A cohesive brand identity is essential
A strong brand identity is not just a nice to have in today’s competitive market—it’s essential.
Companies with a cohesive, consistent brand identity are more likely to build trust, foster loyalty, and stand out in the ocean of brands.
Imagine McDonald’s opening a new restaurant with a blue circle out front instead of the golden arches. It would be offputting, wouldn’t it? We’re so familiar with the trademark M that the store’s integrity would be questioned.
Or if Nike’s billboard decides to tell us we can skip that training session if we don’t really feel like it. It might be a welcomed excuse, but without the motivational boost we know and love, is it even a Nike advert at all?
This is why consistency in branding is so important.
It’s so crucial that when orange juice brand Tropicana attempted to redesign their well-known juice carton, the drastic change led to a huge 20% decrease in sales. The new design was simply too different, customers failed to notice it on the shelves.
But when it comes to brand positioning, how can you make sure that yours is ticking the right boxes?
In this article, we’ll explore the fundamentals. Plus we’ll offer actionable tips for building an identity that resonates with your audience and brings in the sales.
What’s the difference between brand identity and brand image?
At its core, the identity of a brand is the collection of every element that represents a company. That includes its logo, color palettes, imagery or photography style, tone of voice, typography. But also the deeper stuff, like brand mission, brand values and brand purpose.
A brand identity is how you plan to make someone feel when they interact with you as a company. Every aspect must feel like the brand. Because when it doesn’t, things can go wrong–customers can go elsewhere.
Brand image, however, is the perception of your brand in the eyes of the consumer. It’s built up by every touchpoint they’ve experienced from your brand, every conversation with friends, or interaction in some way that’s led to their decision on what your brand is like.
You cannot control your brand image, but you can control how your brand is perceived–and a cohesive, consistent identity means a higher chance of a positive, respected image.
The components of brand identity, broken down
Logo and visual elements:
This includes your logo, colors, typography, and imagery. These elements should be consistent across all platforms and materials. You can, on occasion, bring in new fonts or colors for specific campaigns or products, but the core set must always remain constant.
Brand voice and messaging:
This is how your brand communicates with its audience. It includes the tone, style, and language used in all forms of communication from newsletters to social media posts, and even how in-store clerks speak with customers, or customer service responds to a complaint.
Brand values and mission:
These are the principles and goals that guide your company. They should be clear and communicated both internally and externally. All visual and messaging communications should support the mission and values.
Customer experience and touch points:
Every interaction a customer has with your brand, from your website and social media to customer service to stepping into a store or office, contributes to your brand presence.
The importance of a cohesive brand identity
There are many pros to a consistent and effective identity. Here are 3 tips for creative managers and brand builders to consider:
- Consistency across channels is paramount
Consistency (you’ll hear this word a lot) is the number one ally in building a brand that’s easily recognizable and trusted. When your brand elements are consistent across all marketing and communication channels, it creates a unified experience for your audience. This consistency helps reinforce your brand message, making it more memorable–you could have the most beautiful logo in the world but if it doesn’t show up everywhere, it’ll be forgotten. - Build trust and recognition
A cohesive brand builds trust with your audience. And what’s a business without a loyal audience? When people see a brand that’s consistent in its messaging and visuals, they are more likely to trust it. Over time, this translates into customer loyalty and advocacy. - Differentiate yourself
Consumers are bombarded with choices, but a strong brand essence helps differentiate your company from competitors. It highlights what makes you unique and why customers should choose you over others, which is often the deciding factor for consumers when deciding whether or not to buy.
How to build a cohesive brand identity in 5 steps
1. Define your core values and mission
A strong identity starts with a strong foundation: a vision, clear values and a mission statement. These elements guide your company’s decisions and actions.
Not sure where to start?
- Identify your core values
Reflect on what your company stands for. What principles guide your actions? What do you believe in? Or if that’s tough, what do you stand against? These values should be authentic to your company and resonate with your audience. - Create a mission statement
Your mission statement should clearly articulate your company’s purpose and goals. Keep it concise and inspiring.
- Communicate internally and externally
Ensure that everyone in your organization is aligned with your values and mission. Communicate these elements consistently in all your marketing materials and customer interactions.
2. Create comprehensive brand guidelines
Brand guidelines are essential for maintaining consistency. They provide a clear framework for how your brand should be represented across all platforms.
Here’s what should be included:
- Visual elements – your logo, color palette, typography, and imagery
- Brand voice – tone, style, and language to be used
- Usage rules – guidelines for how brand elements should be used in different contexts, including digital, print, and social media
- Templates, style guides, and design systems – templates for common materials (e.g., business cards, email signatures) and a design system for digital platforms
3. Invest in quality design
High-quality design plays a significant role in building a strong identity for your brand. Of course, sleek design makes you look the part, but it also enhances your credibility.
As a creative manager, you’ll want to collaborate with experienced designers who understand your brand, provide clear briefs, and regularly review and approve (or re-direct) designs to keep things sharp.
If you don’t have the right team in-house, outsourcing to a remote team of highly skilled designers like Design Force can be a strategic move.
4. Educate your team
Ensuring the brand guidelines do their job means keeping all team members educated on what’s expected of them. All internal documentation needs to be recorded (project management tools like Asana, ClickUp or cloud software like Google Drive can be useful here) and communication should be constant.
5. Regularly review and update your brand’s identity
It’s important to note that an identity, personality, or presence, is not static; it should evolve with your company and the market.
Regular reviews allow your brand to remain relevant and coherent. so consider regularly evaluating your visual elements through feedback and research. This doesn’t mean changing the look and feel completely, however–consistency, remember?–but small tweaks can make a big difference if something’s not landing with the audience.
How to avoid the common pitfalls of brand design
All this may seem straightforward, but it’s worth noting some of the common mistakes brands make so that you can do your best to avoid them.
Inconsistency
Of course, inconsistency is one of the biggest offenders. Avoid it by:
- Using your brand guidelines and sharing them with anyone–internal or external–that creates collateral for your brand
- Regularly reviewing for small tweaks and improvements
Lack of clear guidelines
Not just the brand guide itself, (although essential) guidelines cover all communication with designers, writers, and creatives on your team. Without clear guidance, things can veer off course easily. Keep an eagle eye on the end goal to keep everyone in line, and clearly communicate how guidelines should be used.
Ignoring feedback
If your target audience is telling you (via social media comments, reviews, word of mouth etc.) that something isn’t sitting well with them, it’s okay to make changes to your identity. You don’t want to become out of touch with your audience, so take their thoughts seriously. With any changes, your brand mission, values and vision must remain front and center.
A consistent and effective identity for your brand takes time
Building a cohesive brand is an ongoing process that requires attention to detail, consistency, and a commitment to quality. By defining your brand’s core values and mission, and sticking to your comprehensive brand guidelines, you can create a brand that resonates with your audience time and time again.
If you need support in maintaining brand consistency, Design Force offers on-demand, high-quality design production services. Our team is here to help creative professionals deliver outstanding assets for all your marketing needs, whether it’s social media, ad campaigns, or landing pages. Explore our services to see how we can help bring your visual brand identity to life.