As fast as brands emerge, they disappear just as quickly. With market disruptions and choice overload for consumers, what do the successful brands have in common? To survive and thrive, we believe brands must focus their narrative by answering a few fundamental questions. [Read more…] about 5 Questions to Ask Before Branding
In order to continually create value for your company and protect the strength of your brand, you need commitment to consistency.
A Brand Standards Manual achieves this by creating specific rules for using the elements of the brand, such as your logo, colours, typography, fonts, language and design grids. This comprehensive manual is to be given to anyone who uses your brand.
Having this set of rules leads to all collateral and brand touch-points looking, reading and overall feeling the same; and the more consistent and persistent you are, the more people begin to recognize and remember you.
If you’re struggling to maintain your brand’s look and feel, please drop us a note and we would be happy to provide an estimate for a brand standards manual! zestybrands.ca/contact
Dive deep into the heart of any successful brand and you’ll find one crucial element: a zest factor.
Think about why your brand matters. At our Vancouver branding agency, we take our clients through a unique process to discover what makes them the only. This “onliness” is what we call the zest factor Your zest factor is the heartbeat of your company—the thing that sets you apart from the others, and highlights the heart and soul of your brand.
When you’re bringing your business to market, it’s tempting to try and stand for everything and be everything to everyone. Unfortunately, though when you attempt to be everything to everyone, you end up appealing to no-one. Look at your competitors and ask yourself why customers should switch to you: The unique way your service might be superior. Your pricing structure might be unlike anyone else. Or perhaps you are offering something on an emotional level that appeals to your audience, such as ethically sourced materials.
Ask yourself what zest factor your competitors have. Learn as much as possible about them, from their advertising, social media, websites, and product/service descriptions, to the tone of voice they speak.
If you can’t say why your brand is both different and compelling in a few words, than you likely don’t have a killer idea, and there is no magic way to rise to the top—you’ll need to fix your company or product.
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Let’s chat about launching your new brand—drop us an email!
Branding is an opportunity to connect with the right audience in an unforgettable way, but without an understanding of the branding process, your business will be lost and your money will be wasted.
Here are four questions to get you thinking about brand strategy. Our Vancouver branding agency is passionate about working with you to build a brand infused with intelligence, meaning and imagination. We’re excited to help ambitious companies, so if that’s you then get in touch!
Your passion which motivates stakeholders forward—a common purpose beyond profitability.
A brand needs to resonate on a deep emotional level with its audience. Understanding who they are and connecting with them authentically will be what drives sales and loyalty.
Carving out a defendable and distinct position and personality is how you will make a notable impact.
If your strategy stops short at a logo, then your efforts are vain, meaningless and disconnected.
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Let’s chat about launching your new brand—drop us an email!
A value proposition is a clear statement of the results that the customer can expect to receive from your product or service. Because your marketing initiatives are organized around this value proposition, it’s critical to get it right.
A big idea around the brand is more important than a big idea behind your marketing. Without a value proposition, even the most creative and well-targeted advertising won’t increase brand’s value.
The job of branding and package design is to reflect those values back to the customer. When it comes to adventure brands, we want the products to look and feel exciting and capable. Wellness brands should ooze a healthy and wholesome vibe. Luxury brands need to convey a sophisticated language and personality and their packaging should be high quality.
Many of the trends we will see this year are largely based on the buying power of Millennials. They’re influencing how brands respond to consumers shifting values. Consumers in the 18-34 age bracket are demanding higher standards of design and a consideration on environment and sustainability.
Brand these days need to be more honest and authentic than ever before. The traditional power dynamic where the brand has more power than the consumer is long gone. The Millennials are so well-connected that they know if a product is inferior, the service bad or if the brand is not being authentic. In today’s market, consumers can find an alternative almost instantly or publicly criticize a brand, using social media.
Consumers want a story. They want to know “why” you’re selling your product or service, not “what” you’re selling. Recent research supports the importance of good brand stories, finding that a brand, its zest-factor and even its font style and color scheme were accurately recalled in the context of an original story.
Retail spaces are becoming brand experience spaces. How you behave is as important as what you say and smart brands will reinvent their spaces for people to connect and interact with the brand in person, versus just online through social media and web.
The process of getting your idea to the shelves of major retailers can feel overwhelming. And once you’re there, success not only requires a viable idea but an alluring brand, scaleable business model and healthy supply chain.
Understandably, we all want the instant product success and the brand recognition of companies such as Herschel, Burt’s Bees and Air BnB. But what does it take for a brand to truly break through in today’s crowded market?
It starts with planning. First, you need to define the purpose and value proposition of your product—at our Vancouver branding agency we ask: What’s your zest-factor? Second, you need to focus on storytelling rather than on selling a product.
It takes more than a great product to pitch the retail buyer. You need to know what you do and why; it’s also important to define what you don’t do.
For your product to stand out, you must have a purpose. And you’ll need to really think deeper on this—it’s a nice sentiment to try and make the world a better place, but ultimately that’s just a vague comment that doesn’t capture attention. Instead, look at your target customers and decide how your products will enhance their lives and solve a problem for them.
Stories are the best way to distinguish yourself from the other brands. Why?Because people always remember a good story. If your brand is going to succeed, it has to become something more than your products. You need to tell stories that touches the hearts of your customers.
Great stories have several key ingredients, here are a few to consider:
Theme
Something important the story tries to tell us. A theme ties the character’s (customers) concerns and passions and it will keep your brand on-point with every decision and communication.
Example: Toms shoes, improving lives.
Plot
A conflict or struggle that the main character (customer) goes through and the sequence of events inside a story. Conflict translates naturally to storytelling in products. People use your product to solve a specific problem or to get a specific job done. What will their experience be from purchase to usage and beyond?
Example: Endy Mattress. By offering home delivery in a compact box, the company takes the stress away from the mattress-buying process and even makes it enjoyable in its un-boxing.
Setting
A place and time that gives a vivid mental picture of the world your characters are in, as such, when you can create a setting that your product lives, it gives people a feeling of stepping into a whole new world with your brand.
Example: Is your brand about; the natural environment, a fun atmosphere, on an adventure in the backcountry, a luxurious evening etc? Once you define this, you can enhance and embellish.
Style and Tone
The language that feels right for your story. A brand’s tone of voice should be distinctive, recognizable and unique. It’s job is to communicate effectively with the customer.
This is one of the first questions I ask my clients. Yet so many times I hear “Everyone. My target is whoever wants to buy my product”.
Knowing your demographic is essential so that we can understand purchase habits, what other brands appeal to them and with whom you might be competing with for their attention on the shelves. Knowing your target market allows us to establish a brand personality and design language that speaks to them.
Research your ideal retailers and list the type of products that they offer. Look for gaps where your product fits and where there are no competing products. Or if there are competing products see where your direct competition sells and how their product is positioned. Are there advertisements, point of purchase displays, or end-caps dedicated to your competitor’s product or brand? If the answer is yes, you might have a harder time out-marketing them, but, does your product offer a different value proposition or go after a different niche?
Obviously you need to do your homework on ingredient/material costs, the cost of your co-packaging or manufacturing costs, any broker or distributor fees, as well as any packaging, design, engineering and freight costs. Beyond that, you need to look at how the brand relates to the price. If you have an $8 box of crackers that will sell at Whole Foods, it should look and feel like an $8 box of crackers in order to appeal to the customers you’d like to target.
A smaller budget and lower retail price doesn’t mean your packaging can’t be well-designed and on-brand—but it’s very important to look you want to achieve with a specific project budget. If your product is purposefully economical, it shouldn’t look like a luxury brand—there would be a disconnect with the customer.
If your product isn’t selling, it won’t be reordered. It’s as simple as that. You need to make sure your product is top of the list for a purchase order. This means understanding their needs and how you can help make their life easier.
Make your best effort to keep stores informed and educated about your product. This means in-store demos, providing helpful marketing materials and even producing in-store displays or coolers that assist with telling your story for you.
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For more help with launching a product, drop us an email!
Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room, it’s your reputation. Personal branding means taking an active role in the direction of your life and it will highlight to others what you’ve got to offer. A personal brand put simply is: a neatly packaged set of values, character traits and capabilities that make you unique.
Personal branding is becoming increasingly important because of the intrinsic relationship between our personal and professional lives. Your reputation, both online and offline has become more impactful than your resume, and personal branding is advantageous for those who want to rise above the rest.
Personal branding not only relates to your professional life, it’s incredibly helpful for increasing focus with regards to personal development, decision-making and overall life satisfaction. The relationship between life success and personal branding, when understood, can truly launch you to new heights; in that when you have a compelling personal brand, people will be more likely to connect with you because they find you interesting, desirable and they understand clearly how you can help them. You’ll become a forerunner in the minds of corporate leaders and a magnetic prospect for like-minded friends and relationships.
Building a unique brand around yourself as an individual is not unlike building a brand for a company. In fact, it’s nearly identical.
Your personal brand is less about your look, and more about finding your authentic voice. It’s about digging deep to uncover why you do what you do and the many attributes that make you unique. You can’t fake your personal brand, at least in the long-term. People these days have a pretty high bullshit meter, so in order to be successful you have to get authentic.
Part of personal branding is identifying your personal style—and that responds to a variety of factors, including your goals, your profession, your skills, your interests, your culture, your life experiences and the quirks of your personality. To pin down your personal brand, you must be clear on who you are and what you bring to the table; it’s the the strengths that others acknowledge in you and things that have always been true about you. You’ll need to resist the temptation to put on a style or adopt a style unlike your natural one, you need to intensify the one you already possess.
Personal branding fuses your business and personal life; because your business and your life are naturally intertwined!
Like most of us, you initially pursue a career so you can afford to live, but this brings up the critical question: What do you want your life to be like? What is the life that will lead to fulfillment? Although you may ignore these questions for a while, eventually you’ll find your work/life balance is out of whack, and those questions cannot be ignored.
It’s all too common for people wake up and find themselves knee-deep in a life without purpose or passion. When you develop a personal brand, it becomes the torch for finding your way in career, love and life. You’ll increase self-love, your purpose will become clear, and how you can be of service to others will be revealed to you.
When you choose to develop a succinct personal brand, you’ll not only be providing clarity to others, you’ll have clarity for yourself. You’ll have more energy and focus because you understand why you’re doing what you’re doing, what you bring to the table and where you’re headed. You’ll rise above your career competition because you’re consistent in your delivery and you take steps to put yourself out there, get noticed and you have courage and conviction to keep going, learning and growing—you create a virtuous cycle.
Being authentic means being able to be your true self, with honesty, openness and transparency. It’s about having the courage to define your own version of what it is to live a successful life and it’s key to experiencing happiness and meaning.
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Check out my personal brand over at zestylife.ca
If you’re a startup or small brand looking to breakout, you’ve gotta think about micro-specialization. What do your customers need and how can you narrow your offering down to something you can become known for. If your brand were a cyclist, would you only fight for the yellow jersey when you have the opportunity to change gears and competently grab the polka dot?
This is a question potential customers think about when making purchase decisions. Imagine for example, you crashed your bike and you need surgery on your left shoulder. Are you going to head to the nearest surgeon, or would you rather visit the one who specializes in left-shoulder surgeries?
By concentrating on a niche, you can stand out amongst the competition, give your prospects the confidence to listen to your pitch and seriously consider your offering. Eventually they’ll decide to purchase from you instead of the more generally-focused competitors. The expertise your brand offers makes it the first and often only stop for your customers.
Let’s take a look at the boutique bike brand Franco for example. This sleek and elegant roadbike brand based in SoCal is one I hadn’t heard of until recently, and it begs the question, how can a boutique brand imagine competing against the big brands like Specialized and Giant?
Nevertheless, Franco is gaining traction and popularity. Franco’s strategy? A hyper-focus on customer service. Franco pride’s itself on making no compromises when it comes to personal service, tailored builds and top notch performance. When you order a Franco, everything is custom. Each bike is built from the ground up according to each customer’s specific requests regarding all components, from custom colour to drivetrain, saddle, stem and handlebars.
So rather than buy a bike off the shelf and drop an additional wad of cash on upgrades, with Franco you get the bike exactly the way you want it, out of the box. Plus they’ve dialed their consumer-direct business model so you are knocking out the middle man to save you some moola for maintenance and cafe’ stops.
By narrowing your focus on a niche, you can get you closer to your customers. From this closer vantage point, your brand can become indispensable and a pacesetter for a specific offering.
When your brand can offer a unique product or service to a niche audience, you have the benefit of setting prices to increase profitability. The price reflects the exclusivity of the offering, and there’s no argument because you’re in a position to be sought after for your expertise.
Look for low hanging fruit. What do your customers want that other companies don’t currently offer? Are there common services or products you can put a creative spin on? Some examples could be:
Many small business owners I meet think they need a “logo” for their business and very few understand the nitty gritty of what a brand is, why it’s important and that their financial investment is wasted if they’ve only thought as far as logo.
Branding and healthy business go hand in hand, but for most small business owners it’s hard to implement successfully because they just don’t see how developing a brand can apply to a small business such as a physiotherapist, cafe or veterinary clinic.
Your company name, the way you answer the phone, the clarity and consistency in communication, the vibe in your office or shop, what your customers are saying about you; all of these things create an impression of your company and what it’s like to do business with you—that’s your brand.
The process of branding formalizes how you conduct and present yourself and your business on a day to day basis and it involves creating a set of standards for decision making and communication. The creation of graphics are certainly part of this process, but they have a purpose, which is to signal the reputation you wish to convey.
A logo in its basic form is a distinctive typeface or graphic style used to represent a brand name.
Think if your logo like a suit or outfit you wear. Its purpose is to support your personality, values, character and all of the things that can’t readily be touched or seen. It draws people in to learn more…but as we know, unless there’s more behind a mans good looks, most ladies will keep on walking.
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For more info on how Zesty Brands can help your small business, drop us a note
In an era where brands are increasingly pressured into short-term thinking, careless reactions to trends, features frenzy and non-existent visions, it’s worth considering how mindfulness can help brands filter out the noise and create space for what matters.
Mindfulness encourages more intentional and purposeful action in our personal lives, but it goes for business too. From brand development to design and deciding how and when your brand will communicate, mindfulness can be applied to every area of business. Taking a zen approach to branding offers a space to breathe—to evaluate what’s in front of you and make conscious decisions.
Elegance and simplicity, two of the hardest attributes to accomplish are key to achieving a Zenful brand.
Sometimes catching the best wave is not what makes you successful, it’s what you do on the wave you’re riding that makes the difference.
You can frantically paddle into whatever comes your way, but it’s a waste of energy and resources. To really get the epic payoff you’ve gotta play to your strengths with strategy, patience and poise.
At our Vancouver branding studio we teach brands how to maintain rhythm and purpose, observe the landscape and immerse themselves in the culture, before deciding to drop in.
In today’s crowded market, it’s hard to find ways to stand out from the rest. Although temping to follow other brands into their wave, the world doesn’t need more of the same. If you don’t stand out, you’ll end up drowning in the sea of me-too brands.
Branding is about learning to keep your focus in a state of flux. The proverbial waters of consumerism are unpredictable and changing at all times and in order to rise to the top you must stay true to your vision.
The best brands are simple in both idea and look and they cut through the clutter by delivering a simple and consistent message. When the message is simple, it’s easy for people to understand, share and relate. Achieving simplicity is not easy, but brands who learn to harness its power will find their business just, flows.
Branding deals with the fundamental, not the superficial and it focuses on the root problem, not the symptoms. By understanding and defining the core of your brand, we can bring you closer to your customers and further apart from the competition.
Branding is an effort to reach deep inside your audience and evoke feelings about your company. To do this, you start exploring the center of your company with Why then you move outward through the How and you end up on the outside with What.
Great brands understand risk often leads to reward. Brands who are brave enough to take the wave less traveled, choose a tactic no brand has taken before and develop a purpose that is wholly their own, will have a more competitive presence, a stronger organization and seriously radical brand.
