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Psychology-Driven Brand Design. Creating and Refining Remarkable Brand Identities.
- Brand Identity
Branding Services
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The satisfaction of accomplishment or achievement. The pride of overcoming an obstacle or challenge. The excitement of winning or receiving a prize. Or just the euphoria of scoring big with dumb luck. One thing that ties all these together? Gamification. And it can be the best thing that ever happened to your marketing.
The terms branding and marketing are sometimes used interchangeably. This is understandable — they are inextricably tied together — but they’re not the same thing. Here’s why that matters, and how to know which one you need.
Is your archetype “chosen” or is it “revealed”? Yes and yes. Hmm. Well…if you can pick your own archetype, how do you go about doing that? Your brand archetype impacts everything about your business. Here’s how to choose wisely.
Another variation of the question is “Can/Should/How do we introduce new product offerings if they don’t align with our current brand archetype?”
Many times, when we talk about brand, we focus on the experience of your customers in relation to their interactions with you. But brand is also critical internally. The culture of your organization has everything to do with how your brand is perceived externally, so it’s important for it to be well established.
The year is 1950. Scarcely a kitchen in America is immune from the allure of Betty. Fast forward nearly seventy years, and Betty Crocker is still a staple in U.S. homes. What can we learn from this iconic brand?
No, I’m not referring to the singing competition with the ever-delightful Simon Cowell. Good news: you don’t need to be able to sing or perform in order for your brand to have an x-factor. Do you know what yours is?
As we make our way through the ABC’s of marketing and design terminology, you wouldn’t naturally assume that “joy” would be on that list. But it is, for two reasons, and let me tell you what they are.
Have you ever been to a magic show?It’s pretty captivating, right? The conclusion of every magic trick is that special moment — the prestige, the climax of the trick — that leaves you mesmerized with delight and amazement at What. Just. Happened?! As a brand, you want to do the same thing. No, not deceive people with smoke and mirrors, but delight your audience. How do you do that? By capitalizing on the little moments.
As you’re developing your brand, one of the first questions you’ll need to answer is,”Who am I doing this for?” Defining and reaching your target audience will be your main challenges. If you think you need to target every Tom, Dick, and Harriet in the world, then you may be in for a rude awakening.
Are you a company that suffers from brand schizophrenia? While “branding” can be daunting, there is one tool that EVERY business of any size can use to put their best foot forward. Are you using it?
With 7 billion people in the world, it can be a daunting task to stand out from the crowd. While we like to think we are unique, so does everyone else…right? No less apparent in the business world, it can be difficult to differentiate between similar businesses. So, what makes one bug exterminator, or plumber, or dentist different from all the others in your city? What distinguishes your branding from your competitors?
A while back, I watched a video entitled Top 5 Small Business Branding Mistakes. It was a great overview, particularly for startups or microbusinesses. Here’s a quick recap of common branding mistakes.
“Well those are too close to Redskins colors, soo….let’s go with this one instead.” This was a comment a client (apparently not a Redskins fan) made after I had presented some color options for his new logo design.
