Developing a brand is a critical endeavour that demands both investment and time, and it should rank high on the priority list for any company from its inception. If executed effectively, branding can significantly influence your success.
However, according to Digitrio, the overall effectiveness of your branding endeavours largely hinges on your strategies, resources, and the individuals you rely on to manage them.
Some firms, particularly startups, opt to manage their branding strategies internally, while others, like DMT, prefer to engage branding agencies to handle their branding initiatives. Collaborating with a creative agency enables them to concentrate more on other vital functions such as product development, sales, and administration.
If you’re unsure about whether you should seek the help of a branding agency, we’ve created this guide to help you understand all you need to know about why hiring a branding agency is beneficial and how to choose the right one for your requirements. Let’s start!
1: Logo Design
A logo acts as a symbol representing a company, brand, or organization, instantly connecting consumers to its identity. It plays a vital role in improving brand recognition and distinguishing the business from competitors. Integrating the brand’s unique colors into the logo design can greatly increase brand recognition by up to 80%.
The logo needs to successfully communicate the brand’s values and personality to its target audience. Hiring a branding agency for logo design guarantees teamwork among experienced professionals in graphic design, and branding to create a visually appealing and powerful symbol that fits the brand’s overall strategy.
2: Creating a Brand Identity
Brand identity comprises all the visual components representing your brand, like logos, colours, typography, and imagery.
It’s essentially the personality and presentation style of your brand—how you showcase your business to the public.
A strong and unique brand identity assists in customer recognition, promoting uniformity and professionalism through your marketing materials while fostering trust with your audience.
An authentic brand identity, mirroring your values, target audience, and distinctive characteristics, is vital, as 88% of customers prefer brands that are unique and original.
Partnering with a branding agency ensures that professionals proficient in design and branding will create a visually appealing and cohesive brand identity that resonates with your audience, distinguishes you from competitors, and aligns with your business objectives.
3: Developing Brand Strategy
All your design elements, visuals, and marketing/advertising materials should establish and convey the desired image while reinforcing your fundamental values.
If you possess various creative components like a tagline, product packaging, and logo, but they fail to align with the overarching brand strategy, it’s crucial to make adjustments.
Consider Harley Davidson as an example. Every aspect of its brand, including slogans, taglines, and logos, contributes to its rugged and freedom-loving brand identity.
4: Proper Brand Messaging
Branding agencies assist in refining key brand messages, including the phrases or words commonly used in advertising and marketing campaigns to characterize your brand.
There are four main sets of key messages that can be initially developed with the guidance of branding experts:
Brand positioning statement: This statement highlights what distinguishes your brand and underscores your core values. It’s primarily created for internal use to ensure employee alignment. For instance, Nike’s brand positioning statement emphasizes providing athletes with high-quality, fashionable athletic wear made of premium materials.
Brand mission and vision: The brand mission outlines your daily aspirations, while the vision depicts your ideal future. For instance, Starbucks’ mission is to inspire and nurture the human spirit, while its vision is to be the leading provider of high-quality coffee worldwide.
Brand tagline: This brief statement captures the essence of your brand. It should be concise, powerful, and unforgettable, inspired by your brand positioning statement.
Brand descriptors: These are employed in advertisements, company website “about” sections, and other marketing materials to convey your identity, the advantages you provide, and the audience you cater to.
5: Offer a Brand Style Guide
Branding agencies utilise customer insights and market research to establish guidelines for the usage of colours, logos, and visuals, compiling them into a concise four-to-five-page brand style guide. It serves as the definitive reference for your company’s design and brand specifications.
Drawing from their expertise and considering factors such as market share, industry dynamics, and the preferences of your target audience, the team of branding experts tailors the guidelines to suit your needs. Implementing these guidelines ensures consistency and authenticity across your content, designs, and other marketing and sales communications.
Bonus: Market Research
Some branding agencies focus on market research as part of their specialisation. They possess a wealth of their own research data to provide initial consulting to your business regarding your strengths and areas for improvement.
Additionally, you can engage them to conduct new research, utilising methods such as interviews or focus groups, to inform various aspects of your brand.
They have access to surveys for conducting customer research, allowing them to gauge potential clients’ perceptions of your product or service. The insights gathered from customer surveys can guide adjustments and enhancements to your messaging strategies
