One of the largest misconceptions of brand is that it’s simply brand identity. You know, a logo, a color palette and maybe a theme. If that’s all you think brand is, then all you need is a designer.
Then it does nothing for you. Nothing. It sits there like a dead frog.
There are certainly good examples of brand identity and bad ones. And the difference has nothing to do with design. Yes, you can have a pretty logo with interesting colors. But who cares? It won’t sway the market. You can name your brand anything. You can have any logo. And it won’t mean a thing if your brand lacks meaning.
The good and bad of brand identity
The bad simply blends with all your competitors. You know what I mean. For example, the medical industry is famous for having similar brand identities. Most of them use the color blue. That’s because the industry follows market leaders like Medtronic and Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Everything must work for you to win. Many brands have so little space to actually create preference – or have the budgets to compete with market leaders – that integrating meaning and differentiation into everything is of the greatest importance.
So, to stand out, ensure your color is different than most of the market. I conduct a competitive analysis by examining all the competitors’ color palettes. And recommend a color with meaning that’s different than the rest of the category.
But that’s as far as it goes.
Brand meaning is paramount
For most, brand identity lacks meaning. That is, they are not designed strategically. The reason? Because true brand positioning hasn’t been developed. For one thing, most brand positioning is either cliched or simply copies the market leader.
Few go beyond product or category benefits. Insurance is all about price and protection. Automobiles are all about safety and style. Banking is all about success and “we care.” And so on.
However, brand identity can be extremely strategic. And provide the umbrella meaning for everything you do. In fact, it can provide a rallying mission for your employees.
When rebranding GlenGuard, an FR protective textile giant (think oil & gas and manufacturing workers), I found that the target audience (safety managers) were most concerned with compliance. So the brand identity represented that meaning.
In this case, the brand identity tells a story. Target audiences love a story, especially one that’s compelling for those you are persuading.
But brand identity is not brand
Nope. Brand identity is simply a representation of the brand. The brand is everything you do to fulfill your brand promise (developing products that make workers wear it) and is the self-identification of the target audience (safety managers concerned with compliance).
Apple builds its brand on its original theme of “Think Different.” Apple fulfills that promise with simplicity. But those Apple cult followers (count me as one) identify themselves as those who think different. Of course, Apple is now the giant atop the bean stalk. So thinking differently becomes mainstream.
Brand is a promise, an emotional connection and a differentiation from the competition. It is NOT brand identity. It is not a name, slogan, logo, and a product description.
If your brand identity isn’t doing enough for you, it’s because you’ve thought about it the wrong way. Think meaning – that’s different and more emotional than your competition – first. Everything, including your brand identity, follows that.