Branding. It affects our perception in the mind of our customer. That makes it pretty big deal. But how is it carried out? What is it exactly that effects their perception? That is what this post will begin to discuss.
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If branding is how our customer views our company, then the root of what affects our branding must be a brand. But what exactly is a brand? Brands consist of many things, but first and foremost, they consist of a visual identity.
Visual Identity
In our modern world, a brand is primarily a visual identity. A visual identity most certainly includes a logo, but it also includes other visual aspects of your brand. How this looks depends on the company and your product or service.
According to JCI Marketing, a visual identity includes anything visual that a company puts forth. This includes everything from a logo to fonts, photos, illustrations, colors, and anything else visual your company produces.
“Your visual identity is part of your branding that communicates the overall message, values, and promise of your brand through anything that is visual.”
Because of this, a company’s target market – the consumers to whom your product or service is aimed – must be considered when determining a visual identity.
To give an example, Seventeen magazine is not marketed towards middle-aged women or moms with young children. Seventeen’s target market is teenage girls. Its coloring, styling, photos, and visual identity reflect that. A vastly different brand but similar product is GQ magazine. The visual identity for GQ is totally different because the target market is totally different. The colors, style, and fonts reflect that GQ is geared towards men and emphasizes men’s fashion, style, and grooming.
Brand Voice
Another aspect of branding is a brand voice. A brand voice is the “personality” of your brand indicated in its consistent expression through writing styles and word choice.
On the cover of and in Seventeen you see headlines and word choice reflecting the brand voice. The headlines advertise articles such as “Pretty Looks For You!” or “Party Hair.” On GQ you may find headlines such as “Killer in the Cockpit” or “The Best Dressed Men in the World.” These headlines are vastly different because each magazine is directed toward entirely different sets of people—with words that those people will resonate with.
Visual Identity and Brand Voice are two elements that make up a brand and influence a company’s branding. And knowing your target audience must be a determining factor when deciding on a company’s brand.
Target audience must be a determining factor when deciding on a company’s brand.
Stay tuned to learn more about who branding effects, how it affects them, how it works, and how to effectively brand. Don’t miss any of the upcoming blogs by signing up below.
