Branding: A Power Struggle.
While there a lot of stories about ‘accelerating growth’ and disrupting marketplaces at light speed, in reality, brand growth takes time, effort and yes, money.
After years of experience in dealing with entrepreneurs and their businesses, there are a few myths that I’d like to debunk about branding. This is just one of the articles on branding myths by entrepreneurs that will follow. If you’re interested in what else I talk about, look here.
As a brand strategist at Ollie, I have helped a lot of companies setting the initial direction for their brand. We define a strong positioning and story together, and a bold personality that differentiates that specific company from its competitors.
I get very excited thinking about a brand’s potential. It’s this feeling of possibility, of opportunity, of a new horizon (sorry for getting all mushy on you). And usually, clients feel the same way.
After creating all of the necessary touchpoints, defining the communication strategy and planning the launch, we are ready for lift-off. It’s an exciting, thought-provoking process that we go through together with our clients.
The reality is, however, that after all of this hard work, we are just at the starting point. It’s only the beginning and the hard work is yet to come. “Are you seriously telling us, Stef, that after all of these investments, efforts, brainstorms, sticky notes, discussions, customer interviews, we are just at the starting point?” Yes, I am. No, I’m not sorry, it’s a reality.
The reality is that neither a rebrand, a fancy new logo or a single marketing campaign can make your brand the market leader. The reality is that you need constant branding, marketing, SEO, PR, customer service, sales and business acumen to grow.
Sure, you might see a bump in sales after a campaign, and of course, customers will recognize you from afar with that fresh new identity. But, growing a brand is a constant battle for attention.
Look at power struggles between Nike and Adidas, Apple and Samsung, Burger King and McDonald’s. At some point in time, it always seems like one is the dominant brand taking over the entire market. Yet only a few months later, things are shifting and all of a sudden, that leadership position is doubtful.
You just can’t rest on your laurels. If you want your brand to become big, you need to go big. If you want to jump higher, you need to kick your tail harder (yes, cheesy skateboarding reference). At Ollie, we want to learn you how to kick the tail, not once, but a thousand times. Ready?
Ollie is a branding studio based in Ghent, Belgium. We create brand experiences that attract raving fans and we’re firm believers of a strategy first approach. Interested in our work? Check out our Instagram, LinkedIn, Dribbble and Behance. And of course, feel free to check out our website.
Until the next one! 👋
