What is brand?

Brand in its simplest for is your reputation. And most importantly, it is your reputation as it is perceived in the mind of the market – our prospects, customers, competition and the community. Brands are comprised of verbal and visual elements – name, messaging, logo and identity – that are created from business strategies.

A lot of people think their brand is only their logo. While a very visible and recognizable element of your brand, it is only one part of the complete picture. By starting with the verbal elements, we ensure that your visual elements deliver the right message.

What does it cost to build a strong brand?

It depends where you are in your business and what type of business you have. Small businesses are going to invest less while large, established companies will spend more due to the size and complexity of the business. Small companies can make adjustments and take risks with their brands because they are less visible. Large companies must take into consideration the amount of brand equity and reputation they have before they make adjustments to the brand where research is much more critical.

In terms of budgeting dollars, traditional estimates range from 7-10% of gross annual revenues. You can also think of brand as your most valuable employee - able to be everywhere at once. How much would that kind of employee be worth?

I don't a have lot of money where can I start?

The single most important part of a brand is its verbal elements - name and messaging.

We recommend businesses invest in messaging before they invest in the visuals. Too many people rush straight to logos and identity, because they seem easy to create. But if a picture is worth a thousand words, what words do your visual elements communicate? With a strong foundation in messaging, you get a clear understanding of what you do, how you do it, and why people should care. And with passion, you can sell a prospect without any business card, brochure, or website. We have seen our clients do it and we do it ourselves everyday.

What is the difference between a branding firm and graphic design or advertising agencies that say they do branding?

Developing the brand requires an ability to accurately transform a business strategy into a workable foundation. This requires a different skill set and process than the communication of the brand through marketing and advertising.

To help you better understand the relationship between these types of firms, we can equate building a brand to building a house. Branding firms can be thought of as the architect for your brand, outlining the blueprint for everyone to work from. Marketing departments or firms are the general contractors that create the plan to ensure all the pieces are coordinated. Advertising agencies, graphic designers and other specialty vendors are the sub-contractors with the expertise to work on the specific projects that together create the finished product. You wouldn't call on the plumber to plan the design of the whole house for you - so maybe you should think twice about calling on an advertising agency to develop your brand.

What is the ROI (Return On Investment) of branding?

We hear this question a lot, and unfortunately not everyone likes the answer. It is nearly impossible to calculate the ROI on branding into a quantitative number. There are many factors that affect the outcome, but it is most important to understand that branding is not an expense for your business - it is an investment in your business. Just like exercise for your body, it's a long-term commitment to the overall health and well being of your business. The more you exercise, the healthier you will be - but it's hard to calculate the benefits of one aerobics class in the grand scheme of things.

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