A quick guide that will lead you into building a solid brand

Your brand is your company’s DNA. More than just an image, it is the soul of your operation and tells people who you are in the market. Developing a logo or tagline is only the beginning of the branding process. To reach the widest market in the most effective way possible, you need a team of professionals to help you make sure you are designing and implementing the best solution for your company’s marketing needs.

The exciting part about building a brand is that you can take raw material and, like a craftsman, shape it into whatever you desire. But herein also is the biggest problem.

Every great project starts with one thing: An idea. But this idea has to be properly shaped and molded by people who know what they are doing. This is a meticulous process that requires specialized knowledge that only a digital marketing specialist can provide.

These are the steps you must take to build a solid brand in the digital age:

1. Defining your Brand’s Purpose

The biggest step is defining what your business is all about. This is the heart and soul of your company and it is integral to your brand identity.

Recently, our firm had the pleasure of working with a client that understood this all too well. As a hospital specializing in advanced cancer treatment, their marketing campaign not only had to consider the emotional tenor aspect of cancer treatment while making the general public aware of the latest treatments and oncology practices.

This meant that the hospital’s brand had to connect with a range of stakeholders, including patients, family members, physicians, and government agencies. Because our client understood the complexity of the situation at the outset, we were able to carefully hone a marketing package to build out that brand identity.


2. Always Do a research

Doing thorough research about your market, customer type, and what the expectations are for your brand is another integral step towards success.

Not only do you need to know who you are competitors are locally and nationally, but also you need to look at what they’re doing right - as well as what they’re doing wrong. This will help give you valuable insights into what you need to do with your own brand.

Going back to the project with a hospital, we eventually discovered that the most effective way of connecting with their audience was by developing messages of hope and positive impact that demonstrated a keen sense of empathy for cancer patients as well as survivors.

We understood that simple ideas that hit at the core of what our client wanted to convey were the most effective so we moved forward on that strategy for the future. We wouldn’t have discovered this if we hadn’t done thorough research into the how and why it worked, however.


3. Brand Identity

Branding needs to reflect who you are and what you do. If possible, it needs to show your potential customers how you can solve a problem for them. It should be functional but memorable. In short, your logo needs to convey your brand in as little time - and with as little mystery - as possible. Outside of this, your company’s messaging needs to reinforce this spirit.

In the above referenced case study with the hospital, for example, we discovered that colored ribbons associated with cancer had the most impact in visual media advertising the hospital’s treatments and innovative procedures. This is because people immediately identified it as a symbol for cancer as well as for solidarity with cancer patients and survivors.


4. Be consistent with brand personality

Make sure you develop brand guidelines so that your messaging stays consistent and on target. It is important that you maintain brand consistency across all channels.