Two Words
A lot of ink, literal and virtual has been spilled over the years in the service of writing about brand communication. Well, while I am as guilty as anyone out there of filling the page with my thoughts on the subject (and guiltier than some), I’d like to tell you something today which is very short and simple. It’s what all brand communication is really about at its core. A lot of work goes into branding campaigns and finding ways of effectively communicating the message of various brands to the public and no matter what the brand is or how they choose to try to convey their brand communication, the message that they’re trying to get across is a very simple one which can be gotten across in two words: trust me.
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Brand Identity = Corporate Identity
Lately, I’ve heard people talking about corporate identity as if it were something different than branding; OK, I’ll accept that a sound argument can be made that there is a distinction to be drawn between brand identity and corporate identity, but when it comes to the consumer (remember them? They’re why you’re in business), there is little if any distinction in their minds. Your brand, as far as they are concerned is your company. The customer cares little about who the CEO of your company is (with some notable exceptions like Apple, where the CEO is a celebrity in their own right); but they do care about the associations which they have made with your branding. Your customers make a genuine, emotional connection with your company through your brand.
These associations are a large part of your brand – while every company likes to think that their brand is strong, there is a reason why some companies, while certainly successful enough in their field, are not ones which come to mind when you think of memorable brand identity. For example, Fedders – do you suppose that consumers tend to have a lot of strong positive associations with this brand? None are coming to mind, I can safely assume. In fact, among New York City residents, cheaply built housing is often derisively known as “Fedders houses” due their common use in new construction. Of course, this is no reflection on the company itself, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that if you were to ask the marketing department at Fedders, they would tell you that their brand is strong.
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What Does Your Logo Tell Consumers?
They are either forgettable or instantly identifiable; think of logos which are known everywhere in the world: the McDonald’s Golden Arches, Mickey Mouse’s ears, Google’s logo. Your logo is the most visually identifiable aspect of your brand and as such, it has to communicate with the public. It doesn’t necessarily have to tell people what your company is or does, but it should be something people can identify with in a way and feel that they have gotten a sense of the company.
Take Google, for instance. Their branding is perhaps the best example of the maxim “Keep it simple, stupid”. The logo is instantly recognizable as theirs and is memorable, even the company it represented wasn’t the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Its bright primary colors remind one of play and can remind one of one’s childhood – a comforting feeling is what many companies try to convey with their brand and Google has managed to take logo branding to a whole new level with their logo’s merger of comfort and fun in one package – which come to think of it, isn’t too far off, even if you could never guess just by looking at their branding exactly what the company happens to do.
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Branding With Graphics
The use of graphics to brand your business or name can help you immensely. These days you see blogs and websites with their particular branding elements on it. Here is a couple of ways you can achieve this.
1. Letterhead
There are many ways to use a letterhead, offline and online.
-> You can use a letterhead in a standard paper document offline.
-> You can also email the same document in a MS Word document.
-> You can include your letterhead in your email.
On your web site, the letterhead is called the header. This is the area at the top of your web site that acts as the letterhead. It usually includes information such as:
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