Brand Identity: Leveraging Who You Are
Design has been and always will be the cornerstone of what we do. With over a decade of experience, we have come to our own definition of design, which reflects how our values and the work we do intersect:
Design is a human-centered approach to creative problem solving.
We are driven by eliciting emotion through brand communication, and we understand design requires both empathy and a true understanding of the target audience’s problem. The Brand Identity process is the fusion of empathy and execution of voice and visual assets that are designed to emotionally connect with your audience and call them to action.
What Brand Identity Is
Brand Identity development is establishing who you exist for and developing a brand personality built to speak to your target audience. And we’re not just talking about trendy graphics and creative language. Brand Identity is the most tangible manifestation of your brand’s essence – your Brand Heart.
Often, business owners will connect with us for a particular component of Brand Identity: the look and feel, a logo, etc. And while that’s a good start, your brand’s identity is so much more.
You will often hear us reference the three-legged stool of Brand Identity: positioning, visuals, and voice. Without all three of these pieces, your brand will likely be lost in the noise that surrounds us today. And your Brand Identity (the stool) will likely collapse.
Why Brand Identity Matters
Think of some of the most well-established brands: Apple, Nike, Patagonia, Netflix. All of these brands elicit a feeling from the consumer. By understanding their audiences’ problem, these brands are able to marry their purpose with their solution for their audiences.
They leverage the essence of their brand through their identity. This not only results in a brand experience that is authentic and resonates with their target audiences, but when done well, they create a shared identity with their audiences.
Some key terms surrounding Brand Identity include:
Awareness: This is the extent to which customers can recall or recognize your brand. It’s the first phase of the buyer’s journey and is central to decision-making. In the Brand Identity process, we create a brand personality that is consistently used across mediums so consumers can quickly identify your brand, resulting in stronger brand awareness.
Consumption: In today’s world, external audiences are not the only consumers of your brand. Employees, your internal audience, are also consuming the brand. We identify both your external and internal audiences in the Brand Identity process. The external consumer’s exchange is centered around a financial transaction of some sort, and the internal consumer’s exchange is centered around time.
Obsession: This is when a consumer moves from satisfaction to advocacy, ultimately becoming a champion of the brand. When you create a shared identity with your target audiences, you build a foundation that retains your brand champions through changes, growth, and pivots, creating a long-lasting obsession.
Your Brand Identity is the first and lasting impression a person will associate with your brand.
Who Brand Identity Is For
Brand identity is for all businesses. To keep it simple, you really cannot introduce a business idea without an identity. Even when you’re beta testing a market, brand identity assets are essential to present your idea.
Your Brand Identity will cover:
What motivations and challenges does my consumer experience and how does my product solve that pain point?
Does this audience support the viability of my business?
What makes my product unique in the marketplace?
What will drive consumers to spend their dollars or time with me?
What does my brand look like?
What does my brand sound like?
What does my brand feel like?
While your Brand Identity is built to resonate with your current market, it is also something that we want to be malleable and evolve over time.
If you are within one of these three phases of your company, we’d recommend identity work:
Beta testing
Full market launch
A company rebrand (worth investing in every 5-10 years)
We echo the Red Antler philosophy of “brand early, not often” – meaning invest now and save later.
How We Do Brand Identity
Brand Identity is only as strong as the foundational work of Brand Heart. Understanding the essence of your brand brings clarity to your everyday decisions. Through this clarity, you can navigate problem-solving in ways that are on-brand. Meaning, in alignment with the heart of your organization.
The second step in our branding process is all about leveraging who you are.
Brand Identity has two components:
Positioning - the place your brand sits in your consumers’ mind
Personality - your voice and visuals
Positioning
Positioning answers: We do WHAT for WHOM.
While this sounds like an easy formula, there are multiple components that get us to, what we call, your 10 second summary. This includes:
Audience Identification
Belief Statement
Point Of Difference (POD)
Audience Journey
Positioning is the first leg of your Brand Identity three-legged stool.
Personality
Personality includes both visuals and voice because they work hand-in-hand to create the bridge between your brand essence and your audiences.
Visuals are the silent ambassador of a brand. They are often the first touchpoint of the consumer experience and set an expectation for the brand experience.
Voice personifies your brand. Through this personification, your audience begins to connect with your brand. Consistent use of brand voice across multiple applications is essential for brand awareness.
Your personality development entails multiple steps, each building on the next:
Direction
Concepts
Transformation
Standards
Brand Personality solidifies your three-legged stool.
Beyond Brand Identity
With the identity of your brand established, you can move confidently into the following phases of the brand development process.
Brand Heart: discovering who you are ✔
Brand Identity: leveraging who you are ✔
Brand Culture: expanding who you are
Brand Experience: sharing who you are
Are you ready to leverage your brand to its fullest potential?
