4 Reasons Why Branding is Much More Than A Logo and a Tagline

We’ll be honest. We’ve received plenty of panicked calls from people who need ‘quick branding’ so their company can go live. These are people who have invested time, money and research on a new product or service and sacrificed high-salaries and family time just to be able to live their dreams. And yet, branding, the soul of their product, is just an afterthought. Truth be told we can’t blame them. We’re living in an era which encourages instant gratification. We’re taught that a product or service should be the end result and branding is just a quick matter of getting a logo and website done. We’ve survived three years in the industry doing exactly the opposite. We’ve always believed that branding is a story, and this story is your unique way of offering an idea to the world.

It’s Not The Idea. It’s Your Take on It.

Your product or idea might have many competitors. It might be new in your specific market, but there must have been a past version or attempt at it. This is why a successful start-up is not just about the product you offer, but how your product talks to the world. How will your narrative be different? What are the values you will be most excited about promoting alongside with your product? Your idea comes from the past, but your way of representing it to the world makes it your own.

You Can’t Fake It

Okay, the narrative doesn’t have to be different for the sake of being different. If you are not trying to imitate, then it’s your own brand story. You have obviously made a product that is different or better. There is enough you can work with right there. And it has to tie in with what you are offering. You can’t be selling flats in the outskirts of the city and talking about wildlife .

Good Branding Means Consistency in Character

When we sit to analyse a new company with our clients we always recommend workshopping it’s story before we even get into designing a logo. Your brand must be a living breathing person, one that has a history, one that has values, a sense of humour and most importantly, one that will evolve with time. If you’ve done the work on your brand and its story, then you’ll already see that it knows how to illustrate itself to the world visually and textually. Your brand begins to know itself. This doesn’t mean that your brand can’t evolve or throw in some surprises. But it does mean that your brand is reliable and that people come to expect certain qualities from it.

Don’t Jump On The Bandwagon

If recent events have taught us anything, it is that your idea cannot survive on hanging on a trend and providing little else. We’ve seen the Ubers for *insert human convenience here* crash and burn, merely serving as cautionary lampoons for other brands. And yet, every other month something comes along to take it’s place. What you need to do is give your brand the time and nourishment it deserves, we promise that it will serve you exponentially. Trends come and go, but do remember that your brand is in it for the long haul!