Brand – “A particular identity or image regarded as an asset”– The Oxford Dictionaries 
The word ‘brand’ get’s thrown around quite freely, whether talking about brand names, brand identity, or branding – almost each person has their own definition for the word.

So what is it, exactly?

Let’s start with what it’s not. Brand isn’t a logo, it’s not a specified colour scheme,  and it’s not some famous designer’s name.
Brand is a gut feeling, it’s something instinctive, it’s honest and true and comes from a mixture of elements all working together on different levels. There’s no magic formula for having a winning brand – no matter what you might read. It’s highly subjective and cannot simply be created.
Of course there are the big brands which are instantly recognisable. Apple, Nike, and Google are all big brands, but what about people – Madonna, Barack Obama, the Pope – they’re brands too. A brand is that intuitive feeling you get when you look at something and you know what it is – you know what it represents, and you understand why it is the way it is.

If you look at Apple you know you’re going to get  sleek design, and when you look at Madonna you expect something provocative, and if asked to explain why you know these things you might find it hard to come up with an answer because the truth is that that’s just how it is. Of course you do recognise brand elements – such as logos, colours, and tone of voice. But the reality goes much deeper than that.
A company could have everything set up by the book – their logo, their colours, their guidelines … there’s a whole list of things. But if the people representing the company aren’t communicating the brand in the way the act then it’s useless. In order to achieve success, the people behind it (and there will always be people behind it because it’s human), have to also be the brand, this then trickles down to the consumer.
You can spot Apple fans from a mile away – they mirror the brand in the way they dress or act, and it is this linking between the brand and it’s fans that serves to strengthen it.
So while there’s no quick 5 step guide towards branding, there is perhaps one golden rule, and that is to believe in what you have.

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We start with brand

Your brand is not your logo, not the fonts or colours you associate with your identity, and surely not an advert that includes absolutely everything in your visual toolkit.

1. Write down your brand values. If you’ve worked hard enough at defining them, chances are you only need to write four words.
2. Read them. Several times. Look away and repeat them to yourself. Shout them at someone if necessary. Just make sure you’re totally immersed in what your brand is and what it really means to you and to your audience.
3. Consider your current communication need within this context. Your communication need could be simply the desire to remind people that your product is essential to their summer. That their world will be a slightly better place as a result. That the story they will tell about their summer will be, even slightly, a better story with your product or service in it.
4. Carefully design your communication to tell this story, making sure your brand values are implicitly or explicitly represented.
5. Check your work. So far you should have a sheet of paper with the following on it:
   • Your brand values.
   • Scribbled just beneath, your communication need. Possibly underlined. Or highlighted.
   • Your communication plan.
6. Have it styled to match your visual identity.

What do we have now?

We have promotional communication that should accurately represent who you are. We have an item of collateral that will tell your story to those who could be interested in an immediate purchase. What we also have, and this is what turns an expense into an investment, is an item of collateral that reinforces your brand values.
So all of your audience, even those who might not immediately purchase, have had the opportunity to experience your brand in its full glory. They might not purchase today, but you’ve left a positive impression on them. And when they eventually reach for their wallets to purchase your product, they are giving you cold, hard, cash as return on your wise investment.

DO

• Think. Does the action you’re about to take violate any one of your brand values? If it does, you’re better off thinking a while longer and finding the tougher, but more effective, course of action that’s aligned with your true values.
• Test. Pick one communication route and one person with a deep and thorough understanding of your brand. Tear the communication to bits and reconstruct it. If you reconstruct it pretty much in the same way, you were right the first time. If not, don’t be precious with your own ideas – be mindful of what will best suit your communication needs.

DON’T

• Fight tactical battles and lose sight of your core mission.
• Spot a competitor’s move and react to it hastily without regard for your brand values. This always leads to communication with short-term goals that will be expensive to fix later.
• Design by committee. Showing an item of collateral to ten people will have them strip every aspect of creative thinking and leave you with a product and a logo. The world is fed up of safe ads.

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