Building Brands: A simple guide
Establishing your brand is essential for success. Brands help us find great teams and attract the right clients, users, and customers. Today, there is no longer a question of “is there someone that can help me with my need?” Instead, it’s “who do I choose?” The competition is fiercer than ever, and we need unique brands to help people make better decisions.
The good news? It’s never too late or too early to start creating your brand. Building a brand doesn’t really have a finish line –it’s a continual process of redefining and fine-tuning what makes you stand out. To better understand what brands are and how we can construct them from the ground up, we will dive into some brands you may know well — The Digital Corps, Apple, and Ball State University. So whether you’re trying to develop your personal brand for your portfolio or establish it for a campus club, you can use this three-step guide to build a stellar brand.
Good brands have goals
In 2006, the Digital Corps brand story was completely different than it is now. An office that once consisted of only a handful of students has grown into one with more than 70 student-employees. How did we accomplish such a drastic change? We set higher goals!
Since you read our last blog about setting SMART goals (you did read it, didn’t you?), you’ll know that the Digital Corps’s brand is partly defined by our Core Values, one of them being to focus on our students. In order to achieve this, our staff gives students the opportunity to develop SMART goals. These objectives allow the Digital Corps to promote growth and education as an essential part of our brand. Accomplishing this leads students into another Corps Core Value: preparing students for the workforce.
“Throughout my years at the Digital Corps, I am encouraged to learn new things with SMART goals and apply them to my projects. That is rare within the creative industries.” — Nolan Chamberlain, Design Specialist
As we can see with the Digital Corps brand, it is continually evolving to be better with goals. This technique is an awesome, tangible way to measure success.
Reflection: Just as our office has a clear plan for building student success, what kind of goals can your organization put in place to achieve your brand objectives?
Good brands are authentic
Brands are not solely defined by a logo, slogan, or name. A brand is an all-encompassing entity. It can be described in three parts:
1) Who you are
Who you are describes what makes you YOU. It can describe who you (as an individual) are, who your team is, or how your company has value. These traits are intangible but crucial to differentiating a brand from its competitors.
2) What you do
What you do tells your customers what you sell. These are the products, services, or ideas your organization offers to the public.
3) Where you want to go
Lastly, where you want to go describes what your outlook of the future may be. It shows your customers that you have a clear plan for your organization and desire to grow.
Tying these three elements together make a brand authentic. Let’s call this the Triple Threat Brand.
Take Apple, for example. This brand is not only well-known, but it is also has a very clear message. If you ask anyone to describe Apple, you will probably get similar answers: clean, sleek, reliable, simple, and high-quality. Apple is truthful about what it offers as products and services, and customers get the experience they expect.
The company is best known for its iPhones and MacBooks, but it has had a wide range of products since its humble beginnings. A hand-built Apple Computer 1 with the capabilities of a single motherboard and 60 chips was debuted in 1976, followed by more developed computers as technology advanced. Today, its mix includes hundreds of products from its lines in iPhones, iPods, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, and the Apple TV.
It also releases its vision publicly and keeps its customers in the loop. Each year, Apple customers expect new iPhones, and the company iconically abides by those expectations. These hints provide the public with launch dates and how Apple intends to expand its product mix. Since Apple’s brand is authentic with the help of the Triple Threat Brand, it has the top brand value in the world.
From Apple, we can learn that it’s important to portray our brand for what it really is. Don’t try to develop a brand that sounds cool and may delight consumers. Be real about your organization, and the right people will come.
Want to read more about authentic brands? Read this article by Inc.
Reflection: How can your brand be defined by answering the parts of the Triple Threat Brand?
Good brands tell a story
Last November, Ball State University launched its new brand coining We Fly. One of the most notable parts of this brand is that it tells a story.
Take Ball State’s new anthem video, for example. It explains the university’s past, a history dating back to 1918, and how it has built a foundation for its students, faculty, staff, and community. It does not merely acknowledge that a history exists. Instead, the university emphasizes how its rich history is the backbone of the current brand. In other words, if it wasn’t for the past, there would be no future!
Additionally, a good brand story is personal. Telling the tale of students in dance, art, business, and architecture makes the brand incredibly real. Given that Ball State is an institution of higher learning, it highlights those who are using its service; they are the customers! By showing students who have different passions and talents, Ball State is able to tell their brand story through a unique, personal testimonial.
If you haven’t found your brand story yet, that’s okay. An epic, enticing story can take time. Just like Ball State, we must take our brand’s past, make it relevant to the present, and look forward to the future.
For more information on brand storytelling, check out this Forbes article.
Reflection: Ball State uses its history and personal testimonies to tell its brand story. How can your organization tell a unique brand story?
Although building a brand can be difficult to undertake, with these simple steps you will be on your way to creating your next big brand. Goals, like those at the Digital Corps, allow organizations to take their brand above and beyond with measurable objectives. Although Apple is a giant global company, we can learn a lot from its brand authenticity (A.K.A: The Triple Threat Brand). Lastly, the Ball State brand rejects the traditions of brand representation by telling a unique story. Together with these elements, you will be one step closer to standing out and stellar success.
Want to share reflections about your brand? Comment below!
