Snazzy logos and snappy text might be what most people associate with branding, but there’s so much more to the process if you want to maximise the benefits.
Omar Hikal, CEO of The Brand Company gives us his take on brand development, and explains how delving a little deeper can help to truly take a business to the next level.
The foundation of the worldwide response to Coronavirus has been the race to vaccinate.
There’s a traditional view of the meaning of branding, and what it constitutes. As we go about our day-to-day lives, we’re bombarded by funky logomarks, memorable slogans and striking advertising imagery. And yes, they generally do their job. But there’s so much more to branding than this. At The Brand Company, we believe that at its heart branding is about
Meaning, Attitude and Promise.
But what do we mean by meaning?! It’s a deep dive into the heart of the brand. What is its purpose? What are its values? Who is it championing? What makes it different? Next, we move on to attitude. What is the aesthetic of the brand? The look, the feel, the energy, the tonality? And finally, promise. What does your brand bring to the world? What kind of experience can your customers expect? And what are your strategic objectives?
Yes, it takes time to complete this overview, but how can you work effectively with a business without an understanding of the people you’re working with? Without talking to them and getting to know how they work? Without hearing of the challenges they are facing and the obstacles that stand in the way of progress, and which prevent them from fulfilling their potential? This time spent talking, thinking and learning is as important as the time spent by graphic artists sketching out packaging designs, and by copywriters pondering slogans. In fact, it’s more than important. It’s crucial. So brainstorm to your heart’s content.
Talk, think, then talk some more. Don’t go straight to the pretty pictures and the catchy slogans. Take the time to truly understand who and what you’re working with, and why they need you. It’s time that really could not be better spent.
LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS.
The core strategic elements of Meaning, Attitude and Promise form the bedrock of any business or brand. By taking the time to define these key components and properly understand what’s not been working well (and what has: it’s never all bad!),
the true identity, personality and perceived issues surrounding the brand become clear.
Armed with this knowledge, it’s possible now to start to think about the things that most would associate with brand identity. Investing
Investing time in a quest for a deeper, clearer understanding means it may have taken a little longer than expected to get here. Businesses looking to revitalise their brand, to grow and move to the next level want this done! That’s perfectly understandable. But spending time on this conceptual element of the process adds an invaluable richness to the journey to brand revitalisation. And it truly is a journey, a journey that continues long after the final client sign-off meeting.
The world keeps turning, and any business needs to move with the times and keep abreast of change. The biggest accolade for an agency like ours is the knowledge that after working together, our clients continue to ask the same questions of themselves as we initially asked of them as they continue to evolve and progress.
To us, the creation of a long-lasting legacy, a change of mindset and an ethos that can be taken forward independently is the true measure of a successful partnership, and essential for long-term resilience and progress in a global economy that seems to redefine ‘fast-moving’ year after year.
BUILDING YOUR WORLD.
We’ve established that branding isn’t just about cool logos, fancy stationery and arresting advertising. It’s equally about understanding
WHO YOU ARE, WHERE YOU ARE, AND WHERE YOU WANT TO BE.
Once that’s done, then it’s time to think about getting the creatives involved.Corporate identity. Logomarks. Advertising strategies. Slogans. Of course, any brand needs this stuff: that’s a given. But we believe that whatever the business, whatever the product, from a family business making chocolate bars to a multinational development corporation, the aim should remain the same.
To create a world that its customers want to be a part of, that its current employees are inspired by, and that is attractive to high-caliber new recruits. The importance of engaging current employees and attracting the most talented new recruits can’t be overstated.
LET’S FACE IT, TO BE THE BEST, YOU’RE GOING TO NEED THE BEST PEOPLE TO GET YOU THERE.
All the logos, billboards and slogans in the world are fairly worthless if your staff aren’t on board. Any business that’s looking to rebrand should be aiming to create a culture that embraces all staff at all levels and permeates every interaction and transaction, whether internal or external. A culture that aligns behavior inside the organisation with the external energy and appearance of the brand and presents a unified, consistent image and approach to anyone and everyone who experiences it.
BRANDS
BUILT BETTER.
The Brand Company is more than just an office full of creatives sketching out storyboards and packaging designs. Yes, we have those, and the best there are. But we also have the finest strategic minds, people inspired by and focused on the bigger picture. We’ve discussed the importance of getting your staff on board and attracting high-quality employees as a crucial element of the branding journey. So we have HR specialists working as part of our team. How can we stress the importance of people to the whole branding journey without in-house knowledge, skills and advice to pass on to our clients when they need it?
Words are important and the nuance of language is critical, so we have specialist Arabic and English editors and copywriters to ensure that whatever we’re saying and whoever we’re saying it to, the message is conveyed clearly, accurately and with the appropriate tonality. All of this speaks to the desire to make sure the work we do for our clients is of the highest quality and gives them the clear direction needed to be able to progress their brand journey for many years after our initial input.
The inspiration behind the foundation of The Brand Company xx years ago was the opportunity to partner with business leaders to help them achieve their potential, not just to establish another design house. We believe that three key ingredients set us apart. Our process, and in particular the ‘Brand M.A.P’ phase, gives us a deeper understanding of our clients and the challenges they face. Our people, and the diverse skills and knowledge they possess, are second to none: from our first meeting we’re 100% committed to transforming your brand and your business. Finally, our output is about more than just pretty designs. We’ll not only transform the way the world sees you; we’ll transform the way you see the world.