What is a Brand?

“A brand is what the emotional response your company receives. The emotion behind what someone feels, sees, tastes, etc when they come across your brand. A memorable logo is just the beginning – yet an extremely important beginning – that sets the overall tone for your new or existing brand.” - Brian Hoff

Brand Includes:

• Brand Name (the name of the product or service)

• Brand Positioning (the business’ niche)

• Brand Management (the application of marketing techniques)

• Brand Equity (the marketing effects or outcomes)

• Awareness

• Image

• Value

• Brand Definition (the distinguishing name and/or symbol, including the logo and colours)

Brand Affects

• Customer service

• Aesthetics of the website/logo/business card/letterhead/clothing

• The sights (building and furnishings), sounds (music that is played), and tastes (what is served, etc.)

• Content including titles

Branding without analyzing all of the impressions a business makes on it’s clients is like usability testing without analyzing the final data and making changes. While we may be asked to create identity pieces, we need to ensure they reflect the company properly so that it creates an effective brand.

Branding is a strategy that we need to help our clients with – much like copy writing and usability. While the logo is an important first impression for your project, it can’t stop there. The brand needs to be reflected in the content, style and feel of the website, and extend to every part of the business.