Branding Consistency – Who Needs It?

It is the culmination of hard work, ideas, trial, error and experimentation to see what works best for you and your business, but more importantly, the audience you are reaching out to.

Your brand is not just your logo. It is like a feeling and experience created by everything from the visual aspects which you see, down to the psychology of what you may feel or think about it. The brand is the essence of your business and this takes time to ‘build’.

But does ‘branding’ always need to be consistent? There are several reasons why consistent branding can contribute to growth and success.

A Design and a Vision

The way that you ‘design’ the visual for your brand is critical. Its certainly a very important factor, but by no means the defining one. Branding will go way beyond the design of a logo mark or identity.

The logo identity, selected colour palette, the typography, spacing and treatment, the image selection all contribute to the ‘visual’ presence of a brand. What people will see and remember, when they think of it.

“Design is the silent ambassador of your brand.” – Paul Rand

Who are the users? What do they do? What is important to them? Having an understanding of this can help to shape the messaging around the users and better meet their needs.

Good branding decisions will help to define a business and the way that it is perceived in the minds of the audience. Defining the look, the feel, the personality are all crucial and form the foundation for today’s ever-evolving business models.

Why Branding Matters

But why does it matter? What makes it so critical? Why should you care?

Branding is a way to build trust and clarity. We all aim to please our clients so that we can gain trust and develop a better connection with them. Once this has been done, it can put the customer at ease with it.

Branding can also be aligned with marketing efforts and touch points that are used to connect with an audience. Think about marketing channels through print and online. Websites, social media, signage and more.

As you move forward, it’s important to note that any misalignment across messaging, design or marketing efforts could confuse an audience. With the limited time available these days, keeping things simple is often a safer bet. Less is more.

You may even choose to ‘mix it up’, which can work, as long as it doesn’t confuse or lose an audience along the way.

“Brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or organisation.” – Marty Neumeier

Big Businesses Boom

We can look at the consistent branding efforts of well-established and well-known companies such as McDonald’s, Apple and Nike who, over time are now able to connect through building consistency across their messaging and the visual style they have all developed. They are all able to create that feeling when reaching out to their audiences.

With the constant change in technology, the landscape can change in an instant. Brands need to be agile enough to ensure they are able to adapt and pivot to stay current.

Being able to inspire trust and loyalty with audiences is not an easy task and it takes time. A brand needs to be relevant and meet audiences needs and ever-changing demands. Being focused and taking note of what’s going on locally, nationally and even internationally is vital so that your brand can remain current and importantly, relevant.

Audiences want to feel a sense of belonging and feel comfortable with a brand when they interact with it. Implementing a consistent branding approach can help in establishing a firm footing in the minds of an audience.