Branding is the Personality of a Company
Branding is the Personality of a Company
A company’s brand is their public-facing identity, a curated collection of words, colors, shapes, fonts, and images that when put together are meant to stick in the minds of consumers. When most people are asked to think of a brand, they immediately picture logos of their favorite companies. A company logo is certainly a major part of its brand, but there’s a lot more that goes into it than what you might think.
On a given day, a typical consumer is presented with thousands of brands to choose from. Just go to the grocery store and walk down any aisle and you will see an assortment of various colors and designs on labels that are meant to tell you something about that product or company in an instant. Many will reach for that box of cereal because they are loyal to that brand, they have been eating that same cereal since they were a child. Others will reach for a product they’ve never purchased before, pick it up and scan the label for more information about that product or brand and decide whether to buy it or not.
How a company chooses to brand itself is a crucial decision because that brand must distinguish that company or product from the thousands of others on the shelf. It should communicate a lot of information about itself in a matter of seconds and compete with other brands for your attention – and your money.
That’s why a lot of research goes into building a successful brand. Each part of a company’s brand, from the color and font used in a logo to how a company talks about itself on social media, is all purposefully crafted to make consumers behave a certain way. Brands can make someone feel nostalgic when they recognize a product from their childhood, they can make someone feel powerful, they can also be inspirational.
Who should use branding?
Every business should be thinking about how they want consumers to think and feel about their brand. Successful brands are developed with a target audience in mind - a law firm’s brand is going to have a distinctive look and feel vs. a toy manufacturer because the companies’ products are meant for different consumers. A parent is going to feel differently about giving money to a law firm than they are buying a toy for their child. At the same time, that parent wants to feel confident about buying that service or product in each case.
Why is branding so important?
That’s why it’s so important that companies are thinking about their brand with every publicly facing piece of marketing and communication. If a company neglects its brand, if the brand is not reinforced with advertising, then consumers will lose confidence in that company or product and the likelihood of that purchaser being loyal to the brand drastically decreases. A brand is the personality of a company, something unique that allows people to connect to the company in a personal way.