Developing the Brand You Want [+ Need]

What: Brand Identity, Visuals, Messaging & Guidelines

When: 6-12+ months pre-launch

Here's where the majority of the work happens. Far before you launch your business, invest time and resource into developing your full Brand Identity including messaging, guidelines and visuals.

Pro Tip: *always* opt for a brand workshop. Yes, it means dedicating 1-2 days on the outset, but will ultimately mean stakeholders are on the same page, and it'll give all of leadership a chance to vocalise their views - plus identify any gaps in how you collectively want to position your business.

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What: Product Brand Messaging

When: 3-6 months pre-product launch

Here's where your overarching brand and your products need to align. It isn't *strictly* necessary but will give you and your teams a clear direction for sales, marketing, comms, PR. All the juicy stuff.

Pro Tip: work off market research and indicative control groups. Direct insights from key demographics will help you create more accurate product branding - not to mention a go-to-market strategy that delivers.

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What: Brand Review

When: every 6-12 months

Here's where most businesses miss a beat. Reviewing your brand (especially your messaging) means looking critically at accuracy, relevancy, and market positioning, and assessing whether you need to revise.

Pro Tip: a brand refresh can be as minimal or extensive as you see fit - but skipping them altogether is the big mistake. Acquisitions or mergers, new products or services, regional expansions or any other major operational change could mean you're due a review and refresh.

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What: Leadership Brand & Personal Brand

When: year round

Here's where your company can really stand out. Investing in leadership branding means you're putting a human face to your wider business model, increasing relatibility, buy-in, and external and internal engagement.

Pro Tip: work with a consultant to flesh out a strong strategy. Personal branding should include thought leadership comms, PR, and some in-person marketing events too. Word to the wise: don't forget the media training.

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That's all, folks...

We said it was a quick guide.

Branding is one of the most critical ongoing investments you can make for your business, wherever you are in your growth trajectory. From that initial outlay, your brand's key goal is to provide consistent and instantly recognisable visibility in an otherwise noisy market.

And it happens to be some of our favourite work.

If you want to talk about a few of our brand projects - and your own goals - drop us a line.