Branding is not that difficult. It is just the first 200 years that present the problems!!
The big corporations understand the value of a brand, the need to control and manage brand structures, manage brand presence etc. For many smaller companies, the lessons should be similar – thinking through the strategy before the design and the creative get involved.
We are just about to manage a brand review for a significant player in a regional sector who is looking to refresh and grow its brand. The process is as follows:
1. Consider the strategy
2. Customer insight into the market
3. Awareness sessions with the internal teams on the process and why it is being done
4. A strong design brief
5. Selection and discussion with a number of design/branding firms.
Once the design is complete, it is followed by launch and on-going brand building activity.
In this case, the external assistance will keep the brand plan on track and also bring a ‘customer focus’ to the brief and the brand. The client sees the brand and its presence in the market as a key to the future growth of the business, endorsing the brand with the existing customers and looking to the new customers who like to consume information in a different way.