Many people, not all of course, start a business or launch a new product or service with a logo and little else. Maybe they’ll have a website. They’ll probably have social accounts. Without brand they’re missing opportunities. Because people flock to brands like flies-round-shit.

Why?

Brands believe in themselves.
Brands differentiate themselves.
Brands focus on their strengths.
Brands communicate with intention.
Brands speak clearly.

So, WTF is a ‘brand?’

Whether yours is a product, service, or event, your brand is built from your who, your what, and your why?

YOU

Who you are?
What you are?
Who for?
Why?

THEM

Who’s your audience/customer/client?
What’s their problem?
What’s your solution?

WHO are your competitors?

What do they do well?
What do you do BETTER?

WHAT is your WHY? The reason, aside from profit, that you do the thing you do.

Today the most successful brands exist for reasons way beyond profit, so if you’re only in it to make a fast buck. You’re missing the point. Not to mention a whole lot of good vibes for your brand, which in turn generates more business. Win, win.

Positioning

And no, I’m not talking about ‘missionary’ or ‘doggy-style.’ Positioning is the important stuff that gives your brand real stand-out.

Your mission. Summing you up.

Your mission statement is a simple action-oriented statement that explains your purpose. The reason you exist. It sums up what your brand does for its customers, team, and owners, including general descriptions of your company, its core function, and its goals.

Your culture. What you’re all about.

In a nutshell, company culture is how you do what you do. Whether you’re aware of it or not, your behaviour and your values create an experience for your customers and your team. And it’s up to you to make that experience a positive one.

Your brand values. What you stand for.

At best your brand should have a set of values that you live by. Beliefs that you stand for. These values are communicated inside and out by the actions of your team and your brand voice, which I’ll come to later…

The Benefits

HOW does your product or service benefit the user? How does it solve their problem/s?
WHY does it benefit them?
WHAT is it? This is where we describe the key benefits that come from your offering.

Your USP

A company with no USP is like a spare prick at an orgy. It’s just not gonna get any action.

I bang on to all my clients about USP, because without a real difference, your brand will be indifferent. Your USP should be the big gun in your arsenal. It’s your differentiator. The deal-clincher.

Your unique selling point, or proposition, is EXACTLY what it says on the tin.

Unique What is UNIQUE about your product or service?
Selling WHY should people buy it?
Point The important bit. It’s a ‘point.’ It’s short, sweet and to the ‘point’.

What it isn’t

It isn’t a strapline
It isn’t a statement
It isn’t a company overview or introduction
It isn’t a list of everything you do!

It’s a point.

Think about it like a little bullet point. If you had to sum up your company’s ‘difference’ in a single bullet point, what would it say?

There are quite literally LOADS of other companies / individuals / groups doing what you do, or selling the thing you are selling, unless you’re a really clever bugger and you’ve created something brand new?

So, what makes YOU different? This doesn’t have to ‘sum up’ your whole business. It's your difference.

I don’t care if you're selling socks, sandals, or sex toys. Whatever you’re selling needs differentiation from your many competitors.

And let’s be honest, the afore-mentioned are great examples, because if you were selling any of these you’d be up against some stiff competition! Pardon the pun!

And if you’re in a market with a ton of competitors, which let’s face it, most of us are? Rather than trying to sum up all your ‘differences’, if you truly believe you have more than one? Focus instead on a single difference.

Only then can we get to the creative bit:

Your Visual Identity

Logo – A logo that works consistently across absolutely everything without compromise.

Digital, print, and physical presence. It’s instantly recognisable. Every time you see it.

Brand Architecture – How your visual identity is put together.

Your visual identity, with supporting graphics, colour palette, fonts and typography, visual and photographic styling.

Your Verbal Identity

Brand Voice – What your brand sounds like.

A tone of voice that sounds like you! Not some monosyllabic yawn-worthy bullshit.

Your strapline – Less is more.

Your strapline summarises what your brand stands for, in as few words as possible. If you want some really great examples of a strapline, think of Nike, Tesco, Apple…Two to three words that say it all are way more effective than a bloody great sentence that says nothing. And no strapline at all is better than a shit one.

So, when it comes to launching your brand it’s the sum of all these parts that will set you up for success.