What's your brand? Part 1

The most obvious part of your brand is it’s visual representation. In many cases this is the combination of a logo, business colours, and a promotional tag line which is readily identified and recognised.

Good visual branding should reinforce your business identity, and is one of the foundation stones of your overall marketing. It gives the first critical message about your business and helps to reinforce who you are, and what you do, to your target audience.

When supported by outstanding customer service or product quality, your branding becomes an identifier of this same level of quality and value adds to your other promotions or advertising.

When developing  branding for a new business, or new branding for an existing business,  a marketing company will consider issues such as:

· Business name
· Nature of the business
· Psychology of the colours to be used
· Competitors branding (ensuring or reinforcing point of difference)
· Application of the branding  (e.g. signage, letterhead, advertisements)

Good branding doesn’t need to cost the earth. To be effective it simply needs to be clear, unique, and engaging to your market.

While your brand doesn’t make your business, it can certainly be a simple and effective tool to identify and reinforce it.

“This article was written by Tracy-Madonna Wylie, Business Manager, Nutbirdz Strategic Marketing, and printed in the My Marketing Companion column of the Fraser Coast Chronicle in 2008.”