Branding is more than just a logo or a catchy slogan; it's the unique story that differentiates a company from its competitors.
Brand serves as a powerful tool for businesses to communicate their vision and values effectively, while crafting a memorable message that resonates and aligns with customer expectations.
In this blog, we'll explore the key elements of branding, its role in shaping consumer perceptions, as well as practical steps in creating a strong brand identity. Let's explore the fundamentals of branding!
A brand is the story and distinct identity that makes a business stand out from its competitors that sell similar a product or service.
The unique identity and strong reputation is what makes a brand really stand out. A good example of this is Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Despite having a similar value proposition and being in the same industry, consumers resonate with one more than the other.
Similarly, in fintech, brands like PayPal and Stripe operate in the same financial technology space but have distinct brand identities. PayPal has built its reputation around secure consumer transactions, while Stripe is more focused on being a flexible platform for developers and businesses.
This differentiation influences which service businesses and consumers might choose, based on which brand aligns more with their needs.
Ultimately, the end goal of a branding strategy is to earn space in the target market to build customer loyalty.
It is also an effective way for brands to communicate their vision. It outlines their mission statement - what the company stands for and why.
Branding is the process of creating a unique brand identity and image for a product or company through consistent themes, messages, and visual identity, with the goal of creating a strong brand in the minds of the ideal customer.
It includes visual aspects such as a colour palette, logo, tagline, imagery, and tone of voice. For example, fintechs like Revolut and Monzo have used bold, minimalist designs and vibrant colours in their branding to appeal to tech-savvy, modern users. Their branding is a clear signal of innovation and simplicity, which has helped them stand out in a crowded digital banking space.
It is an overarching strategy designed by businesses to help consumers identify and experience a brand, as well as retain a positive perception of the brand.
The core objective of branding is to attract and retain loyal customers, and other key stakeholders, by delivering a product or service that continuously aligns with brand promises - consistency is key.
Branding is far from an intangible asset, it is arguably one of the most important.
It gives a business an identity, makes the brand memorable, encourages consumers to make repeat purchases, as well as aligning with marketing strategies and effective advertising campaigns.
Strong branding plays an influential role in a consumers' perceived value of a company's product or service.
A good brand image can help to create positive associations, positively influencing purchasing decisions. This is reinforced by over half (62%) of consumers say that their purchases are heavily influenced by a brand's values.
Successful branding goes beyond an organisation's product or serving offering. It gives a business an identity.
A brand's personality and identity helps to personify the business, giving customers something to relate to and connect with beyond just what they're purchasing.
For example, the branding of Venmo emphasises its social and peer-to-peer transaction features. With a casual, friendly tone and playful emojis integrated into the payment process, Venmo has created a brand identity that feels personal and approachable.
Effective branding is what makes a business memorable. A brand is the face of a company, helping consumers distinguish a business across every medium - from social media posts to a brand logo.
All branding elements help to support a business' marketing and advertising efforts. It helps to make marketing materials more identifiable and create a greater impact.
Branding is the foundation in which marketing strategies are built upon; it's the brand messaging that resonates with the target audience, while marketing refers to the way that message is conveyed.
Marketing campaigns convey the brand's values and voice to potential customers, engaging them through different channels.
While marketing efforts can be adjusted to align with current trends and audience engagements, the branding and messaging must be consistent across all campaigns.
Having a powerful brand strategy is integral to marketing and all areas of the business, but it can be challenging. Even the most successful business may turn to a specialist marketing agency for their expertise.
An agency, like Blue Train Marketing, can help with brand storytelling through marketing messages and visuals that capture the essence of a successful brand, its brand values, and why existing customers should be loyal to the business.
With the right partnership, branding may have a strategic advantage, broadening a company's market positioning and dominance.
By incorporating the right brand elements, a business can develop solid brand positioning that resonates with the desired target audience.
The branding process starts with a distinctive name. The name serves as the first point of contact between a business and its target audience, shaping perceptions and influencing consumer behaviour.
But, why is it important to choose a unique brand name?
A logo is a visual symbol used to represent a brand. It is a fundamental part of a brand's overarching visual identity.
A good brand logo allows consumers to quickly and easily identify a brand, whether that be a local business or an international conglomerate. They should create a lasting impression to help consumers remember a brand.
The contemporary art of designing a logo involves blending simplicity and differentiation. A strong logo shouldn't be overly complicated or detailed, but unique enough to be differentiate against competitors.
A brand's colours go beyond just aesthetics, it encompasses the emotions and associations surrounding a company.
Implementing a consistent colour palette acts as a visual cue aiding in instant brand recognition and contributes to the overall brand messaging.
Another way to ensure brand consistency is through the incorporation of well thought out images and graphics into a brand's identity. From the style of images to the use of gradients and stock photography, all contributes to good branding and cohesion.
Why is imagery a core brand element?
Typography is the art of arranging and designing type, including the selections of fonts, point size, line length, line spacing, and letter spacing.
The fonts used on a brand's website and social media can evoke different emotions amongst consumers. They also help to create a recognisable and memorable brand image.
The best examples being:
The consistent use of typography is vital to improving brand management and solidifying a brand's identity.
Tone refers to the attitude or mood conveyed through language, such as formal, friendly, authoritative, or playful. Voice, on the other hand, is the distinctive and unique style of expression that characterises a brand. Both tone and voice influence how a brand is perceived by people.
In fintech, companies like Monzo have cultivated a friendly, approachable tone that resonates with users looking for straightforward, no-nonsense banking.
A slogan (often referred to as a catchphrase or tagline) is a concise, memorable phase that encapsulates the essence of a brand.
These short and catchy sentences are a powerful asset for building brand recognition.
Consider the following when crafting a slogan:
Branding, as a discipline, takes many different forms and shapes depending on an organisation's short and long-term goals.
Let's explore the most popular examples of branding.
Personal branding is associated with a person's unique identity including features, traits, vision, and behaviour.
In this instance, the brand centres around the personality, shaping a public persona.
This type of branding comes with responsibilities and can have its pitfalls. Challenges may arise if the target audience finds the persona's behaviour inappropriate or offensive.
Retail branding differs from other types of branding, as it focuses on the customer and how they feel when engaging with a brand.
It goes beyond just promoting brand identity, honing in on the shopping experience and putting the client at the heart of the strategy.
The brand's values and personality should reinforce efforts to create a consistent customer experience across all touchpoints, communication, and distribution channels.
This type of branding focuses on a company's product or service. Product and service branding focuses on building a strong reputation and positive perception, so the selling item becomes synonymous with the niche or creates a sub-niche.
A successful branding process provides the customer with compelling reasons and emotional anchors to choose one brand over another.
Geographic branding places focus on a particular area and thrives on aspects that are specific to that - this could be a city, region, state, country, or union.
Cultural branding fixates its efforts on customs and elements relevant to a customer's lifestyle.
Both give a business a unique and authentic selling point. Geographic branding uses unique traits of a specific region as a selling point. Cultural branding humanises a company, putting it in the relevant context - examples include a brand promise to society, customer's traditions, or their environmental efforts to create a rapport with the market.
eCommerce branding prioritises the digital shopping experience and customers' positive impression and perception of an online company.
Its efforts aim to accomplish the following goals:
This subset of retail branding ensures that a business is able to stand out from competitors.
Every brand story has a beginning - the reason why the founders started the company and the problems they embarked on solving.
To build a brand that feels authentic and resonates with customers, businesses must understand and communicate this story.
Before conducting a branding exercise, companies must understand whom their branding is speaking to.
Who does the product/service serve? Who is the ideal buyer persona? Why was the business created in the first place?
What a business learns about their target market will heavily influence the overarching branding decisions.
A mission statement defines the purpose and passion of an organisation. It encompasses why the company exists and why customers should care about the brand.
Once the statement is created, the mission and vision can be reflected in every part of the brand - from logo and tagline to voice and personality.
To differentiate the brand, a business must focus on what they are made from and inspire by. This includes the values, benefits, and qualities that make the company unique.
Once a brand's audience, mission statement, and vision has been defined, they can move on to the visual design.
These visual assets include everything from logo, colour palette, typography, iconography, and other visual elements.
As these elements are created, make a set of brand guidelines to govern the composition and use of these visual assets. This ensures that whoever uses the branding does so correctly and consistently.
How a brand communicates with its target market is a big part of the overall branding strategy. They should define a brand voice that connects and resonates with the audience.
A brand's tone must be consistent through all marketing concepts and channels. This ensures audiences can familiarise themselves with the brand and recognise the brand's voice.
Once the branding process is complete, it must be implemented into every avenue of the business:
Branding should be consistent across all business outputs, but it can be carefully tailored to each marketing channel.
An astonishing 50% of consumers stated that a website's design has an impact on their opinion of a business.
It's no debate that a company's website plays a major role in its overall identity. Incorporate the brand's logo, colour palette, and typography onto the website, whilst making sure that the website copy, calls-to-action, and product description align with the brand voice.
All profile photos, hero images, and branded imagery posted on social media should reflect a brand.
Organisations should consider putting their logo as their profile picture to make the account easily recognisable to customers.
Also, ensure that all profile information and social media copy reflect the correct tone of voice.
If the business has a physical product, this is one of the most tangible ways it can engage and interact with the customer.
For this reason, packaging must reflect a brand's design, colours, and overall look and feel.
Building a strong brand identity is essential for any business striving to make a lasting impact in a crowded marketplace.
Effective branding not only helps businesses connect with their target audience but reinforces the company’s values and mission. By carefully curating elements like a name, logo, and voice, brands can create a memorable presence that fosters customer loyalty.
For fintech companies aiming to elevate their brand identity, partnering with expert agencies like Blue Train Marketing can provide the expertise needed to craft compelling narratives and visuals. Through a comprehensive approach to branding, Blue Train ensures your fintech brand stands out, resonates with your target market, and remains consistent across all platforms.
Ready to elevate your brand? Explore Blue Train’s branding services and discover how to transform your brand identity today.