Brand Styling

Branding vs. Brand Identity Design

- Caroll Atkins Leave a comment

You have finally found the perfect name for your business. Now it’s time for a cool new logo to represent that business. One that gets attention and compliments and yes, bring the customers calling. Your logo is your brand after all. Whoa, is it really your brand? Is a logo a brand? Unfortunately many people mistakenly believe their logo is their brand. It is not. It is part of your brand identity design which in turn is part of your branding strategy. Confused? For a clearer understanding of what is your brand and what is brand identity design, please read on.

I started my entrepreneurial career as a graphic designer 13 years ago. Several years in, I was led to explore brand styling, mostly because of instinct and logic. You see, my instinct told me for years, “do not let a customer come to you needing a logo mark without educating them on exactly what that is and what they must know about their brand before getting one.” At that point most of my clients would say, “the logo is my brand, that is what I want a brand!” Many of my clients seemed more interested in something that was anywhere from cute to cool. Most of them knew very little about the market their business was hoping to attract let alone what that market would think is cute or cool and more importantly why. They gave very little thought if any to how they wanted a potential customer to feel once they saw their logo. Thinking about the customer’s emotions to their brand was just not on their radar.

13 years ago, branding was very new to my clients and probably to a lot of other people. What was clear back then is that many were simply looking for brand identity design.

Brand Identity Design: how a business wants to be perceived by its customers. Through brand identity design a brand will communicate with its niche. The brand identity is a cohesive message that uses a name, logo, imagery and various styles.

Branding: this is the purposeful and intentional actions a business takes to reveal its promise and to elicit a favorable emotional reaction from its target audience.

Brand identity design, branding, logo

Even today, there are still a lot of misconceptions between what is a brand identity design, branding or even a logo. Keeping my above definitions in mind, it is clear to see that a logo is part of brand design identity plan and an element used in branding. To make sure your business is as strong and solid as it can be, you need branding. Your branding must be consistent and it must be thoughtful. Many of my clients would say to me, “I just need a logo, that should be enough for my brand and if I really do need branding, can’t I just do it later?” At this point I would inform them whether they knew it or not, as soon as you expose any part of your business to the public, be it through sales, advertising or simply discussing it with people, you have started the process of branding. Is what you are doing and saying consistent, thoughtful, informative with a specific brand personality, tone and voice that you have given purposeful thought too? Do you have a brand design identity plan to introduce the target audience to your brand’s promise? These are the elements you want to make sure are always in place when you are promoting your brand. These elements help to build your brand. So as you can see, in all actuality brand identity design is part of branding.

Branding and brand identity working together

Once you have the branding foundation which will include the business’ core values, mission and vision statements, personality, tone and voice, you can use it to create the visual aspect or the brand identity of your business. Remember branding is about creating an experience for your customer. The brand identity will help to express this visually and give your brand a cohesive, memorable and professional look and feel.

Conclusion

I hope this article helped to clarify the difference between branding and brand identity design. Please take some time before you design your brand’s identity to understand several aspect about what your target audience is like, what they value, what their problems to be solved are and most of all how you would like them to feel and what experience you would like them to have with your brand.

If you are looking for an experienced brand stylist who will help you create and express the intangible elements of your branding into strategic, thoughtful and impactful visuals, please contact me at Caroll Atkins Creatives.

Do you know the difference between branding and brand identity design? What does that mean to you and how do you define it?

Caroll Atkins, Brand Stylist / Creative Director

Branding Vs. Marketing: What’s the Difference, and Which is Primary

- Caroll Atkins Leave a comment

I continuously get the question, “what is the difference between branding and marketing?” Some believe that they are in fact one in the same. Well, they are in fact quite different with only few similarities, but they are connected. Knowing the difference between branding and marketing is essential, because as a business owner effectively utilizing both of them will help with your brand’s success.

What is branding?

Branding is telling the story of who you are via your imagery, colors, verbal and written content and logo. It is your promise to your client. It is a strategy that you use to inform customers what is unique about you. Having well thought out answers to the items below helps you build trust with your customers one of the hallmarks of branding:

  • Your Mission Statement
  • Brand Positioning Statement
  • Brand Value Proposition
  • Brand Message
  • Brand Voice & Tone
  • Brand Personality

This will also help your consumers know exactly what they can expect of you and what experience they can expect to have. This is the starting point for your marketing efforts.

What is marketing?

Marketing is your efforts to build awareness to your brand. It is essentially the use of various tools to deliver your brand’s message. Unlike your branding, marketing evolves and it also changes. It can be vast and wide and it can be applied to focused sectors of your niche. There are many ways to market:

  • Radio
  • Print Campaigns
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Mobile
  • Television
  • Pay Per Click
  • Content Marketing

To be sure, there are more methods of marketing and these methods will change and more will be added. However, when it comes to branding, that rarely if ever changes.

Branding or Marketing, which is primary?

What you have no doubt come to see is that your branding drives your marketing. It is at the core of your marketing efforts simply because it gives marketing the fodder it needs to create strategy campaigns that show your business’ culture, message, values and core competencies. So, yes branding comes first. Remember, I said that branding is all about defining who you are and you must know who you are before you can effectively market to others. Your branding is what creates loyalty in your consumers and makes them want to keep coming back for more. Any business can market to consumers, they may even have the same products and services you do, however if that consumer loves your brand and the benefits it derives from it, you have created brand equity with them and that keeps them loyal. A marketing campaign does not give your consumers the quality, culture and communication they desire, it is their every interaction with your brand that does that. Your marketing attracts consumers.

In summary…

Your branding is what builds connection with consumers. It makes whatever success you may currently have even bigger. It is your branding principals that consumers point to as their reason for patronizing your brand. Your branding is your “secret sauce” and your marketing is an extension that allows consumers to know that you have a secret sauce and what that entails. Your branding is what makes your business truly unique.

Caroll Atkins, Brand Stylist / Creative Director
Insta: @CarollAtkinsCreatives

Why Brand? What is the benefit?

- Caroll Atkins Leave a comment

Are you still on the fence about whether or not you should invest your time and money in creating a brand? Do you look at major companies out there and think that they can afford to brand because they have the resources to do so. Or, because of their size it is easier for their branding to “catch on” so investing in branding makes it worthwhile. Many tend to think of these reasons or some variation, however this is truly not the case.

Benefits of branding

I can agree that starting a business in today’s market can be daunting because the market is very saturated, but it is not impossible and the tools available today can help you do so much more with so much less. So, if you have decided to push through, this is one of the main reasons you should seek the benefits of creating a brand. Business’ that do well are those who find ways to let the customer know they are special and valued. These businesses also tout their uniqueness and their overwhelming desire to solve their customer’s issues. They have discovered what their “secret sauce” is and realize that getting the word out is highly beneficial to their business. Also, making sure that the market is aware of their brand value and brand message further helps create brand equity with customers.

So, what are some of the major benefits of creating a brand?

Just because you have a business does not mean you have a brand. Brands are created. Building a brand encompasses such things as your logo, color palette, language, imagery, value and ideals. It takes a conscious effort to make sure all these things are in place, consistent and followed. Below are some of the major benefits of creating a brand.

Building customer loyalty – Nothing shows a customer that they are valued and solutions for their needs and issues are actively being worked on like branding. Branding has rules and values that they adhere to. As long as the brand keeps living up to these, their clients will be happy. Knowing what your customer values about you and look to you for, will help your brand stay in touch and increase loyalty.

Easier to launch a new product – with customer loyalty, launching your new products is much easier. While catering to your customer base, you will inevitably be aware when they need new products and/or services. Being focused on them will afford you the ability to grow your product line with products that they will both need and value.

Increase value – with great customer loyalty and the ability to successfully launch new products, you will no doubt increase your company’s value. Customer participation is very valuable to your business, it can make or break it. Not just your tangible assets but, how your customer feels about your business goes into deciding the value of your company. Branding and its wide ranging techniques all work to help build brand equity and increase value.

Allows for higher prices – without the benefits that branding offers chief of which is reliability, quality, and responsiveness a company may find it hard to price their product above what the current market pricing is. It is proven that customers will pay more if they perceive bigger and better value. So, how can you get across that you offer better, more reliable or more unique value if you are not branding?

If these reasons are not enough for you to start working on building an amazing brand, then consider this…market share. As I said before, this saturated market can cause many to sink however good branding, strong branding is the ultimate solution and life saver.

Caroll Atkins
Brand Stylist / Creative Director
Insta: @CarollAtkinsCreatives

2016’s mantra, I am you and you are me…the humanitarian side of branding

- Caroll Atkins Leave a comment

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To some my title sentence makes no sense. For others the beauty and intricacies of relationships are not something to ponder and appreciate, but to take simply at face value. Even still, there are those who literally see and live life this way. But for me, I am all you have and you are all I have, because if I am not valuing you, accepting you and appreciating you then what do I have? Nothing. I am not prosperous, because without you how can I share my wealth of life’s lessons learned. I am not growing, because without you how will I challenge myself, better myself and live up to my potential. I am not loved, because without you who will I give love to, so I too can feel it’s incredible warmth in return?

So, what I do for you, I do for me and what I don’t do for you, I don’t do for me. The sooner we accept that we are all connected through our shared humanity, the sooner we can get to the business of showing each other the unconditional love that Jesus spoke about and Muhammad and every pivotal person intent on connecting us through love in the history of the world.

The Humanitarian Side of Branding

In 2016 our mindset has to be elevated exponentially. While some of us have accepted and are now committed to helping others, we must no longer look at it as helping them, but accept that our positive actions are done for the good of us all. This is my approach to helping a client with their brand styling and brand identity. I believe helping a client deliver the most honest, truthful offerings and views of their brand will in turn bring them clients that will trust them. Their value will be easily perceived and readily accepted. With so many choices available today, it can be a maze to sift through. So why not be that beacon that calls one forward only to offer them an unexpected experience that surpasses the rest? This is what I offer my clients, this is how I make a difference.

What have we come to? Where do we go from how business was done in the me first 90’s? We have come right back to where we once started as entrepreneurs in the 20’s. We are now called to be compassionate, ethical and sympathetic. The Millennials demand this! If we look at all the world’s ills, how many can be helped if we just exercise a little compassion in our business practices? I feel certain at the very least, our businesses will get the attention it deserves, something we are all vying very hard for. When you realize I am you and you are me, then you accept without hesitation, that compassion for others is needed in life just as you want it for yourself. Compassion for every thing that is living, not just humans is key to our world surviving and continuing without humanity perishing and certainly to building flourishing businesses.

The whole is always greater than the sum of the parts.

In business branding let compassion be coupled with wisdom, so that when we set out to help with the myriad of causes out there, we are able not to get caught up in help that puts us in a reactive mode. Let us take time and think things through so we can be in active mode. The whole is always greater than the sum of the parts it is said, and I wholeheartedly to agree.

Caroll Atkins
Caroll Atkins Creatives

5 Tips For Amazing Logos

- Caroll Atkins Leave a comment

5 Tips For Amazing Logos

“The first impression is the most lasting impression”, this is bible for a brand’s logo.

When it comes to having one of the most memorable, bad-ass, brand building logos out there, I have 5 tips you must follow. Yes, there are rules to having the most engaging logo that people remember and lead them to checking out your brand. Your logo is part of your brand’s promise. It sets the tone for your business and delivers an expectation to potential clients. Why take a chance to mess up this first impression? You know what they say, “the first impression is the most lasting impression”.

  1. Keep it simple! First of all, no one wants to spend time trying to figure out what all the cutesy, sentimental chackis in your logo is or means. They don’t care! And if they don’t care, you better care. In today’s communication world, the smart phone is king, second is tablets. What this means is your available space to show off your logo and foster brand visibility is smaller and more limited. Simple, flat designs are the most preferred styles because they address this issue. This will be the case for many years to come.
  2. Unforgettable and memorable. In today’s market the demand for a consumer’s attention is simply put, vicious. A typical person viewing your brand online will only spend about 2-3 seconds, so you must make sure your logo is compelling and attractive if you want to create engagement.
  3. So Fresh, so clean. Are you a fan of the phrase “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”? Well in the logo game, it is really not. What it is, is really this phrase “been there seen that”. This is one time that you do not want to remind the consumer of another brand especially if that brand is in a business much like yours.
  4. Be timeless, but modern. Do not confuse trendy for modern. Modern tends to be less stylized. It only captures relevant characteristics of the times and does not become bogged down by over stylizing with too many details.
  5. Keep the balance. One of the things that points out a poorly designed logo from a professional one is the balance and proportions that is used to create it. Even a logo as simple as the Twitter logo is filled with balance and proportions. This is especially useful in logos that utilize both text and graphics. Paying careful attention that these elements work together seamlessly and gives visual balance to the eye, is a critical element to the success of your logo design.

While there are many more elements one can add regarding proper logo creation, for the purpose of a brief article, I chose these 5. Many times when I see logos that miss the mark, these are the elements that have been ignored. A logo is a beautiful thing, but mostly it is a very important investment one has made for their business. Make sure it is also the wisest.

Caroll Atkins
Caroll Atkins Creatives

 

5 Amazing Ways To Make Your Brand Stand Out

- Caroll Atkins Leave a comment

 

Have you heard of a USP? Do you have one? The power of a good USP (unique selling proposition) is priceless. Think of Nike and their “Just Do It” or McDonald’s and “I’m Loving it”, they are reaping the rewards and benefits of a solid USP that speaks directly to their customers emotions and of course they have the solution. In my article “Are you building a brand or making one up” I spoke of how branding is a process of many features, and one of those features is definitely a USP.

Spend time exploring things about your product or service that is original to you. Call it your special sauce if you will.

  1. The first thing to consider in your business is, what are my offerings. Basically, what is in it for your customers. Your product must solve a need or offer a clear and defined service to your chosen demographic. In addition, find the differentiation in your product and your competitor’s product. Promote this!
  2. Today’s customer especially millennials, purchase products and services based on an emotional quotient. They want to know the products and services they use are in some way or another beneficial, safe, responsible even ethical in addition to being reliable and of good value. Your product or service must fill several of those needs.
  3. How original are you? Spend time exploring things about your product or service that is original to you. Call it your special sauce if you will. If you offer the same product or service as your competitor, you should find ways to differentiate. It could be better service, increased benefits or features, whatever it may be, promote it!
  4. Have you heard of the elevator speech? Well start thinking of the “company one liners”. Create as many short phrases about your company as you possibly can. Whether it is to sell the business, service, people, customer, etc., create them so at any and every opportunity you can promote your business and let everyone know how passionate you are about your business and what it can do for them. Try to resonate with their emotional senses, show them you can fill their product or service needs.
  5. When all is said and done, every customer simply wants to know, “what is in it for me?” This is your chance to go directly to the point of your product or service’s benefits. Bottom line it for them. Visa tells the public, “We are everywhere you want to be”, it lets potential customers know that it’s use is global and so they will not have a problem having their card accepted at any and all merchants. What I am trying to say is, potential customers want to know that you can solve their issue or at the very least you can inform them of a potential issue that you already have a solution for.

When you are trying to stand out, think  very carefully about your brand and what it has to offer. Think about your competitors what are they offering? How are you different? How can you be different? That’s the message you have to get out, every single chance and in every single way and promote this!

Caroll Atkins
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