Branding is very important for businesses and companies and it helps them to differentiate themselves from their competitors. What is brand identity; its importance, elements, how to create it, and real-life examples.
What is Brand Identity?
The brand identity is an apparent and noticeable element of a brand comprising the logo, design, and color scheme; it helps customers to distinguish and identify a brand in their mind. It is a unique and distinct form of brand image. However, it refers to the intentions of a company behind branding and how it develops a particular image in the minds of consumers by doing the following steps;
- Selecting its name
- Designing the logo
- Using shape, color, and other visual elements in their product offers for marketing and promotion
- Writing catchy language in its advertisements
- Training employees to interact with customers
The brand identity is a visually symbolic representation of a brand. The apple fruit of the Apple brand and the swoosh of Nike are the two main examples where the brand identity has got associated with its visual and symbolic elements of it.
When it comes to building the BI, you should have a powerful image relevant to the brand. The BI comprises different branding elements, and it becomes the mascot of your brand when you put them together. However, that’s how a company describes itself from the images of its marketing material on various social media platforms, and the color scheme represents a brand.
Along with saving resources from running the marketing and promotional campaigns, a well-reputed brand name is a very valuable asset to the company. It is difficult to quantify the brand value of the company. The common approach to measure the brand value is the cost you would require to build a similar brand.
Brand Image vs Brand Identity
The brand identity is the noticeable and observable element of the company like color, design, or logo and it allows the company to distinguish itself from the competitors in the minds of customers. The owner of the company chooses a name and uses specific colors to design a specific image in the minds of customers, creating visuals and shapes, and crafting a message for communication.
Brand image is a perception that customers have in their minds after interacting with the brand. It’s the result of the company’s efforts in creating such an identity, and it helps a company to develop a better image.
Importance of Brand Identity
You won’t require a large database of customers and a market share to build one like other brands. It’s critical to have a strong brand identity if you want to receive benefits like constant growth, trust of customers, brand recognition, and loyalty to customers. It allows them to present the company’s personality and values and sends a message on different marketing channels.
The competitive market has made it significant for brands to differentiate themselves from their competitors. When you develop a strong identity for your company, it would help you to find a unique and appropriate position for your company that the customers would identify. Resultantly, it would help you to amplify your brand awareness.
Elements of Brand Identity
When we say brand identity, it isn’t just the logo of the company. It comprises various other elements, and they’re as follows;
Logo
You can present the logo in the form of shapes, texts, or images, and it describes the purpose and name of the brand. Since customers pay heed to the logo and that’s why it’s the main element of the company’s identity. You could only employ a text logo comprising of unique typographic treatment. Many companies nowadays are using only text logos because it’s easier to remember.
Font
After choosing your company’s logo, now you should decide on the font of your brand that you would use on your website and all other marketing and promotional campaigns. You should find easy-to-understand and attention-grabbing fonts like Helvetica Now, TT Norms Pro, and Proxima Nova.
Consistency in Style
By style, I mean the visual designing element of the company. When it comes to visual graphics and images of the brand on the promotional campaigns and website, you should be consistent with them.
Form & Shape
The other essential component is a form or shape that symbolizes your company and allows people to identify your products. It makes sure that your products have got the interesting shape and memorable packaging. For instance, McDonald’s has been effectively using the unique element for marketing and promotion, and people can recognize the capital “M” across the world.
How to Create a Brand Identity
Some of the main steps in creating the brand identity are as follows;
Analyzing Customers/Value Proposition/Competitors
You should conduct thorough market research in order to determine your rivals, unique value proposition, and know your customers. First of all, you should ensure to know the needs of your ideal customers. When you know and understand your customers, then you would develop such product that your customer would like and admire.
Secondly, you should carefully study your product offers and recognize the unique values that you’re offering that help you to differentiate yourself from the competitors. You should clearly know the difference between your product/service and your competitors in order to develop a successful brand.
Thirdly, you should develop a clear mission statement that comprises your objectives and vision.
For instance, Mercedes Benz offers exclusive branding services and the company expresses its success through the customers that are using its offers. The company expresses its exclusivity and superiority, and it represents the German discipline, quality, and precision. The target customers of the company have a higher income of aging 25-45 years old.
Unique Visual Elements
After conducting market research, you should design a logo that represents your company’s product and values. It makes customers recognize your brand and come back. Companies always add the logo for promotion whether it’s commercial, infomercial, billboards, posters, chatbots, push notifications, or email notifications.
You should various ideas with your team members and come up with something unique and creative, and develop interesting forms and appropriate packages. For instance, Tiffany & Co offers unique packaging and customers can recognize it easily all over the world. The small valuable package has achieved the status of the world’s most famous package.
Language You Use
It’s the stage where you connect with your customers. You should use language that is relevant to your company’s personality. If the people of your country aren’t formal and uptight, then you should employ conversational language. While communicating with your target audience, it’s significant that you should maintain your tone across all the channels. Some people prefer the storytelling approach; you should develop a storyline for promotion. It allows you to develop a connection with your target audience and connect with their emotions.
Avoiding Negative Practices
When it comes to developing a strong identity, you should avoid various things. Like you should avoid confusing your audience without sending a mixed message. You should employ visuals and language that is relevant to your company.
Secondly, you should be innovative and unique with your approach, and find a way to amplify your offer and include something special or extraordinary. For instance, you can offer something new in the form of better quality and new features.
Thirdly, you should remain consistent with your messages, ideas, and values. While interacting with your lead customers, you should follow your plan to use the same shape, element, font, or color.
Monitor Progress
You should evaluate your performance in order to know whether you’re moving on the right track or not. You can do so by studying the customer engagement on social media platforms that how customers perceive you, analyzing the feedback of your target customers, surveying, and using Google Analytics. Comments, reviews, and surveys would help you to know the areas that require improvements, it would allow you to improve your user experience.
Examples of Brand Identity
Coca Cola
The soft drink brand has established a strong identity in the minds of customers. When customers hear its name, various associations pop up in their minds like the “share a coke” campaign, polar bear, or red logo. It’s a drink that offers them feelings of joy and happiness.
Fashion to Figure
The company has built a strong identity for the apparel of plus-size women. The values of the brand are crystal clear fashion is for everyone. However, the statement of the company is “fashion is a state of mind and not the size range.”
Conclusion: What is Brand Identity? Importance, Elements, Examples
After an in-depth study of what is brand identity; its importance, its elements, and how to create it with examples; we have realized that brand identity is significant for businesses and companies. If you’re working on it for a company, you should follow and practice the above-mentioned tips.
Ahsan Ali Shaw is an accomplished Business Writer, Analyst, and Public Speaker. Other than that, he’s a fun loving person.
