Brand Identity: Definition and Importance

Introduction to Brand Identity

• Brand identity shapes consumer perceptions and drives brand recognition and loyalty through visual language like logos, colors, and typography.

Lecture Objectives

• Define brand identity and understand its importance
• Differentiate between brand identity, brand image, and brand equity
• Identify various types of branding
• Recognize the key elements of brand identity
• Explain the role of brand identity in marketing
• Outline the steps to create a strong brand identity
• Analyze successful brand identity case studies

Unit Terminology

• Brand Identity: Encompasses the visual, verbal, and emotional attributes shaping brand perception.
• Elements include logos, colors, typography, and messaging.
• Brand Equity: The value added to a product or service based on reputation and customer loyalty, reflecting marketplace strength.
• Brandmark: A symbol or design representing a brand, often used as a logo, creating recognition and differentiation.

Warm-up Activity

• Consider popular brand logos and taglines and analyze which elements make them memorable.

Brand Basics

• A brand connects emotionally with customers, creates lasting relationships, and stands out in a crowded market.
• A brand's success depends on how it is perceived, regardless of the type of entity it is.
• A brand represents a gut feeling about a product, service, or company.
• Brands serve three primary functions: Navigation, Reassurance, and Engagement.
• Navigation: Helps consumer select from choices.
• Reassurance: Communicates quality and reassure customers.
• Engagement: Uses imagery and language to encourage identification.
• Brand touchpoints involve opportunities to increase awareness and build customer loyalty.
• Brand identity is tangible and appeals to the senses.
• Branding is a structured process to build awareness and loyalty.
• Companies utilize branding to express what makes them the better choice.

Types of Branding

• Co-branding: Partnering with another brand for increased reach.
• Digital branding: Using web, social media, and SEO to drive online commerce.
• Personal branding: How an individual cultivates their reputation.
• Cause branding: Aligning with a charity or corporate social responsibility.
• Country branding: Attracting tourists and businesses.

Brand Stakeholders

• Stakeholders are vital to build brand champions.
• Employees can be considered "internal customers" whose insights and behaviors are valuable.

Why Invest in Brand Identity?

• Strong identity programs support desired perceptions, reflect core values, and become cultural symbols.
• Consistent investment in design yields lasting competitiveness.
• Affecting consumer behavior, can impact business performance.

Brand Strategy

• Effective brand strategy aligns actions and communications, and is effective over time.
• It is differentiated, powerful, and easy to communicate.
• Brand strategy builds on vision and culture, understands needs, and defines positioning, differentiation, value proposition, and competitive advantage.
• It resonates with all stakeholders: external and internal (employees, board, etc.).
• It guides marketing, enables sales, and provides clarity and inspiration.
• Aligning organizational vision affects the customer experience.
• Successful brand strategy involves aligning vision, actions, and customer experience.

Developing Brand Strategy

• Strategy development is collaborative, involving the CEO, marketing, sales, advertising, public relations, operations, and distribution.
• Global companies often hire brand strategists such as independent thinkers, marketing firms, and consultants.
• A brand strategy can originate at the company's inception through a visionary or through a visionary leader brought in to redefine strategy.
• A clear brand strategy is vital for company survival and growth.

Brand Positioning

• Effective brands have a positioning strategy that influences planning, marketing, and sales.
• Positioning adapts to market changes and consumer saturation.
• Positioning considers demographics, technology, marketing cycles, and market gaps.
• Internal factors of brand positioning include: Vision, Mission, and Personality.
• External factors of brand positioning include: Customer, Competition, and Marketplace.

Big Idea

• A big idea functions as a central point around which strategy, behavior, actions, and communications align.
• These statements are beacons for brand culture and a competitive advantage.

Origin of Brands

• 1500s: Branding originated with marking cattle for ownership using the word "brandr", meaning "to burn" in Ancient Norse.

Industrial Revolution

• 1750s-1870s: Mass production led to the need for product differentiation.
• Trademarks rose to help companies stand out.
• The first Trademark Act was passed in the U.S. Congress in 1881.
• Branding was recognized as intellectual property.

Era of Invention

• 1870s-1920s: Technology transformed life, inspiring creativity.
• Iconic companies emerged, including Coca-Cola, Colgate, Ford, Chanel and LEGO, were pioneers.

Branding Grown Up

• 1960s-1990s: Brands modernized to stay relevant and cater to changing tastes.

Beyond Basic Branding

• 2000s-Today: With numerous brands and competition, it is critical to stand out.

Brand Identity Elements

• Brandmarks should be assigned to general categories.
• A designer determines a suitable design approach to meet the needs of the client.
• The designer is a medium between the client and the audience.
• A mark should embody business goals and address end user needs.

Signatures

• A signature is the structured relationship between a logotype, brandmark, and tagline.
• Programs may divide signatures for increased flexibility.
• Vertical or horizontal signatures allow choices based on application need.
• The Coca-Cola logo is a classic, recognizable signature representing joy and refreshment.

Sequence of Cognition

• Brand awareness relies on a recognizable visual identity, and helps provide information.
• Repeated exposure makes symbols recognizable, as demonstrated by companies like Target, Apple, and Nike.
• Color acts as a mnemonic device, e.g., UPS's brown trucks.
• Visual perception and cognition provide insight when integrating meaning and distinctive visual form.
• The brain acknowledges shapes first; then the color; and after that, form.

Shape, Color, Form

• Shape aids identify distinctive shapes, which leaves faster mark on memory
• Color triggers emotion and brand recall through careful selection (Kodak and Tiffany trademarked colors).
• Form takes most time to process, so content comes third.

Shape Examples

• Pepsi uses a circle for movement.

Color Examples

• McDonald's, Uses red for excitment, yellow for joy.

Form Examples

• Apple's logo is simple, clean, which resonates with soophistication and innovation.

Wordmarks

• A wordmark incorporates a legible word(s) with font choice.
• The best wordmarks have font that imbues characteristics.
• These can be abstract or pictorial.
• The tilted "E" in "Dell" strengthens the name.

Letterform Marks

• Single letters are frequently used as graphic focal points for brandmark.
• The letter is proprietary and carries design with personality and meaning.
• Can also act as mnenomic devices (M for motorola, Q for Quest).
• Westinghouse is a good example of symbolis.
• The "Eagle" on the USPS is a recognizable symbol.

Abstract Marks

• Abstract marks provide visual form, and can convey a big idea.
• Marks can also provide strategic ambiguity, and work for unrelated divisions.

Emblems

• Emblems are trademarks that are associated to names.
• Elements can't be seperated.
• Can look terriffic on package.
• With logos getting smaller through ads, emblems face biggest legibility constraints.

Characters

• Characters embody attributes and become cultural icons.
• They are distinct, recognizable, and have voices, and enabling them to leap off the silent shelf.

Look and Feel

• Look and Feel gives visual language to make a system both recognizable and proprietary.
• That system expresses a point of view, composition, color, imagery, and typography.
• It resonates towards the customer.
• Visual languages are intentionally designed to distinguish and unify.

Look and Feel Basics

• Design: Design makes marriage of content and intelligence.
• Color Palettes: Can contain primary or secondary colors.
• Imagery: Considers style, focus, whether from photography, etc
• Typography: Font families impact visibility.
• Sensory: Considers qualities in how something feels, etc.

Concluding the lecture

Understanding Brand Identity: Brand Identity is a tangible representation that builds differentiation. The Role of Branding: Branding builds loyalty. Types of Branding: Includes Digital, Co-branding, etc. Key Elements of Brand Identity: Elements like Brand marks work together. Importance of Perception: This can shape perception and engagement.

"Designing Brand Identity"

• "Designing Brand Identity" is a useful text.