Brand

Introduction

The concept of 'brand' in a company is becoming ever more important. This isn't just a 'Guidelines' document with page layouts that don't add up, but powerful philosophy and concepts of 'who we are', 'what we do' and most importantly, 'what we stand for'. As a mission, it has to be a consistent message across the different brand channels.

Initially, the brand has to be created and thus 'Guidelines' need to be produced that can be cascaded down to products. The products (see below) further enhance and publicise the company via this brand. Once this is achieved, more complex psychological and socio-economic tests can be run to see what people see the company to stand for and subsequently what the company can do to market itself further.

Products
The products available to promote the company via the brand can be multiple and used in association. All will be part of a suite of products, logoed, using the corporate font, approved layouts and correct speech and delivery.

They are however on different mediums: paper, material, metal for example and online, the message though is streamlined.

Some product examples are listed below:

  • Guidelines : to include logo, colours and typeface
  • Stationery : headed paper and compliment slips
  • Presentations : to present ideas
  • Banners : whether physical or online
  • Leaflets : to hand out
  • Brochures : to promote
  • Signage : to create a presence
  • Adverts : to advertise

Company Perception and the Brand Experience

The way a company is perceived by society is becoming increasingly important. It's the way we as consumers perceive a company that influences our actions to buy-in or not. There are increasingly more ways to assess company perception and then tweak the brand to attract more customers. There are techniques to assess what words are most used on corporate sites and therefore determine the message or brand the company is portraying. If this isn't inline with the whole brand experience, then content can be tweaked to aline. This is a good start....
"To do this they need to break down the barriers between marketing, sales, product design, customer service and ecommerce, and get them to focus on delivering joined-up brand experiences that delight the consumer; to move them from buyers, to loyals, and ultimately advocates."

....this, by Andrew Weir, Director at ZenithOptimedia.

Ultimately, it is brand that is driving companies whole ethos and their reason of being.