A brand is simply an organisation, product or a service with a personality. The major benefits of creating a successful brand are obvious when you look at the worlds most successful brands. The objective with any branding project is to create a “personality” that fits – a “personality” that communicates the values, ideas and benefits that it can bring to its customers.
Datadrum have successfully developed the following approach to branding. We’ve broken it down into 10 simple stages which are outlined below.
Understanding branding
1. Agree the vision
It is very important that everyone at the top of the organisation has a clear idea on what branding is, what it can achieve and what the benefits of branding will be to them and their organisation. Everyone needs to share the same vision on the values and positioning of the new brand. The first stage is to present the benefits of branding and the process to be followed to the main decision makers, followed by a discussion on the key values and benefits of what the brand needs to be.
2. Create a working party
The branding process has to be effectively managed and the working party looks after the process, costs, schedule and output. It needs to be headed by the key decision maker to ensure the process is given the right status.
3. Brief and plan
At this stage the brief and plan is detailed and approved so that everyone shares the same understanding of what is expected. The plan includes timing, key milestones and activities required.
Developing the Brand
4. Investigation and analysis
This includes any appropriate desk research e.g. audit of existing branding and competition. At this stage you may want to carry out interviews with relevant internal staff and members of the target audience to gain insights into issues and brand values. Findings can then presented to the working party with brand strategy options based on the results.
5. The core idea
During Stage 4, brand strengths will have been identified that make the new brand stand out. This is the opportunity to develop a core idea which reveals the new brands personality and vision – its sense or purpose. Sometimes this can take several meetings to reach an agreement but is a very important stage, so persevere.
6. Develop new Brand name
Once the core idea is agreed by the working party the name and visual style have to be produced. Names are emotive and creating a new brand name is difficult and complex as it can be difficult to see the name as an established brand and because it is a subjective issue. A brainstorming session with the working party can be a useful exercise in establishing a basis for names and ideas to explore. Be warned, names are also a legal minefield and name registration can be complex, be sure to check any names you come up with for copyright conflicts and consider consulting a relevant legal professional.
7. Develop the visual style
You should have narrowed down a choice of names and now you’ll need to prepare some design approaches presented to the working party to be discussed. The ideas can then be refined into final versions ready for a second presentation involving showing the design ideas applied to different media e.g. signs, online, print etc. Once a design is finalised and agreed by the working party, the approved designs are developed into a brand tool and guidelines so that they can be applied across all media required.
Launching the Brand
8. Implementation
Once the new brand is created and launched, the tools necessary to ensure that the brand is clearly understood and consistently implemented are required. Brand guidelines are usually the best tool for this and are normally used internally and by outside contractors e.g. partners, agencies and printers. Guidelines normally include:
- logo sizing and spacing
- colours
- typefaces
- tone of voice
- imagery
- stationery
- literature
- website
- signage
- key documents
9. Internal launch
People inside the organisation need to understand the new brand before it is launched externally. This normally takes the form of a seminar, newsletter or an event depending on the size of the organisation.
10. External launch
The outside world is not always as interested in the launch of a new brand as many clients would expect. The launch of the new brand needs to create interest and positive awareness, the external brand launch normally involves both traditional and digital media.
And that concludes the 10 stages. If you have any questions about branding, or are considering a rebrand, please feel free to contact us.
