a brand, so what?! how your brand will help your growth

It’s not new news that a brand isn’t a logo, icon, typeface or colour palette alone. It’s definitely not just a stamp or a mark, I think most people know it’s more than that. But what exactly? Many still have a range in views, though most now come back to perception, what a person thinks of your brand.

David Ogilvy once defined a brand as “the intangible sum of a product’s attributes.” For me that really feels overly technical. It really is the furthest from technical. It’s emotional. For me it’s a feeling. Ideally communicated with less jargon.

Defining your story and who you are, your why, often evokes the most emotion and feeling. And that’s important as when people feel something, they’re more likely to take action.

Starting with your story, your why, and establishing your brand and comms pillars, gives you a foundation for all work. Work where every action, every engagement is then able to evoke the desired feeling, in order for your customers to take action. To join, buy or recommend your brand. And that advocacy being the strongest indicator of a solid brand, one that you are happy to recommend.

A brand or a brand campaign, can often been seen a a luxury, as dedicating money to solely talk about your brand when you need to drive sales feels like a diversion you can’t afford. Brand however, isn’t a campaign or a shiny, expensive TV ad. It is something to live and breath every day. And the reason it’s so important, is because it is every execution, every persona, every social ad, every website, every photograph. If you take the time to establish your brand, and your core comms pillars, you can then execute every tactic to drive conversion, more swiftly and efficiently.

People often ask me, can you help with my marketing funnel / my social media growth, yet they haven’t established their brand. If you know your brand, your funnel and your social comms (as just two examples) come far more easily. And more cost effectively. And if there is no budget for a decorated brand campaign, establishing your brand, your promise and core pillars, is even more important. So that every independent performance driven action, works harder to form your overall brand.