Branding is a somewhat overused term in marketing these days. But if you replace the word ‘brand’ with ‘reputation’ it means to communicate your values clearly and consistently in everything you do.
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”Leonardo da Vinci
Simplicity sounds simple, but is by no means easy to achieve. It’s been said, “Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple”. And, “If you can’t explain it simply you don’t know it well enough.” So in clear terms your brand stands for a single idea.
The concept of branding comes from the idea of marking livestock with a sizzling hot iron to brand the owner’s unique mark. The term branding was first used to describe corporate identity by branding guru Wally Olins. His thinking was across the complete organisation to not just communicate through advertising but through its environments, through its products, and through its behaviours to leave one consistent mark in the mind of the customer.
Olins is quoted as saying, “branding is about creating and sustaining trust, it means delivering on promises. The best and most successful brands are completely coherent. Every aspect of what they do and what they are reinforces everything else.”
Branding makes you, your products, and your services stand out in a crowded and extremely noisy marketplace. Your brand is what you consistently communicate – it’s your unique story. Great brand storytelling connects with the audience on an emotional level.
3 key areas for brand storytelling:
1. Find your common ground
2. Create a long-term story arc
3. Be consistent
Read the full article on thelinkup.com
