Branding is more than just a creative splash of color. It's about the emotional impact you make on potential consumers. That first impression can say a lot about a company, its values and what it does. A well crafted slogan, logo, name, culture and message reveal your company's personality. MADD Media knows how important it is to turn unintended branding impacts into assets. After all, branding is a visible, if not tangible, extension of your company.
1. Be Clear
Ever get handed a business card that makes you go, huh? Sure, catchy names and modern graphics look cool, but does your name, logo and slogan instantly tell your story by providing insights into what you do and the products or services you offer? If you have to explain your identity, it's time to rethink your image.
2. Customers Always Come First
A pet peeve of mine is when we're part of a new logo design where the owners will consider the thoughts of every family member, employee and possibly a friend with time to kill and a truck load of opinions yet routinely leave their potential customers out of the process. Most times, the logo, slogan and company name are thought of by the entrepreneur long before having their first customer. If you like soft pastels with swirly fonts and are selling your legal services to a group wanting a junk yard dog to represent them in court, you're sending the wrong message. Your brand will not resonate with you target audience. Define your customer, then create your brand to attract that customer. Are you Prius or Tesla? Walmart or Target?
3. Why You?
So your business sells something, but why are you selling it? Sure, we all want to make money, but that's not going to motivate consumers to buy your brand. Ask yourself: Why should they want to buy my brand? Start by building a foundation of who and why you are selling what you sell and work up from there.
4. Create A Liquid Experience
The most important part of branding today is creating a liquid experience. The days of repeating the same slogans across all platforms are long gone. A liquid experience is a cohesive branding strategy but also one that takes into consideration the user and audience in an intimate way. Branding is no longer a stamp and repeat campaign. Adjust and flow to the vibe of each tribe you target by speaking their language as if it were your own. Always remain creative and approachable across all traditional and social media platforms..
5. MADD Media ROI Principle
We follow the ROI principle: relevant, original and impactful. If our brand strategy and brand development work achieves these standards, the client will make a desirable first impression in the marketplace. We take time to make sure our clients are aligned with these ROI standards and encourage them to test our work with their past, current and "want to have" customers. Social media is a great platform to test ideas before taking them to the next level.
6. Pass The Radio Test
This is a no-brainer. You want to make sure your company's name is something most people can spell easily the moment they hear it. If they can't, then you risk missing out on opportunities from consumers who couldn't find you after (mis)typing your name. If I hear your company name on the radio, I should be able to find you right away.