistent product, day after day.

And the thing is, the story above only mentions the product aspect of the company/customer relationship. That same analogy, however, can be applied to virtually all facets of the business including; customer service, marketing, advertising, etc. You can start to see how the concept of a brand is so all-encompassing. It's difficult to think of a single element within a company that's unable to be tied to the brand in some way.

To recap, brands are important because they allow you to differentiate your product, service or company. When solid brand strategy is implemented consistently, a brand builds value in the eyes of its customers and creates a trust relationship. It's not difficult to imagine that people are much more comfortable buying things that they value from companies (or individuals) that they trust. Every interaction affects the perception of the brand, and it's virtually impossible to find an aspect of a business that doesn't have an impact on the brand in some way.

Thanks for reading.

—Jason @ Ideavise

Questions about brand strategy or positioning? Drop us a note in the comments section below.

Recession Strategy: Invest in Your Brand Now!

What's your business strategy been during the economic downturn? Have you been looking for ways to leverage the market, or backing off and trying to play it safe and weather the storm? What are your key competitors doing? Do you know? If so, how confident are you that you know their full strategy?

This is the time to invest in your business. Not in spite of the slow down, but because of it. But where to invest? When times are tight, you want to put your money where it will have the most impact, right? We think so, and we would suggest taking a look at your brand.

Have you invested in your brand recently? No, not your logo. Not your tag line. Not your advertising strategy or your jingle. Your brand. Those other things are important, and may hold strategic or tactical importance for your business—but in and of themselves, they're not the brand. Your brand is an overarching representation of your company's values, qualities and beliefs, and should be a major differentiator between you and your competitors.

Through the development of your brand, you create the impression of consistency for your customers. Consistency engenders trust, and people buy from companies that they trust.

Next week, we'll talk more about branding and a few simple aspects of the brand that are critically important to every business. Thanks for reading.

—Jason@Ideavise

Questions about brand strategy or positioning? Drop us a note in the comments section below.

Another Great Quote from Seth Godin

"Here's a rule that's so inevitable that it's almost a law: As an organization grows and succeeds, it sows the seeds of its own demise by getting boring. With more to lose and more people to lose it, meetings and policies become more about avoiding risk than providing joy."

Ideavise Press Release

Long Time Cycling Industry Professionals
Launch Professional Services Firm
Focused on the Needs of Small Businesses

November 10, 2009, Colorado Springs, CO — Industry professionals Jason Lombard and Brian DeLong are proud to announce Ideavise, a professional services firm. Their new venture is focused on bringing cost effective design, marketing, brand positioning and technology solutions to the small business market.

Capitalizing on their in-depth knowledge of the bicycle and outdoor industries, the Ideavise team offers stand-alone services such as; print and electronic design, broad-based marketing, brand identity consulting, as well as integrated business technology solutions. Ideavise also specializes in mobile web app development, website design, ecommerce implementations, email marketing and more.

Ideavise clients also enjoy the benefit of communicating through a single point of contact— even across projects that would normally involve several different companies. “One of the ways that we add value for our clients, is by saving them time and money through streamlined communication,” says DeLong, Ideavise Partner and Project Director. “Instead of trying to manage a vendor for design work, a vendor for marketing and a vendor for website implementations, we’ve established a company with the resources to accomplish each of these tasks. This saves our clients time and energy, and allows them to focus on running their business.”

In an ongoing effort to improve the level of service that their customers receive, Ideavise recently hired key positions to increase the depth and bandwidth of the team. Lending her unparalleled interpersonal skills as well as an extensive Mar/Comm background, Jackie Petro has joined Ideavise in a Marketing and Public Relations capacity, and Del Kahre brings his extensive programming expertise spanning multiple platforms, languages and operating systems.

Now entering its second year, Ideavise is proud of the strong relationships that they’ve built with top-tier industry companies, as well as their commitment to giving back through work with several industry associated non-profit agencies. “We’ve been excited and highly motivated by the response that we’ve received,” says Jason Lombard, Ideavise Partner and Creative Director. “It’s incredibly rewarding to have the opportunity to work with such an exceptional group of clients and more importantly, be able to build long term relationships—which is always important with brand strategy and technology.”

About the Company

Drawing on over 20 years of collective experience at cutting-edge companies, Jason Lombard and Brian DeLong noticed a void in the market. During their tenure at brands like Santa Cruz Bicycles, Light & Motion, Carmichael Training Systems and Fox Racing it became obvious that large-scale agencies existed to satisfy the needs of sizable companies, while smaller companies went largely unserved. Additionally, they noted that this void spanned multiple channels including that of the retailer, the distributor and the manufacturer. In response to this need, Ideavise was born in 2008 as a full-service identity agency specializing in design, marketing, brand positioning and technology solutions. With offices in Colorado and California, the Ideavise team works with clients all over the United States.

Ideavise can be contacted at (719) 355-3579 or via their website at http://www.ideavise.com.

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Jeff Bezos on the Importance of the Brand

A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn a reputation by trying to do hard things well.