People talk about their brand strategy and the elements that make up your strategy document, their brand identity and all of the great looking visuals elements, and their brand rollout and marketing.

But never their brand concept.

Which is weird, because without a concept or idea behind your brand, you’re pretty much pissing in the wind.

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It’s a funny one. You have to have your brand concept identified before you even start working on your brand strategy.

Think of building a house. If your brand strategy is your foundation, and your brand identity is the house itself, then your brand concept is the plot of land you’re building on.

You can’t dig the foundation without the plot. You can’t create the strategy without the concept.

Ready to identify your plot? Let’s dive into developing a compelling brand concept.

What is a Brand Concept?

A brand concept is the idea upon which your business and brand are built.

It’s the plot in which you dig the foundations for the house. It’s the starting point. It’s the overarching idea behind your brand.

Your brand concept is ever present. It acts as a guiding principle for all brand-related activities and communications.

A brand concept is a general idea and the feelings and emotions a brand evokes in the minds of consumers. Marty Neumeier, The Brand Gap

Here are some famous brands and their brand concepts. From these you can see what emotion or feeling they’re trying to communicate with to their audience:

• Apple: Simplicity, innovation, and user-centric design.
• Slack: Streamlined communication and collaboration for modern teams.
• Disney: Magic, imagination, and timeless storytelling.
• LinkedIn: Professional networking and talent solutions for businesses.
• McDonalds: Quick, consistent, and affordable comfort food.

Notice with a brand concept, it’s not a marketing message.

Apple never say they’re simple and focused on innovation and user-centric design. But it bleeds through into everything they do.

Their products are simple, innovative, and they’re focused on giving users the best experience possible.

McDonalds don’t talk about their quick and consistent approach to food. They don’t talk about affordability directly, but they did introduce a Saver Menu.

This is exactly why having a compelling brand concept is critical.

For example:

If all McDonalds spoke about in the marketing was high quality gourmet burgers, introducing a Saver Menu would go against their brand concept.

Your brand concept is an easy-to-understand idea of exactly what your brand is all about.

Why Your Brand Concept Matters: Recognition, Credibility, and Beating the Competition

Your brand concept is the starting point for 3 big wins every brand should be chasing:

• Be different
• Be consistent
• Be memorable

Here’s why these matter and how a solid brand concept sets you up for success:

Being Different Helps You to Get Recognised

A solid brand concept makes you the one brand people remember in a crowded market. The easier it is for folks to pick you out of a lineup, the more customers will come to know, like, and trust you.

Standing out from the crowd helps build brand recognition.

Being Consistent Helps You to Earn Trust

When people can see that you know your stuff, they’re way more likely to trust you. And if your brand’s vision aligns with your customers’, that’s the start of a winning relationship.

A consistent approach to your brand helps to build that trust.

Being Memorable Helps You to Beat the Competition

A killer brand concept is your secret sauce. It’s what makes you you, and what keeps customers coming back for more instead of checking out other companies.

Data shows that strong brand concepts lead to higher customer loyalty and better sales numbers.

By making an impression, you’re giving potential customers something to remember when they’re making their buying decision.

Now, you might be nodding along thinking, “Sure, makes sense,” but this isn’t just talk. Your brand concept isn’t just more mystical marketing bullshit.

Your brand concept will carry through your entire brand building exercise and beyond, giving you a guiding light to make decisions against, and other people a way to quickly understand you.

Understanding Your Target Audience

In branding, your target audience is always important. It comes up in everything you read about the subject.

Here’s why:

• Audience-First Approach: Understanding who you are trying to reach helps you to craft a brand concept that will resonate with them.
• Precision: By knowing your audience, you can adapt your brand concept to specific needs, desires, and pain points, making your brand more relevant and compelling.
• Testing and Validation: You can also test your initial brand concept ideas with your target audience to see if they resonate before you fully commit.
• Evolution: A brand concept isn’t set in stone. It can evolve as your understanding of your audience deepens, or as the audience itself changes.

However, in some cases, a brand might be built around a strong concept or mission first, with the audience identified later.

This is an exception though, not the norm. The risk of things happening this way round is that the brand concept may not resonate with an audience as effectively as it could have.

Seth Godin says:

The more clearly you understand your audience, the more powerful your brand concept will be.

When one of the most renowned figures in the world of marketing suggests you go audience first, you go audience first.

The Customer Persona Worksheet

We’ve covered creating customer personas and their importance over a million times on the Canny blog.

The easiest way to do it is to read our post about defining your target audience, then download the Customer Persona Worksheet.

To get this information, you can use a mix of:

• Surveys and Questionnaires: Google Forms, SurveyMonkey or similar.
• Analytics: Data from your own website and social media accounts, Hotjar, VWO etc.
• Customer Reviews and Feedback: First hand interviews with your existing customers.
• Competitor Analysis: Use a tool like SEMRush or AHREFs to review your competitors.
• Crowdsourcing Platforms: See what people are talking about related to your industry or product. What questions are they asking? What problems do they have?

By employing some of these tools and techniques, you can gain a quick yet effective understanding of your audience, enabling you to craft a brand concept that really hits the mark.

Remember though:

It’s your “ideal” customer persona. Not the everyone and everything customer persona.

Not everyone you’re connected with or following you will be your audience. Only try to survey existing or potential customers.

That way, your document will be more effective and give you something inspirational to create your brand concept around.

How to Develop a Compelling Brand Concept

With your audience persona in hand, let’s look at developing your own brand concept.

Start With Clarity

Before diving into thinking about your brand concept, have a clear understanding of what a brand concept is.

Remember, it’s not a marketing message you’re creating, but an overarching idea behind your brand. It’s the emotion, feeling, and general idea your brand evokes in the minds of consumers.

Review Your Audience Persona

Revisit the audience persona you’ve crafted. Understand their needs, desires, and pain points. Your brand concept should align with these to help formulate a brand that people will come to know, like, and trust.

Brainstorming Session

Dedicate a session for brainstorming. Surround yourself with the right people. You want your big picture, diverse thinkers in the room. Jot down words, emotions, and ideas that you want your brand to evoke.

Draft a Brand Story

Storytelling is integral. What story does your brand tell? Is it one of innovation? Sustainability? Reliability? Draft a brand story that can support and be supported by your brand concept.

Distill and Simplify

From your brainstorming and brand story creation, pick out recurring themes and ideas. Try to distil these down into a concise and compelling brand concept.

Framework Creation

Build a decision-making framework. Define the macro (overall direction, big picture) and micro (day-to-day decisions, specific initiatives) aspects of your brand and see how your concept fits or guides both.

Test the Concept then Iterate

Before finalising it, test your brand concept. This can be through surveys, focus groups, or even informal discussions.

The goal is to see if it resonates with your target audience. Based on feedback, refine and iterate on your concept.

Document Everything

Ensure your brand concept and all its nuances are well-documented. This will be a reference point for all future brand-related activities.

Implementation

Begin to weave your brand concept into everything your company does, from marketing and product design to customer service and communications.

Review and Revise

As with all things in branding and marketing, periodic reviews are essential. As your company grows and the market changes, your brand concept may need tweaking.

Brand Concept Examples: Using Your Brand Concept in the Real World

With your brand concept ready, let’s look at how you utilise it to create a brand strategy, visual identity, and strategic initiatives.

Apple: How Your Brand Concept Impacts Your Brand Strategy

Your brand concept serves as the cornerstone for your brand strategy.

It’s the central idea that you want to convey, while your brand strategy is the overarching plan on how to communicate and reinforce that concept to your audience.

For example:

Let’s look at Apple. Their brand concept revolves around simplicity, innovation, and user-centric design. This concept translates into their strategy:

• Product Design: Apple products, from the iPhone to the MacBook, embody simplicity in their design and interface.
• Innovation: Regular product releases, with features often ahead of the curve, demonstrate their commitment to innovation.
• User Experience: The ecosystem, with integrated services like iCloud, Apple Music, and the App Store, offers a seamless experience to users. Their in-store experience is just as frictionless.

Slack: How Your Brand Concept Impacts Your Brand Identity

Your brand identity (or corporate identity) is the visual embodiment of the brand’s concept. It consists of elements such as your logo design, colour palette, typography, and imagery. A cohesive brand identity is crucial as it’s often the first thing your audience will engage with.

For example:

Consider Slack, which prides itself on “Streamlined communication and collaboration for modern teams.” Breaking down their logo and identity:

• Colourful: Their bright, playful, colour palette and hashtag logo design convey the idea of connectedness, communication, and ease.
• Rounded: It’s rounded, and smooth, reflecting their concept of streamlined.
• Connected: It’s connected and intertwined, referencing collaboration for teams of different people.

Disney: How Your Brand Concept Impacts Your Strategic and Marketing Initiatives

Your brand concept should become instrumental in shaping strategic marketing initiatives, ensuring campaigns, content, and communications are consistent and aligned with the brand’s core idea.

For example:

Disney’s brand concept of “Magic, imagination, and timeless storytelling” comes alive in all their marketing initiatives:

• Film Trailers: Each trailer, regardless of whether it’s for an animated film or a Star Wars instalment, emphasises the magic and wonder synonymous with Disney.
• Theme Parks: Every aspect, from the layout to the smallest interactive elements, is designed to immerse visitors in a world of imagination.
• Merchandise: Their product lines tell stories, whether it’s a princess dress that makes a small child feel like royalty or a toy that continues the narrative of a beloved character.

Your brand concept is the land on which your brand is built.

It directly influences business strategy, brand identity, and marketing initiatives, ensuring a cohesive and consistent brand experience at every touchpoint.

Understanding and leveraging your brand concept is key to long-term success and building awareness and resonance with your audience.

FAQs about Brand Concept

The Enduring Impact of a Strong Brand Concept

In a sea of branding buzzwords, the humble “brand concept” stands out as one of the most undervalued, yet foundational components. To truly build a brand with depth and staying power, one cannot merely slap on a logo, craft a catchy tagline, or deploy a brilliant marketing campaign.

At the heart of it all, the brand concept is the bedrock – the plot of land upon which your brand stands.

The biggest brands in the world, from Apple to McDonalds, each have clear and distinct brand concepts that shine through every element of their business, driving decisions, informing strategy, shaping perceptions, and helping them make key branding decisions.

A compelling brand concept is a necessity. It provides clarity amidst the noise, direction amidst the chaos, and forms the core DNA of your brand’s very existence.

As you set out on this pivotal branding journey, remember the home-building analogy: prioritise the plot (concept) before laying down the foundation (strategy).

By doing so, you anchor your brand with a solid concept that will guide you when moving forward.

Yet any business owner or founder knows the importance of perfecting their branding when it comes to attracting new customers – especially when there are so many pizza brands for people to choose from.

To get started, you need to think about what part of your pizzeria that you want to focus on, as these key elements will serve as the focal points in your pizza branding.

Perhaps, you want to steer into your authentic origins and heritage, or maybe the creative flavours you use in each slice? Whatever the focus, this can lead the visual direction and it also sets you apart from others.

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For those of you looking for some pizza branding inspo, then take a read of this blog.

Whether you’re starting your own pizzeria, or you’re just interested in having a look at some examples (and who doesn’t like photos of pizza), you’ll find some useful information.

From well-known, global pizza giants such as Papa Johns, to some lesser-known brands such as Aleo Pizza Point, we’ve covered all bases.

Let’s tuck in.

Credit to Design Week

The Mean Tomato

When it comes to brand mascots, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Featuring quite literally ‘a mean tomato’ who can be seen looking very mischievous and stealing slices of pizza, this brand mascot adds a touch of humour and personality.

The vibrant colour red also contrasts effectively against the otherwise plain, white pizza box, making the mean tomato immediately visible on the product packaging.

This sense of humour is carried across all brand touchpoints – it’s not just the pizza boxes – as the email confirmation once you’ve made your order reads ‘Thanks for your dough’ whilst crossing out the word ‘order’.

It’s simple but adds something different and makes this pizza branding feel more playful. It;s a great way to make the company stand out from others, and the use of a brand mascot makes the pizza branding instantly recognisable.

Credit to Behance

Aleo Pizza Point

This pizza branding showcases how small design changes can actually be clever.

Aleo Pizza Point, located in Italy, uses a triangle and square to replace two letters on their name – the ‘A’ and the ‘O’.

These changes don’t take away the meaning and it’s still obvious what the brand name is, yet they’re a clever way of incorporating the two possible shapes of pizza – a triangle and a square, creating synergy between the two.

These shapes are also in the colours of the Italian flag (red and green), again creating a connection between the origins of the product, the brand itself, and the visual identity.

This is carried across all touchpoints including the menu and posters to create a consistent message. Also as the designs aren’t too extravagant, they’re easily transferable to different platforms increasing brand exposure.

Another thing to highlight on this pizza branding is the alignment of the stacked words. It’s captivating and creates a good sense of balance between the text and the shapes, resulting in a neat but playful emblem.

Dominos Pizza

Now one you’ve all heard! Unless you leave under a pizza-deprived stone.

Domino’s pizza is the largest pizza chain in the world, with 20,000 restaurants worldwide.

You can’t help but recognise the domino pizza branding, with its iconic blue and red colour palette and of course, a domino’s icon.

But why is this pizza branding so successful?

Aside from the visual identity which is striking and has stood the test of time, a big part of their success is their marketing efforts. They always seem to have deals on, whether it’s ‘two for Tuesdays’ or a discount code to lure customers in.

And really,who can say no to that?

They also do different dining options, such as pizzas, cookies, and a big bottle of coca cola for £20. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve come downstairs to a leaflet through the door, but hey, it’s cheaper pizza so I’m not complaining.

Pizza Hut

The Pizza hut brand is known by just about everyone in the world, pizza lover or not.

The iconic red hat that sits above the type is immediately recognisable and is synonymous with the Pizza Hut brand. It’s a simple yet effective design that’s easy to identify, even from a distance.

The use of the roof shape also emphasises the idea of a welcoming place to enjoy a meal, inviting people into the restaurant.

Another reason why this pizza branding is such a success is the fact that it has maintained a consistent visual identity over the years. Consistency helps build brand recognition and trust among consumers, and whether you visit a Pizza Hut in one location or another, you can generally expect the same experience.

They’ve also created some well-known catchy slogans and taglines in their time including:

• “Gather ’round the good stuff.”
• “No one outpizzas the Hut.”
• “Make it great.”
• “Now you’re eating!”
• “We’re taking pizza to new heights.”

Do any of these ring a bell?! Or were you too busy indulging in pizza to take any notice?

Chicago Town

Chicago town pizza. The ultimate microwave pizza.

When it comes to this pizza branding, you can almost taste the packaging. Featuring large photos of the different pizzas, whether that’s stuffed crust with cheese literally oozing from the sides, or meaty pepperoni, the visuals are always appetising.

If anyone can resist grabbing a slice of pizza after this, then hats off to you.

The name “Chicago Town” also creates an association with Chicago-style deep-dish pizzas, known for their thick crusts and hearty toppings, which is exactly what you get from this pizza brand.

This invokes a sense of authenticity and a unique pizza experience, despite the whole culinary process consisting of you taking it out of a box, and putting it in the microwave!

The logo also plays into the ‘Chicago’ theme, often featuring elements that reference the cityscape, reinforcing the brand’s connection to the city.

Playing on the “Chicago” theme is clever as it taps into the American pizza culture, which has a global appeal. This can help the brand feel more relatable and familiar to a wide range of consumers, perhaps one of the main reasons why this pizza brand is so popular!

Coupled with this is the use of a rich, deep clour palette featuring shades such as red, black, and gold, which oddly, evoke a premium and indulgent feel even though these pizzas are positioned as a quick, and relatively affordable, option.

Still, the indulgent aspect is one we definitely agree on!

Papa Johns

Papa John’s pizza is often charactertised by its classic tagline ‘Better ingredients, better pizza’ which has been used to promote the pizza brand since 1996.

Whilst simplistic in nature, this tagline is easy to remember and has stuck in the minds of customers since it was established. It also gets to the point and suggests superior ingredients for customers looking for something a little more high-end.

What’s particularly nice about Papa John’s is the inclusion of their founder, John Schannter, who used to appear in the logo. It creates a personal connection between the brand and its founder as John Schanner was in fact, Papa John.

He was the smiling, mustached man who appeared on the pizza boxes which immediately made the branding iconic.

This further helps build a compelling brand narrative as he was a big part of the brand’s early success, literally putting himself onto the product packaging. His image became synonymous with the brand, and customers always like a real-life success story!

Although a little cliche, the main brand colours (red and green) also tie into the colours of the Italian flag, immediately signifying that you’re about to enjoy a slice of italian cuisine.

Little Caesars

Little Caesars Pizza has achieved remarkable success in branding thanks to its focus on affordability and value.

The “Hot-N-Ready” concept, allowing customers to instantly purchase ready-made pizzas without waiting, showcases Little Caesars’ commitment to convenience and affordability. It’s especially appealing to families seeking budget-friendly dining options. Importantly, even with such great value, Little Caesars ensures every pizza is made with fresh, high-quality ingredients, achieving a harmonious blend of affordability and superb taste.

This makes it an appealing choice particular for families who might be looking for something at the cheaper end of the scale.

When it comes to visuals, this pizza branding is refreshingly simple, with an easily recognisable logo featuring iconic Roman-style pizza-loving characters known as ‘Little Caser’. These playful characters have been an iconic part of the visual identity for many years, and they’re often shown holding a pizza box in one hand and giving a thumbs-up gesture with the other.

His friendly appearance is designed to create a warm and inviting brand image, whilst also nodding to ancient Roman culture, which is often associated with pizza due to the historical roots of pizza in Italy.

The theme of simplicity extends to the menu, which prioritises a limited selection of pizzas and side items, reducing complexity for customers and employees.

The “Pizza! Pizza!” slogan has also become synonymous with the brand, reinforcing the value idea of two pizzas for the price of one. This consistency, combined with creative marketing campaigns, and menu innovations like “Crazy Bread” (freshly baked breadsticks that are sprinkled with garlic and parmesan – yum), has solidified Little Caesars’ as a successful name in the pizza industry.

Stoned Pizza

Next up on our list of pizza branding inspo, is Stoned Pizza, a restaurant located in Stone Mountain, Georgia.

As you can probably guess, the name of their branding is first and foremost, a nod to where they’re based i.e. Stone Mountain.

Aside from this, it also points to the ‘stone baked’ element of their delicious pizzas which adds a real sense of authenticity and flavour.

Keeping with this theme, the illustrations consist mainly of doodles which also play into the traditional, authentic feel of the brand. It’s not polished or perfected, but instead, focus on a quirky hand drawn aesthetic.

When it comes to their logo, they exhibit humour and personality by incorporating a simple, smiling sketched character into the pizza emblem. This sense of playfulness is carried through to their restaurant interior where the walls are covered with bright colous and cartoon characters who can be seen munching on a pizza slice.

The typeface is also something to note as it almost looks like it’s been rolled out like dough. This creates synergy between the visual identity and the product offering, and even though the logo is flat, it sort of softens the harsher, more angular elements.

Pizza Uno

Pizza Uno is a popular choice among pizza enthusiasts, but it’s not just pizza that’s on offer.

I know this blog is dedicated to pizza branding but stay with me, as Uno’s also serve up pasta dishes, salads, and other Italian-American classics, making it a popular choice for families and groups.

The visual identity for this brand is designed to reflect its rich history and commitment to delivering an authentic pizza experience, with red and green serving as the primary colours.

The logo is also quite fun and playful featuring the words ‘pizza uno’ inside of a pizza with a slice lifted out. It indicates that someone just couldn’t wait to tuck in, whilst also drawing a clear connection between the visual asset and their product offering.

Pulling back this slice also creates a good sense of balance in the logo as there are a lot of different elements going on. The typography is worth mentioning as this is quite chunky and stodgy which could signpost the ‘full’ feeling you experience after indulging in one of the pizzas.

The accompanying tagline below the logo is also quite humorous and reads ‘the uno place for great taste!’. Not only does this play on the word ‘uno’ to replace ‘the only’, but it also has a nice rhyme to it.

This makes it catchy and easy to remember, helping this pizza brand stick in the mind of pizza lovers.

Blaze Pizza

With a name like ‘blaze’, you’re expecting flaming, stone-baked pizza, that’s hot off the press without having to stand there and wait.

Coupled with this brand name, is a flame icon encased inside of a white circle which represents the giant pizza ovens they’re cooked in. This immediately signifies the ‘blaze’ aspect and creates a visual connection between the logo and the product offering.

It is quite simple, and perhaps a flame icon is a little too obvious, but it works.

The logo is also wrapped in an orange box, which is a visual cue towards the delicious stone baked aesthetic of dough when it is ready to eat.

The typography is all capitalised which demands your attention and makes the logo stand out more. This bold-ness ties in quite well with the flame icon, to create a strong brand that demands attention as you don’t want to miss out on enjoying a slice of this pizza.

These visual elements are carried through to the website and restaurant interiors, creating consistency across all brand touchpoints.

Credit to Marcos Pizza

Marco’s Pizza

Established in 1978 by Italian-born Pasquale Giammarco, Marco’s Pizza has earned its reputation for crafting top-tier pizzas featuring homemade dough, a trio of fresh signature cheeses, and premium toppings.

Since its beginnings as a beloved Ohio restaurant, the brand has expanded, boasting an impressive presence of over 1,000 outlets across 34 states.

Marco’s Pizza distinguishes itself in branding through its heavy use of imagery and video, featured in both its marketing materials and their website. This lets the visuals do the talking, particularly when showcasing their irresistible, cheese-laden pizzas!

The brand’s reliance on visual elements is a testament to its confidence in letting the pizza’s ingredients take center stage. The video on their homepage showing a generous slice being pulled from a pizza communicates their commitment to crafting fresh pizzas with fresh ingredients.

The Marco’s Pizza logo is characterised by a bold ‘M’ enveloping the wordmark ‘Marcos,’ with a pizza encircling the upper part of the ‘M’ and a slice playfully missing. The colour palette featuring rich reds and inviting oranges nods to their authentic Italian roots, resonating with customers looking for a genuine Italian experience.

Credit to Hungry Howies/a>

Despite this value element, the brand maintains a commitment to using quality ingredients such as making fresh dough daily and using premium toppings.

Their visual identity is something to digest, featuring the word mark ‘Hungry Howie’s’ with a cheerful blonde-haired boy as their brand mascot. I’m assuming this character is meant to be ‘Howie’ and he looks very happy at the prospect of getting a slice of pizza!

The inclusion of the young boy is to appeal to a younger audience by making the pizza brand feel more relatable and inviting.

In terms of colours, the logo uses a combination of red and yellow that evoke feelings of warmth and having an appetite—elements that align with the pizza dining experience.

Credit to MOD Pizza

MOD Pizza

MOD pizza first emerged in 2008, in Washington. However, it expanded due to popularity and today, the organisation has more than 500 locations throughout the United States and Canada.

The name “MOD” stands for “Made on Demand,” which references one of the key USP’s of the business.

MOD creates pizzas exactly according to the instructions of its customers, allowing people to make pizzas exactly their way. Customers can watch the preparation process and swap out different ingredients, giving them totally control over their dining.

The pizza chain is committed to transparency which is evident through the pizza-making process where customers are invited to watch. This open-kitchen concept reinforces trust and showcases the freshness and quality of their ingredients.

The “MOD” logo is a statement of confidence, featuring bold, bright white letters against a red, shield-style background. This shield emblem underscores the brand’s reliability and strength, instilling confidence in customers as they create the perfect pizza tailored to their individual tastes.

Pizza Branding: The Secret Sauce of the Industry’s Leading Pizza Brands

Pizza branding comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

From cheeky brand mascots such as The Mean Tomato, to Pizza founders actually putting themselves in the brand i.e. Papa John, there’s lots of ways to make pizza branding stand out.

Hopefully the pizza branding examples in this blog post have given you some much needed inspiration for your own project!

Or perhaps we’ve just made you hungry?!

At Canny, we love diving into different branding projects analysing design choices and how they work together. If you need any help with your own branding, get in touch with our team!

In the world of beverages, few are as universally loved as tea!

But beyond the comforting warmth and diverse flavours, there’s another aspect of tea that often goes unnoticed: its branding.

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In this blog, we’re exploring successful tea branding examples and the strategies that have made them stand out.

We’ll be looking at examples such as PG Tips, Twinings, and Tetley, pouring our thoughts into what makes these tea brands so popular.

Whether you’re a tea enthusiast, or a marketing professional looking for some inspiration, this blog will provide you with practical insights into what makes tea branding work.

So grab your favourite cup of tea and uncover the secrets behind the success of tea brands that have made their mark in a crowded marketplace.

It’s time to brew some branding knowledge that can inspire your own project!

PG Tips

PG Tips serves as a prime example of tea branding with a strong and well-established brand identity.

Their mascot, famously known as “Monkey,” and the collaboration with comedian Jonny Vegas have created a devoted and enthusiastic fan base.

Recent promotions have featured enticing incentives, such as a complimentary goodie bag upon the purchase of 3 cases of PG Tips. Notably, these “prizes” consist of exclusively branded PG Tips products, ensuring enduring advertising benefits stemming from a single promotional effort.

PG Tips has consistently centered its advertising campaigns around humour, cementing its status as one of the most recognisable tea brands. These ads have effectively created a lasting and light-hearted brand image while infusing a spirit of playfulness into the brand itself.

Another integral facet of PG Tips’ triumph lies in its witty approach to social media.

The invention of the PG Tips #SolidariTea social campaign emerged from the brand’s aspiration to convey the message that “cuppas taste better together.”, To do this, it developed a responsive social media campaign in reaction to some of the heated debates that take place on these channels.

This campaign was initially sparked in February 2020, when a tea-related dispute surfaced after the then-UK chancellor, Rishi Sunak, was photographed with a large bag of rival brand, Yorkshire Tea.

This triggered a social media backlash against the rival brand, with debates unfolding on Twitter and Yorkshire Tea defending itself against allegations of political bias.

PG Tips entered the debate with the hashtag #SolidariTea, extending an offer to share a cup of tea with Yorkshire Tea’s social media manager.

This again increases their brand exposure and also helps them engage with a younger demographic who will be active across these channels.

Typhoo

“You only get an oo with typhoo”.

An advertising slogan I’m sure we’ve all heard of.

Typhoo has a rich history of creating engaging advertising campaigns featuring famous faces and unforgettable taglines.

For example, whilst this slogan was made famous by the comedian Frankie Howerd, who first said the words in a 1984 ad for Typhoo, the campaign also featured the likes of Julie Walters, Glenda Jackson and Richard Branson.

Having this celebrity endorsement is really effective and this line is one of the first things you think about when someone mentions the Typhoo brand. It’s so simple but having it rhyme also helps the slogan make a better impact as it rolls off the tongue.

Aside from their marketing and advertising, the packaging for Typhoo is characterised by its bold and vibrant orange visual identity.

The colour choice is eye-catching and easily distinguishable on store shelves, separating it from the sea of other tea brands.

The logo features the name “Typhoo” in white against the orange background, making it clear and legible even from a distance. The more recent tagline “Put the kettle on” is often prominently displayed on the packaging, emphasisng the brand’s association with tea and the ritual of making it.

The brand has also highlighted its commitment to sourcing quality tea leaves and ensuring the best possible taste in every cup by placing scattered green leaves on the front of its packaging, supporting its focus on sustainability and ethical sourcing of tea leaves.

Yorkshire Tea

Yorkshire Tea, another prominent British tea brand, is known for its distinctive branding and advertising campaigns that celebrate its Yorkshire roots and commitment to quality tea.

When it comes to its visual identity, Yorkshire Tea has its iconic packaging with red stripes and a background scene of the Yorkshire countryside, again creating a link between the brand name and its heritage.

The packaging is instantly recognisable and it’s also quite endearing as you can just imagine looking out at that view while enjoying a warm cup of tea.

Essentially, Yorkshire Tea has crafted a brand image that revolves around tradition, quality, and a strong sense of regional pride, whilst also being known as a ‘proper brew’.

This is supported by various advertising campaigns including the “Where Everything’s Done Proper” campaign. This emphasises the brand’s Yorkshire heritage and the idea that everything related to tea is done properly in Yorkshire.

The ads often feature humorous and heartwarming scenarios where people from Yorkshire take their tea very seriously, highlighting the brand’s commitment to quality.

The tea brand has also engaged in various partnerships and sponsorships, such as their association with the Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the England Cricket Board. These collaborations help reinforce their brand’s connection to Yorkshire and traditional British pastimes.

Yorkshire tea has always been, and always will be my favourite tea brand and you’ll always find a jumbo-sized bag in the Canny office.

Tetley

One of the standout elements of Tetley’s branding is its lovable brand mascot, the Tetley Tea Folk.

These animated characters, resembling tiny, elderly tea-loving people, have been an integral part of Tetley’s advertising campaigns since the 1970s. They have become beloved and iconic figures in British advertising, helping to establish Tetley as a trusted and familiar tea brand

The Tea Folk are known for their catchy jingle, “That’s better, that’s Tetley,” and their charming and endearing personalities.

Tetley’s advertising campaigns often revolve around the Tetley Tea Folk, and they have been incredibly successful in creating a warm and relatable brand image.

Furthermore, these ads always feature humorous and heartwarming scenarios, emphasising the joy and comfort of sharing a cup of Tetley tea. The Tea Folk bring a sense of nostalgia and relatability to the brand, making it feel like a trusted part of British culture.

Tetley also has a strong association with “builders’ tea,” a strong and robust brew preferred by construction workers. They have leveraged this association in their advertising campaigns, showcasing the Tea Folk interacting with builders, humorously highlighting the strength of Tetley tea!

Twinings

Twinings has a classic and elegant visual identity which is immediately visible from their product packaging.

Featuring a combination of gold and black colours, this gives the brand a premium and sophisticated appearance.

The Twinings logo is the main focus of the packaging, often accompanied by a royal warrant, highlighting their long-standing tradition of supplying tea to the British royal family!

In terms of advertising, Twinings have always focused on quality and variety by branding itself as one that offers a wide range of high-quality teas.

Their ads often showcase the effort that goes into blending and packaging their teas, elevating their commitment to delivering a superior tea-drinking experience (and tying in with their premium positioning in the market).

It also does a great job of leveraging its history and tradition by using the fact that it dates back to 1706, as a selling point. They lean on their heritage as being one of the oldest tea companies in the world adding a sense of British tradition and sophistication.

Whilst emphasising its roots, Twinings have still embraced innovation by introducing new and unique tea blends such as Cold In’fuse, which as the name suggests, is specifically for making refreshing cold beverages.

This shows that a traditional brand can still keep up with the times and cater to different audiences.

Liptons tea

Lipton’s visual brand identity is characterised by its bright yellow packaging, which is easily distinguishable on shelves.

The Lipton logo features the brand’s name in bold, black lettering against the yellow background which acts as a great contrast. This colour palette has become synonymous with Lipton tea, and is what most consumers will associate with the brand.

Over the years, Lipton has had a variety of advertising campaigns and marketing strategies to promote its variety of tea which include flavours such as green tea, herbal tea, and macha ice tea.

For example the “Lipton Tea Can Do That” campaign, was a long-running ad emphasising the versatility and potential benefits of Lipton tea.

It showed how the tea could be enjoyed in different ways, from hot to iced tea, and how it could be used in different recipes. The campaign aimed to position Lipton as more than just a ‘traditional tea’ but instead, as a versatile drink for different occasions.

They have also invested heavily in marketing to highlight their sustainability initiatives such as being committed to the ethical sourcing of tea leaves and their efforts to reduce environmental footprint.

As well as being available in standard tea bags, you can always buy Liptons iced tea in a bottle, adding a different sensory experience and an alternative way for people to consume the product.

Harney & Sons

Harney & Sons is a premium tea brand offering consumers high-quality tea blends and exceptional tea experiences.

The packaging is both elegant and sophisticated, often using classic black tins with gold accents. The logo features a heraldic lion, which conveys a sense of tradition, quality, and sophistication, again elevating their premium positioning in the tea industry.

Also, labels on Harney & Sons’ tea tins typically include information about the tea, including the origin, brewing instructions, and details about the flavour.

It’s this level of attention to detail that reinforces the brand’s commitment to providing a premium tea experience. It’s certainly not a builder’s type brew!

Moving onto the brand’s website, it features a clean and user-friendly design, allowing customers to explore and purchase teas easily. The website also includes educational content about tea and brewing methods, enhancing the brand’s authority in the tea industry.

This includes brewing guides, tea history, and information about different tea types, showing how the brand is committed to providing an experience with their product, instead of just being seen as a quick hot beverage that you can enjoy on the go.

When it comes to brand partnerships, Harney & Sons is quite selective and often collaborates with high-end hotels, restaurants, and luxury retailers. These partnerships further align with their premium brand positioning.

Yogi Green Tea

Yogi tea started more than 30 years ago with an herbal tea blend based on Ayurveda, thought by many to be the oldest form of functional medicine.

It now offers over 40 tea blends with green tea being among the most popular varieties. The majority of Yogi teas are USDA certified organic or made with organic ingredients.

The tea is known for its smooth taste and has subtle mint and lemony flavours and this is carried through to the product packaging. Showcasing a yellow and green colour palette, this visually represents the flavour of the product inside.

These colours also have a calming feel which ties into the proposed health benefits of drinking green tea. The product packaging also features leaves circled around a cup, again creating a connection between the visual identity and the actual product.

To contrast this, the Yogi wordmark is deep red in colour which stands out well against the background colours making the brand legible even from a distance.

Mighty Leaf Tea

Mighty Leaf Tea’s packaging is known for its elegant and sophisticated design.

The brand often uses eco-friendly, biodegradable tea pouches made from translucent material, allowing customers to see the whole tea leaves and botanicals inside. The tea pouches are also enclosed in beautifully designed foil envelopes, preserving freshness.

The brand’s logo features a stylised tea leaf illustration, conveying a sense of craftsmanship and quality.

Furthermore the choice of earthy, natural colors in the logo and packaging aligns with the brand’s emphasis on the natural origins of their teas.

Mighty Leaf Tea’s marketing consistently highlights its commitment to using whole tea leaves and high-quality ingredients, resonating with customers who enjoy a more premium tea experience.

The brand also offers a range of tea varieties, including black, green, herbal, and specialty blends, catering to different tastes and preferences.

Ringtons Tea

Ringtons tea boasts a rich history dating all the way back to 1907!

This is one of the reasons why this long-standing tea brand has such a strong reputation, and continues to be the tea brand of choice in the UK.

Above everything else, Ringtons prioritises quality which is why despite its higher price tag, it has earned the loyalty of generations of consumers.

Another great thing about Ringtons is their direct delivery model. The brand is known for its unique and personal approach to customer service, where its distinctive delivery vans bring tea and other products directly to customers’ doors.

And whilst this blog is all about tea branding, I need to add just how tasty their biscuits are too!

Order some, you won’t regret it.

This personalised touch sets Ringtons apart in the industry, and seeing the vans drive around is also great brand exposure.

Moving over to the product packaging, this is characterised by its classic and timeless design which harks back to the brand’s early days.

The simplicity of the packaging also conveys a sense of authenticity and tradition with the logo typically featuring the brand name in bold, black lettering and a gold background. This is coupled with wording that reads ‘a family business since 1907’ – again drawing on its origins.

Pukka tea

Pukka tea is known for being organic, ethically sourced, and dedicated to wellbeing.

The brand places a strong emphasis on using organic and sustainably sourced herbs and botanicals in its tea blends.

This commitment to ethical practices resonates with consumers seeking eco-conscious and health-focused products.

Their teas often feature unique blends of herbs and spices chosen for their potential health benefits, which appeals to consumers interested in natural remedies. By considering the mind, body, and spirit, the brand is showing consumers that they care about their overall health and wellbeing which is a powerful message.

Tying in with this notion is their vibrant and colourful product packaging which is oozing with happiness and positivi-tea (sorry, I had to).

The colourful designs also reflect the natural world and the herbal ingredients within each tea, making it stand out on shop shelves.

The Pukka logo incorporates a circular emblem with the brand name and a leaf illustration, again, aligning with the brand’s focus on nature and wellbeing.

Each of the Pukka tea bags are individually wrapped in eco-friendly sachets, ensuring freshness and convenience for consumers.

Brewing Success: The Secrets of Effective Tea Branding

After reading this post, you should have a better understanding of what makes effective tea branding.

Standing out and having a strong brand identity is key in this market as there’s so many tea brands out there with new names emerging all of the time.

However, all of these tea brands do have one thing in common: they understand their target market. This allows them to craft a brand that resonates with their customers whether that’s through focussing on their history and heritage, introducing new flavours to keep up with changing tastes, or emphasising the health benefits of their product, they know what their customers want.

The same applies to any type of branding, tea branding or other, as your target audience should be at the centre of each decision.

If you need any help with your own branding project get in touch with our team! We’ve worked with lots of brands in the FMCG product such as OPI Frutta and we can help your brand make an impact.

Branding for this type of product needs to capture the attention of consumers and give them a reason to pick it up off a very crowded shelf.

Just think of the sheer amount of sweets you find in shop aisles these days! There’s quite literally hundreds of sweets brands, all competing for the same customers.

That’s why successful sweets branding goes beyond taste, as customers need a reason to buy the product in the first place.

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Aside from the obvious product packaging, this comes down to creating an engaging brand experience, crafting taglines and slogans, and creating captivating advertising campaigns that evoke some sense of emotion.

Some established sweets brands have worked hard to perfect this over the years, making them a firm davourite in the eyes of sweet lovers.

This means there’s lots of inspiration that you can take from these brands and incorporate them into your next branding project.

Let’s unwrap the first example of effective sweets branding.

Starburst

At the heart of the Starburst brand is the vibrant and captivating burst of colours, radiating from the brand name.

Furthermore, the logo not only catches your eye but also encapsulates the product itself – a burst of fruity flavours. The visual identity further reinforces the brand’s playful and energetic image through its vibrant packaging and mouthwatering product imagery, often featuring photos of real fruit.

Instead of using icons or illustrations which are used heavily in sweets branding, Starbursts have chosen to visually showcase what can be found inside of the wrapper, enticing customers from the moment they see the packaging.

Yellow is also the primary colour, again signifying zest and sweetness – all words you want to bring to mind when you’re trying to promote fruit flavoured sweets.

In terms of messaging, Starburst excels in resonating with its target audience. It has perfected the art of delivering a simple yet compelling message with campaigns such as “Unexplainably Juicy.”

This speaks directly to the core experience of enjoying a Starburst sweet, emphasising the irresistible juiciness of the sweets themselves.

Fruitella

Fruitella is a well-established brand known for its fruit-flavoured chewy sweets.

Through its branding, Fruitella effectively communicates its commitment to fruitiness (hence the name) and natural flavours, which appeals to consumers looking for a healthier alternative while still enjoying something indulgent.

The fruitiness of the sweets also makes them quite refreshing, which is another appeal of the Fruitella brand as they come in varieties such as strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, and lemon.

The product packaging is also covered in vibrant fruit illustrations, reinforcing the idea of real fruit goodness. Through these visuals efforts, the brand has successfully positioned itself as a healthier sweet option by emphasising its use of natural ingredients.

This health-conscious approach appeals to the modern consumer, especially parents who are looking for better snack options for their children.

Fruitella also provides a range of different snack packaging including soft, resealable pouches which are ideal for pack lunch boxes.

Lindtt Chocolate

Lindt is a Swiss chocolatier known for its premium-quality chocolates and iconic gold foil-wrapped chocolate bars. You know if someone has bought you Lindtt chocolate, that they’ve spent that little bit extra on it!

The success of Lindt’s branding can be attributed to its strong focus on tradition, quality, and luxury, positioning the brand at the higher end of the sweet scale.

To start with, Lindt’s logo features a silhouette of a master chocolatier, conveying a sense of craftsmanship and expertise.

The brand’s commitment to using high-quality ingredients and its attention to detail in the chocolate-making process have earned it a reputation for excellence, meaning it can justify a slightly higher price point.

To add to this, Lindt’s consistent and elegant packaging, featuring the signature gold colour, reinforces the brand’s image of indulgence and sophistication as you peel pack those crisp layers to reveal the chocolatey goodness inside.

Lindt’s marketing also often highlights its Swiss heritage, associating the brand with the country’s renowned chocolate-making traditions.

Haribos

“Kids and grown-ups love it so, the happy world of Haribo!”

You can’t help but sing this tune as soon as you think of Haribo sweets. The German manufacturer has embedded this playful theme tune into our minds through exposure to various advertising campaigns over the years.

It’s become synonymous with the brand and you can feel yourself bopping along to it!

It’s fun, playful, and takes you back to your childhood – and it’s that sense of nostalgia that the brand is trying to evoke.

They want to tap into childhood memories of enjoying jelly sweets and the happiness that this brings. It’s a strong association and it creates a positive perception of the brand.

Nothing portrays this as well as their TV advert, which features a group of adults talking in everyday situations with children’s voices dubbed over the top, emphasising the famous slogan “Kids and grown-ups love it so, the happy world of Haribo”.

Coupled with this is the loveable mascot; the happy, chubby bear, which embodies the joy and delight associated with eating the sweets.

Everything from the brand mascot, to the product packaging, to the jelly sweets themselves are brightly coloured, again adding to that sense of happiness and pure joy experienced when eating a Haribo.

Rowntrees Jelly Tots

Rowntree’s Jelly Tots, produced by Nestlé, are known for their tiny, colourful, fruit-flavored jelly sweets.

One of the highlights of the Jelly Tots branding is their association with simplicity, innocence, and the joy of childhood. The brand’s packaging, featuring vibrant and cheerful graphics, appeals to parents and children alike who are looking for a little bit of

The bags are literally bursting with flavour through the use of different coloured splashes to represent the fruitiness that can be found inside.

Similarly to Haribos, drawing on childhood memories and the happiness we feel as kids when we get a bag of sweets is a powerful tactic. Even as adults, we like to think back to simpler times, and how something so small could make us feel so happy.

Also through their advertising and product packaging, Jelly Tots are keen to emphasise that their sweets contain no artificial colours or flavours, reinforcing its commitment to providing a wholesome and natural treat for kids.

They have worked hard to position themselves as a healthier choice in the world of confectionery, which is important for today’s consumers who are making more conscious buying decisions.

Skittles

The key to Skittles’ effective branding is its focus on colour and sensory experiences. The brand’s packaging, featuring a rainbow of colors, is instantly eye-catching, creating a strong visual identity.

They have also cleverly associated each sweet with a fruit flavour and colour, making it easy for consumers to choose and enjoy their favourite ones.

The “Taste the Rainbow” slogan emphasises the brand’s commitment to delivering a flavourful candy experience and also taps into their play on humour.

A fundamental aspect of the Skittles brand lies in its reputation for unconventional marketing strategies. For instance, picture yourself watching a television commercial when suddenly, a rainbow bursts into a room, showering Skittles candies. As individuals scramble to catch them, the sheer ludicrousness of the scene ignites your imagination.

This sweets brand has perfected the skill of amusing people with their wit and cleverly designed memes. Their approach is marked by playfulness, unexpected surprises, and humour, injecting a delightful and unconventional dimension into the sweets industry.

Drumsticks

Drumstick is a classic British sweet brand known for its unique product concept, which has played a key role in its branding success for the last 60 years.

The Drumstick lolly, a chewy toffee and raspberry-flavoured sweet on a stick, offers a novel combination of flavours and textures. It will also have you chewing it for hours!

This beloved sweet with its dual flavours and distinct chewy texture has made it a firm favourite among consumers, particularly in the UK.

In terms of branding, it taps into a sense of nostalgia, reminding consumers of their childhood treats and simpler times.

The brand has also maintained its iconic red and yellow packaging, which is instantly recognisable and reinforces its heritage.

Additionally, Drumstick has ventured into ‘Squashies,’ providing a softer alternative for customers who prefer a different texture compared to the classic lolly’s chewiness.

Hershey’s Chocolate

Hershey’s chocolate is no stranger to branding mistakes in the past (check out this list of rebranding failures to find out more), yet they remain one of the most popular sweets brands in the world.

So what do customers love?

Hersheys make a range of sweets, but primarily they’re known for their chocolate. This sets the direction for their visual identity as they use brown packaging with silver writing.

It has been a staple of American sweets for generations, and has remained one of the top candy choices since 1894.

Hershey’s marketing campaigns have also left a lasting impression over the years, emphasising the importance of tradition and family.

The company has also taken strides in social responsibility, promoting cocoa sustainability and community development in cocoa-producing regions. Through a commitment to quality, innovation, and a global reach, Hershey’s has remained at the forefront of the chocolate industry, capturing the hearts of chocolate lovers across the globe.

Moam

Moam is a popular European sweets brand recognised for its soft, chewy texture and range of fruity flavours.

These sweets usually come individually wrapped and are ideal for party bags or for a little treat when you’re on the go.

The key thing about Moam’s branding and why it is successful, is its playful and whimsical approach. On the brand’s packaging, you’ll usually find fun and quirky characters, adding a sense of personality and innocence to the sweets.

Whilst simple in execution, for example, an orange character is used for the orange flavour, a strawberry represents the strawberry flavour, and so on, they add charm to the product packaging.

These characters and their adventures are often showcased in marketing campaigns, engaging consumers and creating a memorable brand experience.

Moam’s wide variety of gummy shapes and flavours cater to different tastes, making it appealing to a diverse audience.

They have also managed to establish a sense of nostalgia among consumers who grew up enjoying these sweets, reinforcing its status as a timeless and beloved brand.

Smarties

Smarties are colourful, chocolatey sweets that are known worldwide.

When it comes to unpicking their branding, let’s start with the product packaging. Although the primary colour is dark blue, their packaging is always vibrant and instantly recognisable, with the Smarties sweets dotted around like flying frisbees!

The sweet brand also has embossed lettering which is a core part of the visual brand identity, with a brown border (representing gooey chocolate) around the wordmark. This has remained consistent for decades, creating a strong brand identity and building brand equity.

On top of this, Smarties have a reputation for being fun and shareable due to their small, button-like shape and assortment of colours. Aside from coming in the classic Smarties tube, you can also buy pouches and sharing bags making them a great choice for children and adults alike.

They have also cleverly tapped into the appeal of nostalgia, evoking fond memories of childhood. The brand’s tagline, “Only Smarties Have The Answer,” adds an element of curiosity and playfulness to the product, again broadening its appeal.

Wine gums

Ah, wine gums. One of my absolute favourites on this list of sweets branding!

As a classic British confectionery brand, Wine gums are best known for their unique flavours and chewy texture. Everyone has their favourite flavour wine gum flavour, and these are always the ones you eat first!

The success of Wine Gums’ branding lies in their traditional and timeless appeal as they have maintained their distinct brand name and product shapes for years. The gums usually come in five shapes: kidney, crown, rhombus, circle and oblong, and are usually labelled with the name of a wine.

For example, Maynards use port, sherry, champagne, burgundy, and claret whereas other manufacturers may prefer different names such as rioja, merlot or rum. However despite these wine-inspired names, they contain no alcohol and this is often stated on the packaging.

Where the name and shapes originated from is a bit of a mystery but one theory believes that wine gums were so-called in an attempt to lure people away from alcohol, giving them a flavourful substitute.

Aside from this sense of mystique, Wine gums also emphasise the use of natural colours and flavours, appealing to consumers looking for something a little more wholesome.

Jelly babies

Jelly Babies, a sugary and chewy sweet, are a beloved British confectionery brand.

The Jelly Babies’ branding is more likely known for its playful and unique approach, as the sweets resemble little babies.

This distinctive feature makes them instantly recognisable and endearing as the Jelly Babies characters are also featured looking happy and welcoming.

In fact did you know they all even have their own names?!

The Jelly Baby gang includes Bubbles (the yellow one), Baby Bonny ( the red one), Boofuls (the green jelly baby), Bigheart (the dark purple, blackcurrant flavoured baby) and Bumper (the orange one).

The brand has also capitalised on various associations as these little babies have had more than one TV appearance in their time, including on Doctor Who, Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series and even Doc Martin.

They’re also said to be firm favourite with the royal family!

Swizzels Refreshers

Swizzels Refreshers Sweets are a popular favourite with sweet lovers of all ages.

As a chewy, lemon treat with a sherbet centre, they make a great addition to any pick ‘n’ mix and give a real zesty flavour. They were invented 60 years ago when someone at Swizzels discovered the secret of adding the fizz!

This zesty-ness is carried through to the product packaging which has consistently remained blue and yellow to represent the lemon fruitiness of the sweet. The colour blue also signifies the ‘refreshing’ element tying the visuals into the product.

Refreshers can be enjoyed either as a thin bar in a strip-like form or as a chunky cubed sweet, depending on individual preference. Swizzels have also branched out when it comes to Refreshes adding in other flavours to the classic lemon, such as strawberry and lime.

Similarly to Drumstick, you can also buy ‘Refresher Squashies’ for those not wanting to spend half an hour chewing, appealing to a wider variety of customers.

Love Hearts

Love Hearts are a charming and iconic British sweets brand, best known for their small, heart-shaped sweets imprinted with romantic messages.

Their branding success is down to their ability to tap into sentiments of love and nostalgia. Albeit a tad on the cheesy end of the scale, people enjoy reading out the little messages that can be found on eating sweets.

We’ve all done it!

Love Hearts are often associated with expressions of affection, making them a popular choice for gifts and for the romantic souls out there.

The brand’s product packaging is distinctive, featuring vibrant colours and the classic retro font that has remained unchanged for years, reinforcing its vintage appeal.

What’s great about this sweets branding is that Lovehearts take advantage of seasonal marketing campaigns around Valentine’s Day, therefore strengthening their association with love and romance.

The Key Ingredients for Successful Sweets Branding

In the world of confectionery, effective branding is the golden ticket to sweet success.

As we’ve explored in this blog, successful sweets branding is a combination of tradition, innovation, and creating an emotional connection with consumers.
Brands like Skittles, Lindt, Drumstick, and countless others have mastered the art of captivating their audiences through memorable packaging, evoking nostalgia, and creating unique sensory experiences.

Sweets are not just something to be eaten as they can signify moments of joy and happy memories, when brands capture the right emotions.

Hopefully, you’ve found some ideas and inspiration for your next branding project! But if you need any help, then get in touch with our team. We’ve worked with lots of brands in the snack sector such as OPI Frutta, and we can help ensure your brand makes an impact.

For the purpose of this blog, we’ll be covering all sorts of drinks brands, including:

• Alcohol
• Coffee
• Fruit juice
• Fizzy drinks and sodas

As you can imagine, the term ‘drinks branding’ is broad and refers to every type of beverage that there is.

However, the one thing all of these drinks have in common is their effective branding and the way they connect with customers.

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Of course, every type of drink requires its own approach. For example, the way you brand alcohol will be very different to the way you brand tea and coffee.

Essentially it comes down to the most important people: your customers.

Whether you’re thinking about launching your own drinks brand, or you’re a marketing manager looking for some branding inspiration, keep reading to explore some refreshing examples of drinks branding.

Let’s start by pouring our thoughts into a well-known smoothie brand.

Innocent Smoothies

Since they first launched in 1999, Innocent smoothies have boomed in popularity thanks to their positive brand image and brand ethos, as well as the fact they create delicious, healthy drinks for customers who want to feel good.

Using real fruit, they have positioned themselves as the go-to smoothie brand and have built up recognition through their iconic visual identity.

Utilising a child-like illustration for the logo, Innocent smoothies have created a strong brand narrative. With connotations of playfulness, transparency, and literally, innocence, they appeal to a wide audience.

Even the typography they use looks like a child has written it, with the absence of any capital letters that ties into their brand narrative and storytelling.

Apart from the hand-drawn illustration and wordmark, there’s not much else to unpick on their visual branding – it’s quite modest. This matches their brand origin story and how they started as Innocent had a very humble beginning.

In 1999, they started by selling their drinks at a festival and placed signs next to two bins on their stall, one saying ‘yes’ and one saying ‘no.’

They then asked members of the public to vote on whether they should quit their day jobs and start making smoothies from real fruit – by the end of the day the ‘yes’ bin was full.

This sense of humility has stayed with the brand from the very beginning and continues to underpin everything they do. They’ve also associated themselves with a positive brand ethos by committing to sustainability, tackling social issues, and helping charities.

In 2022, the juice and smoothie brand had a brand value of roughly 2.02 billion U.S. dollars, up from 1.73 billion dollars in 2021. – Statista

Oatly

Oatly’s branding success can be attributed to the fact that it focuses on something consumers care a lot about – the environment.

As a plant-based alternative, it engages environmentally conscious consumers who still want to enjoy milk, without harming the planet.

However it wasn’t always plain sailing. The brand actually started as ‘Mill Milk’ which was rolled out across Europe but with minimal success. Following this, an oat-based yoghurt with Danone was launched, which unfortunately, also flopped.

This pushed the brand to go back to the drawing board and start from scratch. Recoginising the needs of a growing market, Oatley was born, initially making its mark in Sweden before expanding across the world.

The reason for success? Oatly saw an opportunity and took it. The opportunity in this case being the rise of eco-conscious, vegan consumers.

Aside from being in the right palace at the right time, Oatley’s success is also rooted in its unusual marketing strategy. Instead of investing lots of money in paid ads, the brand decided to reach out to artisanal coffee shops across the US (a huge market for coffee drinkers).

By offering consumers something a little different with their cup of Joe, Oatly took advantage of a captive coffee-drinking audience.

They also continued to focus on what sets them apart – their commitment to the environment – which has been a pillar of the brand since the very beginning. This message is communicated through all of their advertising campaigns as they strive to convert customers of all ages into their plant-based alternative.

The ‘Help Dad’ campaign for example targets teens, encouraging them to convert their dads to Oatley as middle-aged men were defined as the audience segment who are least likely to give up regular milk.

Aperol

This one had to be included on the list of drinks branding as it’s a personal favourite of mine.

Initially starting in Italy, this orangey-red drink has become one of the most instagram-able drinks ever. This is most likely down to their creative marketing campaigns, headed up by Campari, the company who owns Aperol.

One of the reasons it became so popular was due to a deliberate coordination between the drinks brand and the States a few years back,booths popped up at popular New York city events such as the Jazz Age Lawn Party and Governors Ball.

There was also a further push at the Hamptons and Palm Springs which led to lots of influencers taking snaps of the drink and posting them on social media. Essentially, Aperol associated the drink with young, trendy, hip people so that everyone wanted to get their hands on it.

The other great thing about Aperol (and what makes it such a nice drink to photograph) is the way it’s presented. Usually served in a glass the size of a bowl, with crushed ice and a huge wedge of orange, it looks so aesthetically pleasing. You can just imagine yourself sat on a terrace, the sun beaming down on you whilst you sip the drink of the summer.

You’re basically imaging yourself as one of the influencers who you’ve probably seen on Instagram in the same scenario.

Little do we know, but Aperol has been pushed on it through these influencers as we aspire to be like them and have their lifestyle – part of this being to sip Aperol.

The brand has worked hard to position itself as a refreshing drink that transports you to a sunny terrace somewhere in Italy.

Birra Moretti

Sticking with the theme of aperol, we’re moved onto another popular drinks branding example – Birra Moretti.

Also starting in Italy, the drinks brand tells a strong brand story focussed on enjoying moments together. Essentially, it embraces a theme of Italian culture encouraging people to make time for what matters.

Lots of their advertising campaigns feature groups of friends and family gathered round in the Italian sun sipping a bottle of Moretti, tying into their ethos of spending quality time together. Just take a look at the ad below for example.

To further push this message to the forefront, Moretti attended the British Summer Time Festival in Hyde Park which provided the perfect space to promote their brand ethos.

Taking inspiration from where Italian people usually spend quality time together, they built an authentic Italian Piazza, complete with food stalls, bars, and shops. They also surprised audiences with theatrical performances, making the event one to remember and reinforcing the message that Moretti symbolises good times, together.

Moving onto their logo, this visually represents the brand’s origin featuring the 3 colours of the Italian flag. The mustached-man in the centre of the logo also has a story of his own.

According to Moretti’s website:

The man sipping a fresh pint of Moretti on our label is ‘Baffo’. The story goes that Luigi Moretti’s nephew saw Baffo in a bar and instantly knew he’d found the embodiment of the real values of his beer in this man. Being a passionate type, Moretti’s nephew approached Baffo, asking him for a photograph. Baffo requested one thing in return – another Birra Moretti. He has been on our labels ever since.

Coca-Cola

We can’t write a post about drinks branding without including the global fizzy drinks giant that is Coca-Cola.

There’s multiple reasons why this drink’s branding is such a success so let’s start by unravelling its logo and visual identity.

The most iconic and recognisable part of Coca-Cola’s visual identity is the colour red. This has been synonymous with the brand since it began and it’s what consumers typically associate with the brand.

So why red? This colour signifies passion, excitement, and a zest for life – all things the brand wants customers to resonate with. It also signifies urgency, which is a strong driving force when people are making a purchase.

Secondary to this, is the white, italicised typography. In fact, consumers have become conditioned to seeing red and white together and immediately knowing that it’s Coca-Cola, even in the absence of the brand name.

We can’t write this brand review without mentioning their Christmas campaign. The red Coca-Cola truck and festive jingle is a real staple of the brand, and it’s something consumers genuinely look forward to.

Essentially, Coca-Cola makes people ‘feel’ something and by playing on the festivities it creates an association between the drink and the feeling of happiness.

However, the brand is also aware of the increasing number of health-conscious consumers who are worried about the level of sugar in Coca-Cola drunks. Therefore, whilst the brand is established and there is an enormous amount of brand equity in the fact that they create fizzy drinks, they have diversified their offering.

Their product range includes Diet Coke, Coca Zero, and Coca-Cola no sugar to show consumers that they are responding to their changing needs.

Red Bull

“Red bull gives you wings.”

Probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think of this drinks brand as Red Bull is meant to give you energy.

It’s positioned as a ‘quick hits’ drink which is to be enjoyed on the go when you’re feeling a little sluggish and you need a lift.

In terms of the product packaging, there’s obvious synergy between the brand name and the visual identity. The logo quite literally features two red bulls going head-to-head underneath the wordmark.

This further ties into the energy aspect as the red bull symbol is actually meant to represent word-ethic. A bull symbolises strength, stability, and stamina, all associations that the brand wants to make.

When you have a can of red bull, you’re meant to start feeling these things so that you’re set up for whatever the day throws at you.

It’s a strong message and appeals to a wide variety of people who will be looking for a little pick-me-up when they’re on the move.

The colour palette also connects to this as red symbolises courage, action, and strength. All of these connotations relate to a bull, making this colour a good representation of the drink.

A gold circle is often featured behind the bull icon and wordmark which could be used to represent success. Again, linking to the idea that by drinking Red Bull you’re more energised and ready for the day, it alludes to the feeling of achievement and being successful.

Alhambra Lager

Next on our list of the best drinks branding, we’re pouring our thoughts into another lager.

This time, Alhambra lager, from Granada in Spain.

Inspired by classic German Pilsner style recipes and the Alhambra monument, this is a light, balanced lager with a mild bitterness and unique flavour for beer-lovers looking for something a little different.

It’s also crafted to be a little fruity with flavours such as honey, nuts, apple and banana to strike the right balance between bitter and sweet.

These flavours are beautifully carried through to the product packaging which displays colourful, geometric shapes to tie the product into the visual identity.

The logo is also quite stripped back and minimal with plenty of white space, drawing most of your attention to the wordmark and the description underneath: “Lager singular.”

Alhambra also comes in both bottles and cans to give people a variety of ways to enjoy the drink as it’s designed to be a relaxed, food-friendly match for the likes of tapas and outdoor dining.

Fritz Limo Orange

Next up, is an orange juice which I’m going to take a wild guess, you haven’t heard of!

Fritz Limo is a brand from Hamburg and is the third biggest cola brand in Germany.

However they’ve now branched out into other products to grow their offering, including the production of a fruity orange juice.

Now let’s look at the branding, as it’s intriguing to say the least!

Whilst there’s not a whole lot to it, the two faces in the middle of the logo are drawing me in. I’m not entirely sure who they are (the founders perhaps?) but they make you interested to learn the story behind the brand.

Glass bottles instead of cartons are also a very trendy way of consuming orange juice and there’s something quite nice about having to take the cap off first. The contents always feels more fresh, and it feels slightly more sophisticated and grown up than piercing a plastic carton with a straw!

The choice of the orange strip around the bottle is quite obvious (given it’s orange juice) but I think the simplicity coupled with the someone strange-ness of the two faces definitely make this brand jump out!

Monster

We’re back talking about energy drinks now with Monster.

You can’t mistake this brand thanks to its powerful product packaging. Whilst the drink comes in various flavours, for the purpose of this review we’re going to explore the original flavour – Apple.

With a bold black can, and a large ‘M’, this wordmark immediately signifies the brand name. Furthermore, by making this green the brand is visually representing the flavour of the drink which in this case is Apple.

The green is also applied to the words ‘energy drink’ which sits underneath ‘Monster’ creating a simple but bold colour palette. The vibrancy of the neon green contrasts well against the black background, creating product packaging that has impact.

Considering the drink is called ‘monster’ this dark, almost twisted visual approach is very fitting; featuring frilly designs or bright colours wouldn’t exactly align with the brand identity!

On this note, the ‘M’ could also be the claws of a monster, again tying into the brand name. This further adds a sense of humour and personality to the brand, making it stick in the minds of a consumer.

Jack Daniels

Jack Daniel’s whiskey is know for its iconic logo, featuring a distinctive and timeless design that showcases an elegant Old No. 7 encased in a regal emblem.

This not only symbolises the brand’s heritage but also its commitment to quality. This logo is instantly recognisable and conveys a sense of tradition and craftsmanship.

Jack Daniel’s visual identity, characterised by its dark, sophisticated packaging and the deep amber hue of its whiskey, gives the impression of class and authenticity.

Now let’a dive into the brand messaging which is equally powerful, emphasising a rich history dating back to 1866 and the storied tales from Lynchburg, Tennessee.

The brand is known for its strong sense of independence and non-conformity, resonating with consumers who are looking for a unique and genuine whiskey experience.

Anae Gin

What I love about this drinks brand is the simplicity of the design.

And in fact, the simplicity of the drink itself. Made with only 8, natural ingredients, this creates a lovely synergy between the exterior packaging and the contents inside.

Featuring a hexagonal-shape logo with a green colour palette, this immediately gives the impression of a cool, refreshing summer drink, which is exactly what gin is.

Furthermore, green is often associated with nature, the earth, and sustainability which works well as this is a 100% organic gin, which whilst tasting delicious, is that little bit better for you and the planet.

I’m also a big fan of the gold emblem at the top of the logo, as it looks very regal and adds a stamp of class to the brand, positioning it at the higher end of the drinks market.

The name ‘anae’ is French, and this has been beautifully tied into the visuals with the colours of the French flag at the bottom of the design. It’s still quote subtle, but gives a gentle nod to where the drinks brand has originated from as it is distilled in Bollinger.

Cacao Brew

Brewed from a kitchen in Newcastle, UK, Cacao Brew is an indulgent alternative to coffee.

Using whole cacao beans, brewing cacao offers coffee-lovers a similar taste, but instead, relies on roasting and grinding whole organic cacao beans.

The brand is also committed to only using ethically-sourced, fair trade cacao beans, to help support farmers and their families who work so hard. This is a compelling brand value and is something the brand have stood for since they started 5 years ago.

It’s featured across their website and product packaging to show their commitment to supporting ethical and sustainable farming practices. This is also demonstrated through their product packaging as they use biodegradable paper brown bags, which are much better for the planet!

This also allows the product to slot easily through people’s letterbox, supporting their direct-to-consumer sales model.

Let’s look at the packaging in more detail.

Whilst simplistic in design, it ties into the environmentally, sustainable ethos of the brand and draws your main focus to the logo which comprises of a large C, imperfect C which looks as though it’s formed from scattered grown cacao beans.

Whilst the colour palette isquite muted, featuring dark and light shades of brown, it visually showcases the product inside.

Whittard

Whittard are known for creating a range of hot drinks including tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. They really need to be on top of their packaging designs.

For now, let’s stick with tea.

As a brand, Whittard is definitely positioned at the higher end of the scale. Their products have a higher price point than the likes of Tetley or Typhoo, and this premium aspect can be seen through the product packaging.

Featuring an italicised wordmark with the words ‘Chelsea 1886’ underneath it harks the brand back to its heritage. It also demonstrates the fact that this is an established brand which carries credibility as they have been around for nearly 150 years.

The typography also carries an aura of elegance, prestige, and tradition with flowers and leaves positioned around the ‘W’.

Adding to this notion is the type of packaging the tea comes in. It’s not a standard cardboard box, but instead, a silver tin which also makes it feel more premium.

The brand’s success can also be attributed to its gifting and personalisation service which is very popular particularly around the festivities. As well as custom gift sets, the brand also offers personalised tags and labels making it the go-to choice for shoppers.

Drinks Branding: How to Craft a Brand that Refreshes the Market

Drinks branding is vast, and it all depends on what type of drink you’re selling.

Like we mentioned in the intro, the way you sell a brand of coffee would be different to the way you sell a brand of alcohol as they serve two different purposes.

One being something warm and comforting, whereas the latter is something to unwind and relax with. However regardless of this, understanding your audience and how you can make your brand stand out remains key.

That’s what all of these brands do as there’s a reason why they’re so popular.

Hopefully after reading this post, you have some useful inspiration for your own branding project.

At Canny, we’ve helped lots of clients create brands that make an impact. Whether that’s creating outstanding visuals on product packing, a focussed marketing campaign, or a brand name that encapsulates what the brand is all about, we’re here to help. Get in touch with us to find out more.

Whilst having a great logo, a well-thought out content strategy, and professional product packaging are all essential elements of a successful brand, you need to foster a human connection with your audience.

This is where your brand narrative comes into play as this combines your purpose, your values, and your history.

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The main thing to remember when crafting your brand narrative is ensuring that it speaks to your target audience. It should address their pain points and position your company as the solution to the needs.

For example, if location isn’t a driving factor for your audience, then your brand narrative doesn’t need to include where you’re based. However, if you identify that your target audience needs a company that is local, then incorporating this is essential.

It’s all about understanding your audience and crafting a compelling brand narrative that speaks directly to them. This might sound easy, but creating a brand narrative is actually quite tricky!

View this as your step-by-step guide to crafting a compelling brand narrative that hooks your audience and explains your reason for being.

How A Brand Narrative Works

Above all, your brand narrative must establish a connection with customers, though achieving this can be challenging.

Frameworks (as we’ll explore in more detail in this blog) can help in shaping a captivating brand narrative that will grab the attention of your desired customers.

Well-known framework structures, such as the hero’s journey, play a key role in streamlining your narrative, making it simple, memorable, and emotionally engaging.

By incorporating these frameworks into the organisation of your brand narrative, you can evoke an emotional reaction from customers, motivating them to deepen their engagement with your company through advocating for your brand.

There are often 5 steps to how a brand narrative works:

1. Target audience has a unique problem
2. They hear how your brand shares their values and solves their problem
3. Your brand narrative connects to their emotional and functional needs
4. They are moved to take action
5. Your visibility, conversions, and profits are increased

Why Your Company Needs A Brand Narrative

In today’s competitive market landscape, brands must create a captivating narrative to maintain their edge.

This serves as a distinctive factor setting your company apart from others, cultivating consumer trust, fostering loyalty, and propelling sales.

Today’s consumers want more than just products; they want to know who they’re buying from.

A successful brand narrative accomplishes the following:

• Distinguish your company: Present-day buyers are drawn to companies that share their core values. An authentic narrative effectively attracts like-minded customers by succinctly and engagingly conveying your brand’s mission and principles.
• Forge audience bonds: A business’s reputation hinges on its ability to connect with customers. When customers form an emotional attachment to your brand beyond the products or services, their loyalty to your brand strengthens, and their likelihood of endorsing it to others grows.
• Cultivate customer confidence: Your brand narrative shapes your brand promise and its fulfillment. Consistently delivering on these promises deepens the connection between your company and its customers, ultimately fostering trust.
• Boost sales: Modern consumers seek more than just deals; they yearn for compelling narratives. A thoughtfully constructed brand narrative spurs conversions, nurtures connections, and ultimately drives sales.
• Optimise resources: Even without an expansive marketing budget, smaller retailers leverage their brand narrative to attract new customers.

However, as well as the points above, your brand narrative also plays a pivotal role in fostering a positive company culture.

It’s crucial for companies to promote this among their people, cultivating a collective understanding of the brand and its key messages.

As they are the ones responsible for delivering brand messaging to customers, employees are key parts of the brand narrative.

Brand Narrative vs Brand Story

Incase you’re confused or wondering what the difference is between a brand narrative and a brand story (as often these terms are used interchangeably) we’re going to try and clear this up.

A brand narrative refers to the overarching framework and structure that guides a brand’s storytelling efforts, while a brand story is a specific, detailed instance or piece of content that conveys a part of that narrative, often focusing on a particular aspect or moment in the brand’s history or identity.

They key differences are summarised below:

Definition

Brand Narrative: A brand narrative is the overarching framework that outlines the key elements and messages of a brand. It serves as the foundation for the brand’s storytelling.

Brand Story: A brand story is a specific piece of content or a narrative that is part of the larger brand narrative. It is a single, engaging, and often emotional story that conveys the brand’s values, mission, or history.

Scope

Brand Narrative: It encompasses the entire brand’s identity, including its values, mission, vision, and positioning in the market.

Brand Story: It is a focused, standalone narrative within the brand’s larger narrative, highlighting a particular aspect or message.

Purpose

Brand Narrative: To provide a comprehensive and strategic framework for all brand communications and storytelling efforts.

Brand Story: To engage, connect, and resonate with the audience on a more personal and emotional level.

Content

Brand Narrative: It consists of the brand’s core identity, values, and long-term objectives.

Brand Story: It often revolves around a specific event, character, or anecdote that illustrates the brand’s values or mission.

Timeframe

Brand Narrative: It remains relatively stable over time and serves as a guiding reference for brand communication.

Brand Story: It can change or evolve to address different aspects of the brand’s identity or to respond to current events.

For example:

“Our brand is built on sustainability, innovation, and inclusivity, with a mission to improve people’s lives through eco-friendly products” is an example of a brand narrative.

Whereas:

“Meet Jane, the founder of our company. Her journey of overcoming adversity and her passion for eco-conscious living inspired the creation of our brand” would be the brand story.

What Makes A Compelling Brand Narrative?

A compelling brand narrative should make customers feel as though they can relate to your brand.

As humans, we love stories and we are easily captivated by them. We’re curious by nature, and we love learning about things and knowing how things came to be.

Brands can use this innate curiosity to their advantage by creating a narrative that gives customers a real insight into the brand. Lots of brands have an interesting start as setting up a business is never plain sailing.

For example maybe the founders experienced some sort of struggle or challenge along the way that meant they had to work extra hard to make the business a success. These things make a brand more authentic as they invite customers to learn about the journey it went through.

Every company’s brand narrative will be different; it’s all about telling customers how you started vs where you are today, and how this relates to their needs.

There are 5 key elements that make a compelling brand narrative:

1. Clarity and focus: A compelling brand narrative is clear, concise, and focused. It distills the brand’s identity, values, and mission into a succinct message that is easy to understand and remember. Avoid jargon and unnecessary complexity, aiming for a message that resonates with a broad audience.
2. Emotional resonance: Infuse emotion into your brand narrative. People connect with stories that evoke feelings and touch their hearts. Whether it’s excitement, nostalgia, inspiration, or empathy, emotions help create a memorable and relatable narrative.
3. Authenticity:A genuine brand narrative reflects the true essence of your brand. Share real experiences, challenges overcome, and your brand’s journey. Authentic stories humanise the brand and make it more relatable to your audience.
4. Relevance to the audience: Tailor your brand narrative to resonate with your target audience. Address their needs, desires, and pain points. When your narrative speaks directly to their concerns, aspirations, and values, it becomes more impactful and relevant, fostering a deeper connection.
5. Differentiation: Highlight what sets your brand apart. Showcase your unique selling points, values, or approaches that distinguish you from competitors. A strong brand narrative communicates why your brand is special and why customers should choose you over others.

By coming back to these points, you can be sure to create a brand narrative that truly reflects your brand whilst keeping the needs of your audience at the forefront.

Who Is Responsible for Crafting a Brand Narrative?

Crafting a brand narrative is a collaborative effort that involves multiple stakeholders within a company. The responsibility for creating a brand narrative typically falls on the following roles or departments:

Marketing Team

They are responsible for understanding the brand’s values, mission, and goals and translating them into a compelling narrative that resonates with the target audience.

Brand Strategist or Manager

Many companies have a dedicated brand strategist or brand manager whose primary responsibility is to develop and maintain the brand’s narrative.

Founder/CEO

In many cases, the founder or CEO of the company plays a significant role in shaping the brand narrative, as they often have a deep understanding of the brand’s origin, vision, and values.

Creative Team

Copywriters, designers, and creative directors are responsible for bringing the brand narrative to life through visual and written content.

Customer Insights Team

Understanding the customer’s perspective is crucial when crafting a brand narrative. The customer insights team gathers data and feedback from customers to inform the narrative’s development.

How to Create a Compelling Brand Narrative

Now you know the essential elements of an effective brand narrative, it’s time to start crafting your own.

Like we said in the intro, this can be a lot harder than it sounds as you have to really think about your reason for being and how this is relevant and meaningful to your audience.

The first step in the process is defining your brand identity and the values that you stand by.

Step 1: Define Your Brand Identity and Values

Defining your brand identity is a key part of creating a compelling brand narrative.

To get started, you need to analyse the core of your brand including what drives it, what it represents, and what it promises to deliver.

Note down whatever it is that encapsulates your brand’s character.

Equally as important are your brand values which are the things that you leave and breathe as a company. They act as guiding principles and they should influence every single interaction. At Canny, our brand values are: Set up for success, make relationships matter, always over communicate, sweat the small stuff, and have serious fun.

*I should add, it’s a pure coincidence that these make the acronym SMASH, but hey ho, we like it and it effectively summarises who we are as an agency.

Examples of brand values include:

• Environmental sustainability
• Community empowerment
• Unparalleled quality
• Integrity
• Diversity and inclusion

All of these values guide your brand narrative as they steer your messaging, actions, and branding decisions toward a consistent and authentic portrayal of your brand.

Step 2: Understand Your Target Audience

We’re going to repeat ourselves here, but every effective brand narrative is centered around the needs of the audience.

If you’re unsure who your audience is, then use the template below to help. This details the different things you need to consider when identifying your target audience including their basic demographics and pain points.

Now we’re going to weave your audience into your brand narrative.

Start by picturing your audience as characters in a story who are waiting to be understood. In the below scenario, we’ll pretend you’re a cyber security company who partners with businesses to make their cyber processes more safe.

When thinking about your audience, is the person a male character? Are they aged between 25-40? Are they looking for an easy-to-use solution that they can train their team on? Do they need a quick solution?

If so, incorporate these points into your brand narrative. So it might start to sound something like:

“As a trusted cybersecurity company, we believe that businesses need protection that’s not a hassle. That’s why we’re here – to team up, make it easy, and let you take control. No downtime, no confusion. We’re your partners, showing you the ropes so you can manage your own cybersecurity. Because security should empower, not overwhelm.”

By delving into the aspirations and pain points of your audience, you can uncover the emotions that drive their decisions. Every branding decision you make, from the tone of your messaging to the imagery you choose, revolves around them.

When your brand narrative mirrors their thoughts, speaks to their needs, and validates their experiences, you can spark genuine engagement and loyalty.

The same concept would apply if you were a sustainable fashion brand targeting environmentally conscious consumers.

Weave your ethical manufacturing practices into your brand narrative and create a connection between you and your end user.

Step 3: Uncover Your Brand’s Origin

Every single brand had to start out somewhere, and it can be easy to forget this – especially if you’ve grown into a large company.

However, your brand’s origin sets you apart from others and it can be the thing that really sticks in your customer’s mind. This tells them the journey of how you came to be and it has the power to connect with consumers on a much deeper level.

For example, a brand that always comes to mind when I think about this topic is Etsy (probably because I buy so much from there!)

Launched in 2005 by Rob Kalin and two co-founders, Etsy began with a desire to provide a platform for artisans to sell their handmade and vintage goods online. Cleverly, the name “Etsy” comes from “est,” an Old English word for “east,” which signifies a direction toward success.

What I love about Etsy’s brand narrative is that it started from a desire to support independent creators, yet it’s become a global marketplace for unique, quirky items.

I feel connected to the brand and I value what they’re trying to do (i.e. help small businesses and creatives to succeed). Because of their brand narrative, it makes me want to get involved and buy something.

Step 4: Define the Problem Your Brand Solves

We’re going back to your audience again, as your brand narrative should include the problem that you solve.

Otherwise why do you exist? And why should customers choose you over your competitors?

You need to be helping them to do something, otherwise there’s no value in them buying from your company.

Going back to the example of the cyber security firm, they’re helping businesses protect their cyber security through an easy-to-use solution.

Below are a few more examples of well-known brands and the problems that they solve:

• Google: Problem solved – Information retrieval and exploration as Google’s search engine addresses the problem of accessing and organising vast amounts of information on the internet. This allows users to quickly find relevant answers.
• Nike: Problem Solved – Enhancing athletic performance as Nike’s footwear and clothing help individuals perform better and stay active by offering comfortable, high-performance products.
• Amazon: Problem solved – Streamlining online shopping as Amazon solves the problem of convenience in online shopping by providing a vast selection of products, efficient delivery options, and personalised recommendations.
• Uber: Problem solved – Convenient transportation as Uber addresses the problem of convenient transportation by offering a platform that connects riders with drivers, making it easier to find reliable rides.

If you’re struggling to define the problem your own brand solves, follow the exercise below. This will help you clarify the problems you solve and how you provide value to customers.

• Customer problems: List the top three problems your customers face.
• Brand solutions: Describe how your product or service directly addresses each problem.
• Unique Value: Summarise what sets your brand apart from competitors in solving these problems.
• Value statement: Craft a brief statement that explains how your brand makes your customers’ lives better by solving these problems.

Step 5: Introduce Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

Your USP is the distinctive thread that weaves through your brand narrative and as the name suggests, it’s what makes your brand unique.

It’s about telling your audience what makes you the ideal choice; the one that understands their needs like no one else.

To craft this narrative, think about what your brand does differently. Maybe you provide groundbreaking technology, exceptional customer service, or an unparalleled quality that no one else can replicate?

All of these things give customers a reason to choose you over one of your competitors who will be offering a similar product or service.

Consider the points below when deciding on your own unique selling point:

• Analyse your audience: What are their desires and values?
• Study competitors: What gap do you fill in the market?
• Identify your strengths: What unique strengths or qualities does your brand have?
• Solve a problem: How does your offering provide a solution?
• Focus on benefits: What benefits will your customers gain?
• Align with brand values: Does your USP align with your brand’s core values?
• Emphasise emotional connection: How does your brand make your audience feel?
• Long-term viability: Is your USP fit for the future?

Step 6: Construct the Brand Narrative Structure

The idea is to construct a brand narrative structure encompassing an engaging introduction, a tension-building middle section, and a satisfying resolution.

There are lots of frameworks which can help with this including the hero’s journey.

This narrative archetype mirrors the path of an ordinary person who leaves their familiar home environment, embarks on a journey into uncharted territories, and ultimately returns home transformed. The hero’s journey unfolds through the following stages:

• Departure: The hero leaves home. They usually feel reluctant to embark on their journey and are resistant to change.
• Descent: The hero travels to an unfamiliar world.
• Initiation: The hero confronts a series of challenges and trials, culminating in a showdown with the main adversary.
• Return: The hero returns home. Home is the same, but the hero has been changed in some way.

When imagining your ideal customer, consider them as the hero in this narrative. Does your product play a role in initiating their journey?

Does it contribute to their eventual return home, albeit in a changed state? By situating your product within the framework of the hero’s journey, you enable potential customers to visualise your brand as a part of their own narrative, fostering a deeper connection.

Step 7: Incorporate Visual and Verbal Branding

You need to weave your brand narrative into every aspect of its presentation to leave a lasting impression on your audience.

This includes:

• Design elements: Everything from logos to packaging should match and improve your brand narrative. Even small details that you might overlook like images and icons can trigger emotions, creating a consistent visual language that speaks to your target audience.
• Consistent tone of voice: Using the same tone in your brand messages is just as important. The words you choose and how you say things should reflect your brand narrative. Whether that’s friendly, informative, or strong, this tone shows the personality you want your brand to have.
• Colours, fonts, and images: Colours and fonts visually show your brand narrative. Colours bring out feelings – like trust (blues), energy (reds), or calm (greens). Fonts match your style – modern, classic, or adventurous. Images can also show your brand’s values, connecting quickly with your audience.

Incorporating visual and verbal branding isn’t just a design exercise; it’s a strategic effort to show your brand narrative in every part of your brand’s presentation.

Crafting a Compelling Brand Narrative: A Step-by-Step Guide

After reading this post, you should be able to craft your own brand narrative that speaks to your audience and inspires lasting connections.

Remember that a well-crafted brand narrative is more than just a story; it’s weaved into every part of your brand.

It encapsulates your values, mission, and unique identity, allowing you to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

By employing the techniques outlined in this post, such as defining your hero’s journey, and understanding your audience’s desires and aspirations, you can create a brand narrative that not only resonates but also drives action.

At Canny, we partner with clients across the globe helping them define what makes them unique so that we can create a brand narrative that has impact. We get inside your business and the needs of your audience, so that we can help you build a successful brand. To find out more, get in touch with our team.

A brand consultant can be integral in helping a company to define their brand strategy and brand identity. They sometimes have expertise in a wider range of marketing or business growth activities too.

You want your branding to:

Differentiate you in the market, improve recognition and memorability through consistent application across touchpoints, and in turn, directly impact business growth.

The Branding Brief Template

The Branding Brief Template is a free template that will help you get the brief for your branding project right. W...

download now

A brand consultant brings fresh eyes to your business, spotting opportunities and gaps you might have overlooked, ensuring you stand out in a crowded market.

A Nielsen survey noted that:

59% of consumers prefer to buy from brands familiar to them.

The implication? Effective and consistent branding isn’t just a nicety, it’s a necessity.

Furthermore, a 2020 report by WARC found that strong brands outperform the stock market by a staggering 134%.

It’s undeniable; effective branding offers an unparalleled competitive edge.

And that’s why bringing in a brand consultant makes sense; to ensure your branding not only differentiates you but also enhances recognition and memorability across your brand touchpoints, driving business growth.

Ready to find how more? Let’s get to it.

What is a Brand Consultant and What Do They Do?

A brand consultant is a professional who specialises in creating, maintaining, and enhancing brands for businesses and organisations.

Their expertise typically centres around shaping a company’s brand strategy, brand identity, and brand marketing; in turn, how it’s perceived by its target audience and the broader public.

A brand consultant provides advice to ensure their client’s brand is consistent, effective, and aligns with the company’s wider strategy. They also help create a unique brand identity and image that stands out in the marketplace.

They also conduct extensive market research to understand customer behaviour, preferences, and needs, and help align their acquired insights with the company’s overall strategy.

Armed with these insights, they’ll then help to distil the company’s brand strategy into a compelling brand narrative and value proposition that resonates with the target audience.

Your brand is the single most important investment you can make in your business. – Steve Forbes.

That’s a pretty big statement by the Founder of Forbes magazine. But it shows the true value of branding, and explains why companies rush to bring in brand consultants to help.

Airbnb: Transforming the Travel Experience with Emotion-Driven Branding

Before the Airbnb we know and love today, they faced the challenge of differentiating its offering and solidifying its growth in the face of emerging competitors.

Enter brand consultant Jowey Roden and the team at DesignStudio.

What they identified was that Airbnb is about more than providing rooms, they’re about delivering experiences, forging community bonds, and creating a profound sense of belonging.

The brand strategy steered towards Airbnb’s unmatched ability to craft real connections between hosts and travellers. Brand marketing campaigns were launched that showcased genuine stories of hosts and guests, spotlighting the authenticity of these connections.

Alongside this Airbnb’s visual assets, including its emblematic logo, underwent a transformation. The goal? To evoke feelings of warmth, inclusivity, and community.

Airbnb’s platform was also overhauled to reflect its new brand direction. The introduction of “Experiences” presented travellers with an offering of localised events and activities, not just accommodation to rent.

The results speak for themselves. In just 12 month:

• Global bookings skyrocketed, showing a surge of 80%.
• The platform experienced a 50% uptick in host sign-ups, diversifying its accommodation options.
• A 45% increase was observed in user engagement metrics like reviews and interactions.

Listen to Episode 2 of A Change of Brand if you want to know more about the Airbnb story.

Is a Brand Consultant an Individual or a Team?

Terms and definitions in the marketing industry are ambiguous at best. A brand consultant can refer to both an individual or a team of people within an agency, depending on the context and scale of work.

Here’s a breakdown:

Individual Brand Consultant

• A single professional with expertise in brand strategy and identity design.
• They often have multiple years of experience in branding and can work independently or as part of a larger agency.
• Typically they’re suitable for specific tasks or projects, especially for small to mid-sized businesses that don’t need extensive resources.

Branding Agency or Team

• A collection of professionals specialising in different areas of branding, from strategy and research to design and implementation.
• They provide a more comprehensive set of services and can handle larger-scale branding projects including full corporate brand projects and rebrands.
• Suitable for bigger businesses or complex branding needs, encompassing research, strategy, design, digital media, and more.

So, while the term “brand consultant” typically refers to an individual, it can also mean a team or agency depending on the specific situation or the scale of branding services required.

Either way, you can utilise either to help your brand grow.

The Situations When Your Business Might Need a Brand Consultant

There are a variety of different scenarios in which your business might benefit from the expertise and advice a brand consultant has to offer.

Let’s take a look:

Launching a Startup or New Brand

When launching a startup or new brand, brand consultants help to establish a strong brand strategy and identity from the beginning, reducing trial and error and expediting business growth.

Navigating a Rebrand

If your brand isn’t resonating with your target audience, a brand consultant can help reshape your brand to better connect with your customers.

According to Lucidpress:

Rebrands can lead to a 25% increase in sales.

But rebranding is not something to rush into just because. Check out our post about the fundamentals of rebranding if this is a route you’re currently exploring.

Introducing New Products and Services

When introducing new products or services, a brand consultant ensures that new offerings are seamlessly, meticulously, and consistently integrated into your existing brand architecture.

Mergers and Acquisitions

In the case of mergers and acquisitions or managing multiple brands, brand consultants can help navigate complex situations by defining a clear brand hierarchy and ensuring brand consistency.

For example:

When Disney and 21st Century Fox merged, they’ll likely have consulted with a branding professional to assess the brand equity of both entities and guide Disney on which Fox assets to integrate into its brand portfolio and how to do so.

Boosting Online Presence

To increase online traffic, a brand consultant might revamp your brand to better resonate across digital brand touchpoints, enhancing your online presence and boosting traffic.

In this instance, they might also partner with another consultant or larger agency to widen the scope of their agreement and help you navigate the different challenges digital marketing presents.

Penetrating New Markets

When looking to break into a new market, a brand consultant can help adapt your branding and marketing to cater to the needs and preferences of your new target demographic.

Each of these circumstances lends itself well to working with a branding consultant or agency. They’re tricky to navigate on your own (especially if you’re working as part of a smaller marketing team).

Bringing in external expertise when faced with any of these challenges is sure to help!

How a Brand Consultant Works: The Step-by-Step Process

A brand consultant will typically follow a similar branding process to what we do here at Canny.

They’ll want to understand everything, then formulate a strategy, create the identity, and look at how they can help you bring it to market.

Brand Audit: Assessing Your Current Brand Position

A brand audit is a critical initial step when working with a brand consultant.

Their audit will offer a clear snapshot of where a brand stands in the current market. They’ll assess your current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. They’ll also review your current brand strategy, identity, and marketing campaigns and help to establish baseline metrics for measuring the impact of future brand and marketing initiatives.

As well as reviewing documentation and running different sessions and workshops with your team, your brand consultant will engage key stakeholders to help them get an understanding of brand perception.

As part of your brand audit, your consultant will also look at a range of your competitors, to help assess where you sit in relation to them, and show you opportunities you might be missing that they’re capitalising on.

Their brand audit will provide actionable insights to leverage your brand’s potential, highlight gaps and inconsistencies in your current brand communication, and give you an action plan for moving forward.

Brand Strategy: Forming a Strategy Based on Your Business Goals

After the audit, the priority is creating a clear brand strategy that aligns to the company’s business strategy. This step makes sure that moving forward, every decision that’s made helps to move the brand forward towards its objectives.

Your brand consultant will use the audit’s stakeholder engagement data from your audit to profile your ideal customer and target audience. Without this, your strategy has nobody to connect with, and you’ll find it impossible to shape your value proposition, messaging, and campaigns.

After profiling your ideal customers, they’ll then tackle other essential brand strategy elements like:

• Brand Positioning
• Brand Story
• Brand Values
• Brand Mission
• Brand Touchpoints
• Brand Messaging
• Tone of Voice

They’ll also incorporate current market trends into their strategy recommendations.

It’s also important to remember that your brand strategy should be treated as a living document. Market dynamics change, things happen, your brand strategy should have a solid foundation, but be flexible enough to adapt to the world as it changes.

Brand Identity: Design and Delivery of Your Brand Visuals

Your brand identity is the thing that everyone commonly mistakes for “branding.” Your brand identity forms part of your overall corporate brand, but it’s not the only thing that matters.

And remember, your brand identity is more than just your logo design!

A well considered and developed brand identity should include:

• Logo design
• Colour palette
• Typography
• Photography styles
• Graphic elements

Your brand consultant will use their audit and strategy to inform how your brand should look. The design phase will bring your brand’s strategy to life, and ensure consistent design methodology is used across all touchpoints.

The goal of your brand identity is to:

• Build Recognition: A distinct brand identity should ensure immediate recognition and differentiation.
• Ensure Consistency: A well-defined brand identity ensures consistency which helps to build trust and reassure your audience.
• Differentiate: In any market, differentiation is crucial. A unique brand identity helps to carve out a space in the minds of your audience.
• Connect: The right identity will help to connect with your audience on an emotional level, drawing them into your brand story.
• Give You a Foundation: Your brand identity design should guide all marketing efforts moving forward.

Unless you’re working with a brand consultancy or agency, your brand consultant is likely not a brand identity designer themselves. They’ll most likely bring in a 3rd party to help construct your visual identity.

Once your visual brand identity is established, your consultant or their preferred partner will create a brand identity guideline that serves as the foundation of your brand moving forward.

Campaign Planning: Getting Your Brand Out There

The final step after brand strategy and identity creation is launching your brand through targeted marketing campaigns that connect with your audience.

A brand consultant aligns marketing campaigns with your brand strategy and identity, recommending specific platforms and campaign types to amplify your message. Your consultant will guide you to balance storytelling with direct brand promotion. Ensure both campaign types get focus.

They will also help to monitor and analyse campaign performance for continuous improvement and optimisation opportunities.

Thanks to the consultant’s thorough audit and strategy, campaign visuals will align seamlessly with your brand identity. Your brand visuals will be integrated across all of your wider marketing channels and campaigns.

A survey by Demand Metric found that:

80% of organizations perceived themselves as primarily brand-building, but only half have a formally documented brand strategy.

By choosing to work with a brand consultant, you’re equipped with a clear strategy, positioning you for successful marketing campaigns.

How to Hire the Right Brand Consultant

If you’re looking to hire a brand consultant, then there are some things you should consider before diving in. Budgets for branding projects can quickly escalate and you don’t want to make a costly mistake by bringing in the wrong consultant.

Evaluating Track Record

Looking for a consultant that has a strong portfolio showcasing past branding projects is a good starting point. A proven track record of successful brand transformations is hard to argue with. Make sure to look for tangible results, not just pretty pictures!

There are pros and cons to working with a consultant that focuses on one niche or market segment too. The main pro being they’ll know it inside and out, and get every little insider term. The main con being that because they’re so entrenched in the industry, getting a fresh perspective and view from them will be difficult. So decide if that’s important to you.

Credentials and certifications don’t typically mean much in the world of branding and marketing, it’s more about their track record. However, testimonials and references from previous clients are always good to explore. Ask them to recommend some of their other clients for you to talk to.

And, as with any contractor or relationship you’re looking to build, effective communication and interpersonal skills goes a long way. If it takes them 7 days to reply to your initial enquiry, bin them off. Being able to get hold of them (within reason) is key.

Pre-Engagement Questions

You’ll want to ask questions about your company, and also have a list of questions for the consultant in your back pocket.

Before even starting to look for a brand consultant, make sure you’ve answered the following questions internally:

• What is the primary challenge or goal I want the consultant to address?
• Do I need a consultant for a one-off project or a long-term collaboration?
• What is the desired outcome from the consultancy?

Answering these 3 basic questions will put you in the right frame of mind, and the chances are, the consultants you talk to will ask you anyway. Better to be prepared!

Before engaging with a consultant, ask them:

• Can you describe a similar branding challenge you’ve handled in the past and the results achieved?
• Do you engage with key stakeholders?
• Can you describe your process?
• How do you handle feedback and revisions?
• How do you measure the success of a branding project?
• What are the expected deliverables and timeline for our project?

These are the basics, if they can’t answer, what are they going to do when things get tricky? If they don’t have answers, think twice before proceeding.

Building a Productive Partnership

Preparing a branding brief is always a great starting point. It’ll help to align your company goals with the expertise of your brand consultant. It also helps to set clear expectations and deliverables up front.

And just as you’d expect from your consultant, make sure you maintain open lines of communication. The client / consultant relationship isn’t a one way street. They need to be able to get hold of you, just as easily as you can get hold of them.

The way we handle this at Canny is to schedule regular check-ins or update sessions. Also having an agreed communication channel works best. You don’t want some messages via email, some Whatsapp, some in Slack. Get on the same page about what works best for all parties, then stick to it.

Finally:

Respect and consider their expert advice, even if it challenges your initial ideas. Afterall, this is what you’re paying them for.

If you’re going to constantly reject their ideas and expertise, then you may as well have done the work yourself.

Consultancy Costs

In your search for the right brand consultant, you’ll come across a variety of different project types and budget levels.

It’s hard to get into the cost of a branding project in a blog post, because there’s so much to consider. Things like:

• The size of your business
• The scope of your arrangement
• Hourly vs project-based billing

All change the prices of a project dramatically. If you hire a huge name consultant that’s backed by one of the worlds’ leading design agencies, expect to pay big bucks.

Look for the right fit, and discuss the budget with them. Be aware of potential added costs and expenditure. And when they’re quoting for the work, be very clear about what you expect to see included, and what you’re looking for from the relationship.

When you get the proposals back, make sure you’re comparing apples to apples, and consider the ROI of your branding project against the risks of not taking action.

Red Flags: When Your Brand Consultant Isn’t Working

Sometimes you get into a project, and you can’t quite put your finger on something, but you know it’s not working out.

Here are the 3 top reasons a brand consultant might not be working as expected:

Not Taking the Time to Understand Your Business

The first thing that can go wrong in the whole process of working with a consultant is them not taking the time to fully understand your business.

Their job as a brand consultant is to know your business inside and out.

If they don’t take the time to sit down with you, understand your business, objectives, customers or other key stakeholders, that’s an immediate red flag.

Rushing Into a Full Rebrand, or Focusing Solely on Design Work

The next thing we see is people being rushed into a full rebrand, or brand consultants jumping straight into design work.

Sure, there’s an element of that, but as we said earlier, it’s not where you start.

If your consultant is pushing you to rebrand from Day 1, or they want to start designing things straight away, that’s another red flag.

Communication Problems

And the most common complaint we here from clients who’ve worked with our consultants is when communication drops. It goes like this:

“The consultant we worked with was fine, until they stopped emailing and calling us back.” They don’t understand what happened, but communication went completely sideways or stopped altogether.

If you’ve noticed any of these red flags, what should you do?

First of all, re-communicate your expectations. Let them know you’re frustrated and give them a chance to address it.

If that doesn’t work, get someone from the C-suite involved. We’ve seen that help to “pull people’s socks up” in the past.

And if that doesn’t work, sadly, it’s over to the legal team to exit the contract.

Hopefully it doesn’t get that far, and you have a productive and long standing relationship with a brand consultant you know, like, and trust!

Alternatives to a Brand Consultant

In today’s competitive market, building a strong brand presence is more important than ever. While many companies use a brand consultant to ensure their branding is on point, some might be hesitant due to budget constraints, unfamiliarity with the process, or a desire to keep things in-house.

If you find yourself on the fence about the decision, it’s worth noting that there are several other avenues you could consider.

These alternatives each bring their own strengths and weaknesses to the table:

• An in-house team: This option is cost-effective and often consists of individuals who already understand the company’s strategy. However, they might not have the diverse experiences and fresh perspective that an external consultant would provide.
• A branding agency: Like a brand consultant, they offer specialised branding services. For larger businesses or those looking to rebrand on a large scale, choosing a branding agency can be the perfect fit, providing a comprehensive package.
• Doing it yourself: Taking the DIY route is budget-friendly, but it requires a significant time investment. Plus, without specialised knowledge, the end result might lack the polish and cohesiveness that professionals can achieve.

In weighing these options, it’s important to consider what aligns best with your company’s goals and resources.

While each alternative has its merits, at Canny, we think working with a brand consultant or a branding agency often produces the most beneficial outcomes.

Brand Consultant FAQs

Empowering Your Brand with a Consultant

Having the right guidance can be the difference between building a brand that fades away, and one that stands out and thrives in the market.

A brand consultant or branding agency brings expertise, offering a fresh, external perspective that is essential when looking to transform your brand. Whether you’re a new startup, in the midst of rebranding, or seeking to fortify your existing brand, a consultant or agency will craft a strategy and identity that connects with your audience and makes a lasting impact.

A statistic from Lucidpress solidifies the importance of brand consistency:

Consistent branding across all channels can bolster revenue by a whopping 23%.

This statistic isn’t just about numbers; it highlights the tangible business benefits brought about by the meticulous and consistent planning and approach of working with a brand consultant.

In Jeff Bezos’ words, “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

A brand with a robust strategy and outstanding identity will leave a lasting impression. With a brand consultant by your side, you’re better positioned to ensure that impression is a favourable and memorable one.

We’d love to work with you as your brand consultant and branding agency. Get in touch with Canny today to discuss your project.

In any industry, competition is fierce and consumer preferences shift rapidly meaning the significance of effective branding cannot be overstated.

Understanding the intricacies of branding and its impact on customer perception, loyalty, and market positioning is essential so that you can continue to attract and engage your audience.

Branding decisions are complex, and some you might not have even considered. They go beyond the typical decisions such as naming the brand, or thinking or a funky slogan, as you need to consider each and every part of the brand.

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This includes deciding on brand positioning, tone of voice, brand messaging, the means of communication, and much more. It can be easy to cast over some of these key branding decisions as you get wrapped up in the excitement of creating a new brand or rebranding an existing one.

But that’s what this blog is all about as we’re going to delve into the pivotal choices that can either propel a business to new heights or leave it struggling to connect with its target audience.

Before we jump into the different branding decisions, let’s first recap the crucial role of branding for a company.

The Role of Branding

Branding plays a pivotal role in creating a unique and easily identifiable identity for a company, product, or individual.

Its purpose is to forge a powerful, emotional bond with the intended audience so that people ultimately want to invest in the product or service.

By harnessing the potential of branding, businesses can convey their distinctive values, qualities, and commitments. This, in turn, creates a sense of trust leading to increased consumer loyalty.

However, as mentioned in the intro, branding goes beyond logos and slogans; it touches every part of a company’s products and interactions with its customers. This leads to a complete coordination of experiences that shape how customers see the brand and affect how they make decisions.

One prime example of a B2B brand that underscores the importance of effective branding is Cisco. Specialising in networking hardware, software, and telecommunications equipment, the company demonstrates the power of strategic branding to establish itself as a trusted partner.

Cisco’s branding revolves around providing solutions to complex business challenges. Whether it’s improving network security or optimising cloud services, the brand’s messaging is centered on addressing real-world business needs. They also place a lot of emphasis on trust, consistently highlighting their commitment to safeguarding sensitive information and ensuring dependable networking infrastructure.

Cisco is a great example of a business who has carefully considered key branding decisions, ensuring their brand identity, brand positioning, and brand messaging are aligned.

Why Are Branding Decisions Crucial in Marketing?

Branding is a company’s key differentiating factor as this is what sets it apart from all the other company’s offering customers exactly the same thing.

To achieve this, branding involves a series of complex branding decisions that allow a company to consider each and every aspect of their brand. Instead of rushing into anything, they must address these branding decisions, identifying a way forward that ultimately leads to success.

Branding decisions are key as they help with:

• Differentiation
• Consistency
• Memorability

Who Is Usually Responsible for Making Branding Decisions?

The responsibility for making branding decisions typically involves a collaborative team involving marketing leaders, creative professionals, senior management and external branding consultants.

This ensures a comprehensive and well-rounded approach to shaping the brand’s identity and perception.

Marketing Leaders:

Marketing leaders bring their expertise in market research, consumer behaviour, and industry trends to the table. These professionals provide insights into how the brand should resonate with the target audience, what messaging will be most effective, and how to position the brand.

Creative Professionals

Creative professionals take the strategic direction provided by marketing leaders and transform it into tangible assets like logos, taglines, marketing materials, and digital content.

Senior Management

Branding decisions directly impact the company’s overall strategic direction. Senior leaders ensure that branding efforts are aligned with the company’s mission, vision, and long-term goals.

External Branding Consultants

In some cases, company’s partner with external branding consultants as they bring an outsider’s perspective and specialised knowledge to the process. They often conduct in-depth assessments of the company’s current brand positioning and offer strategic recommendations.

Critical Branding Decisions for Success

Now we’re getting into the most important bit – the key branding decisions.

Some of these you might already be aware of, and might have had to answer in your current role whereas others might have been overlooked.

By considering all of these branding decisions you can ensure that your brand is set up for success.

Brand identity

Brand identity is a pivotal branding decision because it forms the visual and conceptual foundation of how a brand is perceived by its audience.

It covers elements such as logos, colours, typography, and design style that create a distinctive and memorable image in the minds of customers.

A well-crafted brand identity not only fosters recognition but also communicates a brand’s values, personality, and promises. It sets the tone for all interactions, building consistency and trust.

Brand name

Naming a brand is a crucial branding decision, as it forms the core of the brand’s identity.

Often a brand’s name is the initial point of contact, shaping consumer perceptions and building a foundation for the brand’s essence.

The name of the brand is maybe what you think of first when imagining a brand – it is the base of the brand:

Therefore, it should:

• Suggest something about a product’s benefits and qualities.
• Be easy to pronounce, recognise, and remember.
• Be distinctive, so that consumers don’t confuse it with other brands.

Brand positioning

Brand positioning is crucial in branding as it shapes how consumers see the brand by creating its space in their minds. Successful brand positioning effectively communicates the brand’s value while connecting with customer aspirations.

Brand positioning can be done at any of three levels:

• On product attributes – Focusing on tangible features.
• On benefits – Emphasising experiential advantages.
• On beliefs and values – Aligning with ideologies.

Each level shapes how consumers perceive the brand, enabling it to stand out and forge connections.

Brand tone of voice

Brand tone of voice is a core branding decision, defining how a brand communicates consistently to establish its personality.

It’s about creating a distinct way of speaking that resonates across all communication channels. This voice embodies the brand’s character, building recognition and trust.

When crafting a brand tone of voice, define the desired personality and values of the brand, then craft a set of consistent language guidelines that resonate with the target audience.

We’ve already covered the complete guide to crafting a brand tone of voice in another post so make sure you give it a read. But for a quick recap, this usually follows the process below:

• Defining your brand’s personality
• Choosing the language you want to use
• Speaking directly to your audience
• Being consistent across all channels
• Crafting a unique and recognisable brand tone of voice

Brand messaging

Crafting a compelling brand messaging strategy is essential to effectively communicate a company’s value proposition and messages.

Clear and consistent messaging conveys the brand’s story, benefits, and identity, fostering trust and loyalty. This narrative resonance not only distinguishes the brand from its competitors but also shapes its engagement, creating a lasting impact on consumers’ perceptions.

To craft compelling brand messaging, define the brand’s core value proposition and key messages, then tailor them to resonate with the target audience’s needs and aspirations.

Brand story

A brand story helps guide consumer perceptions, fostering a sense of emotional connection and authenticity. It humanises the brand, making it more relatable and memorable, ultimately cultivating lasting customer loyalty.

To create a brand story, companies should delve into their origins, missions, and unique selling points. By aligning these elements with their target audience’s needs and challenges, brands can create their own brand story that piques genuine interest.

Brand values

Your brand values act as guiding principles, defining the brand’s character, and influencing decisions, behaviours, and relationships. By aligning with values that resonate with their target audience, companies can forge a strong emotional bond, foster trust, and differentiate themselves within the market.

To create their own brand values, companies should start by assessing their core beliefs, aspirations, and the impact they aim to have on society.

These values should be reflective of the company’s mission and vision, and meaningful to both internal stakeholders and external customers.

Brand mission

A well-crafted mission statement solidies the brand’s intent, allowing customers, employees, and stakeholders to understand the brand’s goals and aspirations.

To create their own brand mission, companies need to think about how they exist and the impact they want to make. A successful brand mission statement should be concise yet impactful, capturing the brand’s unique value proposition and its commitment to fulfilling a specific need.

This statement should not only resonate with the company’s internal team but also resonate with its target audience, instilling a sense of shared purpose.

Brand touchpoints

Brand touchpoints relate to every point of contact a consumer has with a brand, ranging from email, to social media, to the in-store experience.

By orchestrating these touchpoints effectively companies can craft a unified brand narrative, reinforcing their identity and value proposition consistently across all platforms.

To ensure the success of their brand touchpoints, companies need to understand the customer journey, identifying key interactions. Consistency is key here as brands need to ensure a uniform tone, messaging, and visual identity to improve recognition and strengthen brand recall.

Competitor research

Competitor research provides insights into market trends, consumer preferences, and potential opportunities, enabling companies to refine their brand identity and value proposition to better resonate with their target audience.

To carry out successful competitor research, companies should start by identifying their main competitors and analysing their strengths, weaknesses, and market strategies.

They can then use this information to identify gaps in the market, potential areas of improvement, and ways to position their brand distinctively.

Audience personas

Audience personas provide a humanised representation of different customer segments, helping companies create more personalised experiences. This understanding enables brands to establish emotional connections, anticipate consumer desires, and foster loyalty by addressing their audience’s pain points and aspirations.

To identify their own audience personas, companies should analyse data from various sources, including market research, surveys, social media insights, and customer feedback.

Segmenting the data based on demographics, behaviours, interests, and pain points helps to create distinct persona profiles. Each persona should have a name, a backstory, and detailed characteristics that represent a specific customer segment.

Brand architecture

Brand architecture is a key branding decision that outlines the hierarchical structure of a company’s brand portfolio, providing clarity on how different brands within the portfolio relate to each other.

To identify their own brand architecture, companies should start by categorising their different brands and products based on their relationships, target audiences, and value propositions.

There are various approaches to brand architecture, such as monolithic (where the parent brand dominates), endorsed (where sub-brands are connected to the parent brand), and freestanding (where sub-brands operate independently). Analysing customer preferences, market trends, and competitive positioning aids in making informed decisions about which architecture strategy best aligns with the company’s goals.

Brand sponsorship

Effective brand sponsorship not only showcases a company’s values but also creates memorable experiences that resonate with consumers and differentiate the brand within the market.

To manage brand sponsorship successfully, companies should first identify sponsorship opportunities that align with their brand identity, target audience, and marketing objectives.

Once a partnership is established, clear communication of brand values, expectations, and objectives is essential to ensure alignment. Regular monitoring and assessment of the partnership’s impact, including metrics like brand visibility, audience engagement, and return on investment, help determine the sponsorship’s effectiveness.

Brand communication

Effective brand communication fosters understanding, resonance, and emotional connection, reinforcing the brand’s identity and shaping consumer perceptions.

To manage brand communication, companies should start by defining clear brand messaging and guidelines. These guidelines cover tone of voice, visual identity, and core values that resonate with the intended audience.

By understanding their audience’s preferences and behaviors, companies can tailor their communication to deliver relevant content through the appropriate channels. Regularly monitoring and adapting strategies based on consumer feedback and market trends helps maintain relevance and effectiveness.

Brand experience

Brand experience refers to the impression left on consumers through various brand touchpoints, from products and services, to customer support and online presence.

By managing brand experience, companies can curate memorable, meaningful encounters that align with their brand’s identity.

To achieve this, companies need to understand their target audience’s needs, preferences, and expectations. Consistency across all touchpoints, from visual design to customer service, is vital to create a seamless and coherent brand journey. Aligning internal culture and values with external communication further ensures authenticity.

Brand equity management

Skillful brand equity management ensures that a brand maintains relevance, sustains positive consumer perceptions, and consistently delivers on its promises, fostering long-term success.

This means companies should prioritise maintaining the brand’s authenticity and relevance which involves regularly assessing consumer sentiment and preferences and adapting branding strategies accordingly.

Being consistent in how you communicate, your visual identity, and the quality of your products is important to strengthen your brand’s essential qualities. Companies can use marketing efforts, engaging with customers, and coming up with new ideas to build positive connections with their brand.

Brand development

Brand development is the shaping of a brand’s identity, personality, and perception in the market. It’s a strategic process that involves defining a brand’s values, mission, and unique attributes to resonate with its target audience.

To develop their brand successfully, companies should start by conducting market research to understand consumer needs, preferences, and market trends. This insight guides the crafting of a unique value proposition and brand story that resonate with the intended audience.

Developing a cohesive visual identity, including logo design, colour schemes, and typography, helps create a recognisable brand presence.

By strategically nurturing and evolving their brand, companies can establish a meaningful and enduring connection with their audience, driving growth and success.

Rebranding

Rebranding is a crucial branding decision for a company as it represents a significant transformation of its identity, image, and perception in the market.

Successful rebranding not only rejuvenates brand relevance but also generates renewed interest and engagement among consumers.

To approach the process of rebranding successfully, companies need to evaluate their current brand identity to work out what’s working vs what isn’t. They should also involve stakeholders, customers, and employees to gain valuable insights into their expectations and preferences before rushing into anything.

A key part of any successful rebranding initiative is effective communication as this ensures a seamless transition and minimises any confusion. By carefully navigating the rebranding process, companies can implement change while retaining exisiting consumer loyalty.

Product line and extensions

Deciding on product lines and extensions involves strategically expanding or diversifying a brand’s product portfolio to meet changing customer needs, capture new markets, or leverage existing brand equity.

Companies should begin by conducting thorough market research to identify consumer trends and potential gaps. Then they need to analyse the brand’s core values, mission, and target audience is crucial to ensure that any new product lines align with the brand’s identity.

A clear understanding of the competitive landscape and potential synergies with existing products helps guide decisions. Companies can employ a clear segmentation strategy to determine which extensions fit naturally within the brand’s portfolio and resonate with specific consumer segments.

Distribution channels and marketing strategies

Deciding on distribution channels and marketing strategies directly influences how a brand reaches its target audience and positions itself in the market.

Distribution channels determine how products are delivered to consumers, while marketing strategies shape how a brand communicates its value and builds connections. These decisions impact brand visibility, accessibility, and overall customer experience.

When choosing distribution channels, whether that’s traditional retail, e-commerce, partnerships, or direct sales, the target audience needs to be front and centre. Often the best option is to leverage a mix of online and offline marketing tactics to maximise brand exposure.

The Impact of Branding Decisions on Customers and Employees

Branding decisions influence both the perceptions of your customers and also the experiences and engagement of your employees.

In this section, we’re exploring the effects of branding decisions on building strong relationships, fostering loyalty, and shaping a vibrant company culture.

Branding decisions influence consumer perception and purchasing behaviour

Branding decisions have a direct impact on how consumers view a company within the market. These choices shape the way consumers emotionally connect with, trust, and stay loyal to the brand, which ultimately affects how they decide to buy and choose brands.

It’s important to be aware of these factors when making branding decisions because understanding how their choices influence consumer perception, emotional connections, trust, and loyalty empowers brands to make informed and strategic choices.

A strong brand identity can attract and retain talented employees

The robust brand identity plays a key role in drawing and retaining skilled employees. It mirrors the company’s values, culture, and standing, enhancing its attraction to prospective candidates in search of alignment with the company’s mission and principles.

It also nurtures a sense of pride and allegiance among current employees, contributing to their lasting commitment.

The importance of aligning internal and external branding strategies

Ensuring alignment between internal and external branding strategies is crucial as it leads to a unified and coherent brand message that reaches both employees and customers.

When the internal culture and external branding strategies are in sync, employees tend to embrace the brand values, resulting in improved customer experiences. This alignment further enhances the brand’s credibility.

Different Types of Branding

Being aware of different types of branding, such as product branding, personal branding, and global branding, is crucial when making branding decisions as it enables tailored strategies that align with specific objectives, audience segments, and market contexts.

In turn, this leads to more effective and resonant communication of the brand’s unique identity and value proposition.

Let’s take a look at different types of branding in more detail.

Corporate branding

Corporate branding refers to the process of establishing a recognisable brand strategy and identity for a company. It involves a comprehensive approach that shapes how the company is perceived by its stakeholders, including customers, employees, investors, and the public.

This type of branding involves crafting an overarching brand identity that includes the company’s values, mission, culture, and positioning across all its activities and offerings. Unlike product branding, where decisions are tailored to specific products, corporate branding requires a more holistic and strategic approach.

Branding decisions here extend to many touchpoints such as company culture, website design, social media presence, and more.

Product branding

Product branding involves creating a distinct identity and perception for individual products within a company’s portfolio. Unlike overall corporate branding, which focuses on the company as a whole, product branding centers on crafting a unique image, name, and positioning for each specific product.

In product branding, decisions must align closely with the specific product’s target audience, benefits, and market positioning. This requires tailoring visual elements, messaging, and marketing strategies to cater to the specific needs and preferences of the product’s intended customers.

Unlike corporate branding, where decisions may encompass a broader brand narrative, product branding requires a more focused approach to ensure that the individual product stands out in the market while still aligning with the overarching company brand.

Service branding

Service branding involves creating a distinct and memorable brand identity for intangible services, emphasising the unique benefits and experiences that the service offers. Unlike product branding, which focuses on tangible goods, service branding centers on conveying the value and quality of a service to customers.

With services, the emphasis is on building trust and delivering exceptional experiences. Branding decisions often revolve around crafting compelling messaging that conveys the benefits and outcomes of the service, as well as establishing a reputation for reliability and expertise.

Service branding also involves training employees to embody the brand values and deliver consistent experiences, as customer interactions play a vital role in shaping the brand’s perception.

Personal branding

Personal branding is the practice of creating a unique image for an individual, highlighting aspects such as their skills, expertise, values, and personality.

In personal branding, decisions revolve around showcasing the person’s authentic self, expertise, and personal journey. This involves creating an online presence through social media, blogs, and websites that reflect the individual’s professional achievements and passions.

Unlike corporate or product branding, personal branding often requires a more human approach, fostering connections through genuine communication. Branding decisions in personal branding also touch on networking, public speaking, and content creation to position the individual as an expert in their field.

Employer branding

Employer branding involves shaping a company’s reputation and identity as an employer to attract, engage, and retain talented employees. It encompasses the values, culture, work environment, and opportunities a company offers to its workforce.

Employer branding decisions focus on creating an appealing workplace identity that resonates with job seekers and aligns with the company’s mission. These decisions include crafting messaging that highlights company values, career growth, work-life balance, and employee benefits.

Unlike other branding types, employer branding requires consistent internal communication to ensure that the company’s actions align with the brand promises made to employees.

Global Branding

Global branding refers to the strategy of creating a consistent brand image and identity on a global scale, resonating with diverse cultures and markets. It involves adapting branding decisions to suit different regions while maintaining a unified brand.

Global branding decisions require extensive research and understanding of local customs, preferences, and values to ensure that the brand’s messaging, visual identity, and offerings are relevant and appealing.

These decisions involve striking a balance between maintaining core brand attributes and adapting to regional differences. Unlike other branding types, global branding requires flexibility in language, design, and communication style to accommodate different audiences.

Co-branding

Co-branding, also known as partnership branding, involves the collaboration of two or more brands to create a joint product, service, or marketing campaign.

It leverages the strengths and reputation of each brand to achieve mutual benefits and enhance customer appeal.

Branding decisions require alignment between the partnering brands’ values, target audiences, and brand positioning. The challenge lies in creating a harmonious narrative that respects the individual brand identities while seamlessly conveying the benefits of the collaboration.

Co-branding decisions extend to determining how much of each brand’s identity will be featured, the visual elements that represent the partnership, and how the joint venture will be communicated to customers.

Branding Decisions: A Marketers Checklist to Strategic Decision-Making

By having an awareness of and considering the above branding decisions, you can ensure you have thought about each and every aspect of a brand.

Instead of jumping into anything head first, branding decisions allow you to craft a strategic path for your brand’s development, without leaving anything overlooked.

They provide a structured framework that guides your choices, ensuring that every step you take aligns with your brand’s values, mission, and goals. It’s important to note that branding decisions are ongoing and there is always the need for continuous evaluation and adaptation.

This approach allows you to stay responsive to changing market dynamics, evolving consumer preferences, and emerging trends so that you can refine your strategies and maintain your brand’s relevance.

At Canny, we partner with brands across the globe helping them connect to their target audience and make an impact. Branding decisions are complex, but we can partner with to help you answer the questions that will ultimately lead your brand to success. To find out more, get in touch with our team.

A game changing corporate brand is a mix of outstanding strategy, visuals, storytelling, engagement, and application.

We live in a world where we’re constantly bombarded with brands, advertisements, slogans, and social media. For fun, try and count up the brands you’ve encountered before you leave the house in the morning.

We’re becoming numb to it all.

Your corporate branding is there to make you stand out.

In fact:

It’s the only way you can stand out.

The Branding Brief Template

The Branding Brief Template is a free template that will help you get the brief for your branding project right. W...

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Think about some of the biggest consumer brands in the world; Coca-Cola, Nike, Apple, and Tesla. These are companies that have harnessed the power of their corporate brand.

They don’t just sell products and services, they sell experiences, emotions, and ideals. And they have licence to do so because of the brands they’ve built.

This post will guide you through the corporate branding landscape. We’ll share the process we use at Canny to craft brands that truly stand out. You’ll also discover examples of familiar companies, gaining insights into how they’ve created successful and engaging brands.

Ready? Let’s dive into the world of corporate branding.

What is Corporate Branding and Why Is It Important?

In the design industry, terms like corporate branding, brand strategy, and logo design are often confused or used interchangeably. Let’s clarify each term.

Corporate Branding

Corporate branding is the practice of promoting the brand name of a corporate entity, instead of specific services or products.

For example:

• Apple Inc is the company name, Apple is the corporate brand
• The Coca Cola Company is the company name, Coca Cola is the corporate brand
• Tesla Inc is the company name, Tesla is the corporate brand

Creating a successful corporate brand involves establishing a strong brand strategy, a brand identity that stands out, activating it across your brand touch points, in turn building loyalty, trust, and engagement with your brand.

Corporate branding involves establishing a strong, consistent, and unique brand image that represents the values, culture, and vision of a company. The aim is to create a brand that stands out and not only attracts, but retains loyal customers.

Brand Strategy

Brand strategy is the long-term plan that outlines the key elements of your brand.

When we develop a brand strategy here at Canny, we look at 9 different elements of your brand.

They are:

• Audience Personas
• Competitor Research
• Brand Positioning
• Brand Story
• Brand Values
• Brand Mission
• Brand Touchpoints
• Brand Messaging
• Tone of Voice

Your brand strategy defines what you stand for. It’s essentially “the ultimate guide” to your brand.

A well-crafted brand strategy can guide all aspects of a business, from marketing and customer experience to product development and partnerships.

Brand Identity

Brand identity is the visible side of a brand, the way you present yourself. It’s your colour palette, typography, logo design, and overall style. Typically, your brand identity is summarised in a brand guideline document.

Your corporate identity includes all of the visual and verbal elements of your brand. It also ties directly into your brand strategy.

It’s this combination of the visuals and strategy that gives you a brand identity and helps distinguish your brand in your audience’s minds.

Logo Design

A logo design is a symbol, mark, or graphic element that serves as the visual representation of a company’s brand. It’s typically the thing most associated with a brand.

Think Nike’s Swoosh, Apple’s Apple, or Coca Cola’s famous red script logo. That’s logo design.

Logo design is the process of creating a distinct and recognisable asset that people associate directly with your company.

Now that we’re clear on the terms, let’s look at how to build a great corporate brand.

How to Build a Powerful Corporate Brand

Building a leading corporate brand is straightforward in theory, but challenging to deliver.

It’s important to take a targeted strategic approach to your corporate branding.

The first step we recommend each of our clients to take is to write a branding brief. This ensures you get buy-in and alignment from your key stakeholders before the project begins.

Once you have that foundation, it’s crucial to understand the three core objectives of corporate branding. They are:

• Differentiation
• Consistency
• Memorability

Differentiating enables you to highlight the unique aspects of your business that can attract and retain your desired audience.

Consistency strengthens recognition and trust among consumers, building a stronger relationship between your brand and your audience.

A memorable brand consistently stays top-of-mind, leading to increased loyalty, sales, and referrals.

At Canny, we follow a proven process and methodology to help our clients get the best results with their corporate branding.

Let’s get into it.

Conducting a Brand Audit

Before you do anything, you should audit your current brand. If you’re only just starting out, move straight onto the next section.

However:

If you’ve been around the block a few times, it’s time to step back and ask some tough questions about your brand.

What is a Brand Audit?

A brand audit is a crucial diagnostic tool that helps to uncover any issues you’re facing with your brand.

You can use it to ensure your brand is aligned with your business objectives and that it remains consistent and relevant as you move forward.

A brand audit is a health check for your brand assessing its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Not only does it help in maintaining brand integrity but it also provides ideas and insights into areas of improvement and growth.

How to Run a Brand Audit

We’ve covered running a brand audit before on Canny’s blog. As a quick recap, here are the key steps you should follow:

• Survey your stakeholders: Gather feedback from employees, customers, partners, and your board to understand the perception and positioning of your brand.
• Review your brand assets: This includes your brand strategy, brand guidelines, logo, marketing materials, in-house materials, and any other visual assets you’ve created.
• Measure brand awareness: Take note of key business metrics (think social, email, Analytics data) and compare against 3, 6, 9, and 12 months ago.
• Record your findings: Capture all of your data and information in a spreadsheet or document so you can easily refer back to it throughout your branding process.
• Create an action plan: The final step is to create your action plan.

Either on your own, or by finding a branding agency to work with, it’s important to take the insights and data gathered and translate them into actionable steps.

Whether it’s a visual refresh of your branded marketing materials, a change in your brand messaging, or a complete overhaul of your brand strategy and corporate brand identity, your audit should show you your clear next steps.

Every audit action plan will vary depending on the results of the audit, but make sure to include yours in your branding brief.

Creating Your Brand Strategy

Your brand strategy is the foundation stone of your entire corporate branding and identity. It’s crucial to get your strategy in place before starting any design work.

We’ve covered brand strategy creation in this post.

Be aware:

Developing your brand strategy isn’t something you can do overnight. It’s not a one day exercise or quick win workshop.

The purpose of your brand strategy is to help people to understand your business, goals, and brand. It should answer the following questions:

• Audience Personas: Who are your customers and what can they teach you about your brand?
• Competitor Research: Who are your biggest competitors and what can you do to stand out?
• Brand Positioning: Where does your brand sit in the market and where do you hope to go?
• Brand Story: What led you to where you are today?
• Brand Values: What really matters to you and your brand?
• Brand Mission: Why do you do what you do and what do you hope to change in the world?
• Brand Touchpoints: How and where do people interact with your brand?
• Brand Messaging: How are you communicating what makes your brand unique?
• Tone of Voice: How do you use words to channel your message?

Our ebook Brand Strategy Made Simple will take you through a series of exercises to help.

An Electrifying Brand Strategy Example: Tesla

You thought Tesla was about sleek looking cars? Think again. Dive deeper, and you’ll see it’s all part of Elon’s grand design. Their mission? A bold call: “to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”

They’re not just about zero-emission drives to your favourite coffee shop. It’s about shaking up the status quo, setting the gold standard in innovation, and, dare we say, saving the planet one Supercharger at a time.

Their lineup, from the sporty Roadster to those solar roof tiles (yeah, they do those too!), all echo their core values: pushing boundaries and being green without being boring. And with their flair for the dramatic (remember that car in space?), Tesla doesn’t just create products; they craft stories, and stir up emotions, all tied together by their brand strategy.

While other brands are playing checkers, Tesla’s out here playing 4D chess and winning the corporate branding game.

Establishing Your Brand Identity

With your brand strategy complete, it’s time to move on to your visual brand identity.

Your brand identity is the visual representation of your brand strategy. It encapsulates the look and feel through various visual elements such as logo, colour palette, typography, imagery, and more.

It’s how your brand visually communicates with your audience.

The Importance of Brand Identity

Your brand identity is the first thing people see when coming across your brand for the first time. Before they get to understand the story, the meaning, or the mission, they’ll see your visual identity.

A strong brand identity helps to establish:

• Recognition: A distinct brand identity ensures immediate recognition and differentiation. Just think about McDonald’s arches, or the simple Apple silhouette, or Nike’s Swoosh. With just a glance, you know exactly what company you’re dealing with.
• Consistency: A well-defined brand identity ensures consistency which helps to build trust and reassure your audience over time.
• Differentiation: In crowded markets, differentiation is crucial. A standout visual identity carves a distinct space in your audience’s minds.
• Connection: The right visual identity evokes specific emotions in your audience. For example, certain colours can induce feelings of trust, excitement, or calm.
• Foundation for Marketing: Your brand identity guides all marketing efforts, ensuring aligned and effective communication.

Your brand identity is the visual DNA of your company. It doesn’t just make a brand look appealing; it communicates its entire story and strategy.

So how do you do it?

The Elements That Build Your Brand Identity

At Canny, we love designing visual identities for brands. But it’s more than just design; it’s about giving a brand a unique look that tells its story, connects with people, and helps them stand out.

To create a leading corporate brand identity, you need to design and curate the following elements:

• Logo design
• Colour palette
• Typography
• Photography styles
• Graphic elements

This is what you need to consider when designing each of them:

Logo Design

Your logo is the face of your brand. It should capture the essence of your brand in one memorable visual.

When designing your logo, ask yourself:

• Is it distinct enough to be remembered after just one glance?
• How does the logo scale? Will it be recognisable in both small and large formats?
• Does it work in both colour and black and white?
• Can you sketch the logo quickly and easily (typically within 5 seconds or less)?
• Are you avoiding cliches and boring solutions?
• Can it stand the test of time and adapt to various mediums?

At Canny, we recommend that your logo passes the 7 criteria of effective logo design.

Colour Palette

Colour is a hugely undervalued element of a brand identity. The colours you choose have the power to evoke emotions; it’s important that they are communicating correctly with your audience.

When working on your colour palette, ask yourself:

• What primary and secondary colours evoke the correct feelings that you want associated with your brand?
• How do these colours differentiate you from competitors?
• What emotions do your chosen colours elicit?
• Are there any specific colours you should avoid? (e.g., tech brands often go blue).
• Are the chosen colours accessible and legible, especially in text?
• Are you in-line with ADA requirements?
• Should you have defined print (CMYK) and web (RGB) colours?

At Canny, we recommend that you construct a primary and secondary colour palette as a minimum, and also create varying tints and shades of each for different use cases.

Typography

Typography and font choice can speak louder than your words. Your typography choices should echo your brand’s strategy and tone.

When choosing your typography, ask yourself:

• Which typefaces align with the brand’s personality?
• Does your chosen font further amplify your brand’s character?
• Do you need a combination of typefaces? If so, how do they harmoniously work together?
• Does your typography choice enhance the legibility and comprehension of your content?
• Do you need to purchase the correct licence for using any of your chosen fonts?
• Have you managed to avoid using Comic Sans?

At Canny, we recommend that you have a maximum of 3 fonts:

• Logo font
• Headline font
• Body font

We then utilise different styles and weights of the chosen fonts if we need to build out their usage further.

Photography Styles

Photographs have a unique way of capturing attention, invoking emotions, and illustrating stories. The right photography style can bring your brand to life and set you apart from a sea of competitors.

When looking at your photography, ask yourself:

• Do you have access to a stock library or will you need to commission original work?
• Will you use real-life photos, illustrations, or a mix of both?
• What mood or theme should your images consistently convey?
• Do your photos align with the overall tone and message of your brand?
• Are they versatile enough for different platforms and mediums?
• How do they set you apart from the competition?

Your photography choices should not just showcase your brand but amplify its essence and differentiate it from the crowd.

At Canny, we believe a picture is worth a thousand words. Original photography is a luxury but not always affordable. To avoid cheesy stock photos, try using Unsplash, Pexels, or even generating your own work with AI in Midjourney.

Graphic Elements

Graphic elements serve as powerful tools in conveying a brand’s look and feel, breaking down complex ideas, and guiding viewers through visual content. The style and approach you take can either amplify your brand’s identity or confuse its messaging.

When working through your graphic elements, ask yourself:

• Should your elements be geometric or organic in design?
• How do they complement other visual elements?
• Could patterns or textures add depth to your designs?
• Is there a way you can use your logo or other assets to form a pattern?
• Do your graphics provide a consistent look and feel across platforms?
• Are they engaging and easily digestible for your audience?

Ensuring alignment between your graphic elements with your other brand visuals is key to creating a cohesive and powerful visual identity. You’ll use all of these elements when creating your marketing kit and branding deck.

At Canny, we believe in simplicity. Take away as much clutter as you possibly can to improve communication and recognition.

Standing Out with a Bright and Bold Brand Identity: Slack

Business communication tools can be boring. And Slack took objection to that. They stand out not just for their functionality, but also their vibrant and welcoming brand identity.

Unlike its counterparts that lean towards more traditional corporate aesthetics, Slack uses a lively colour palette and playful logo, underlining its promise of simplifying workplace communications. That’s probably why they’re the tool of choice for creative agencies and startups.

In their early days, they had a masterstroke of success by bringing in Sandwich Video. The introductory video was infused with humour and relatability, presenting Slack as the solution to typical office miscommunications. This light-hearted approach, combined with their distinctive visual brand elements, carved Slack’s niche in a crowded market, and doubled down on their strategy.

The takeaway? Sometimes going against the industry standard and aesthetics can put you miles ahead.

Working with a Branding Agency

We’d always recommend working with a branding agency to conduct your brand audit, create your brand strategy, and establish your brand identity.

Give them your completed branding brief, then use the questions above as a guide to help direct your project.

Choosing a branding agency to work with is tricky, because there are a lot of options out there.

I’ve always said to potential clients that you should make your choice based on 3 things:

• Did you like them when you spoke to them?
• Do you like their work?
• Can you imagine building a long term relationship with them?

If you can answer yes to those questions, you’ve probably found a good agency match.

The Pros of Working with a Branding Agency

Working with a branding agency offers a range of branding benefits and services that utilising a freelancer or in-house resources doesn’t.

• Working with a team: A branding agency offers a comprehensive team to work with, all with varied experiences and ideas. It also means there’s cover incase of sickness or annual leave.
• Efficiency and scale: Agencies have processes in place that can expedite the branding process and can handle large projects, small projects, campaigns, launches, and everything in-between.
• Fresh Perspective: Using an external agency offers a fresh perspective, sometimes missed by in-house teams deeply embedded in company culture.

These are just a few examples of why working with an agency on your corporate branding makes sense.

The Cons of Working with a Branding Agency

Working with a branding agency doesn’t come without its challenges too. There are some things to consider before diving into a relationship.

• Potential cost: Agencies might come with a higher upfront cost compared to a single freelancer or utilising an in-house team.
• Risk of impersonality: While they bring fresh perspectives, they might initially lack the deep cultural understanding an in-house team inherently has. However, a good agency would start with a deep dive to help them understand your company fully.
• Possible delays: In some cases, if an agency is juggling many clients, there could be prioritisation challenges.

As a branding agency, it’s always going to be our recommendation to work with an agency like us on your corporate branding. For businesses looking for a thorough, robust, and consistent branding approach, an agency is the optimal choice.

Wrapping It All Up with Your Brand Guidelines

Now that your corporate branding is finalised, you need to wrap it up in a brand guideline.

We’ve covered creating brand guidelines before on the Canny blog, so we’ll not go into every single detail here.

But:

A brand guideline, brand book, brand manual, or style guide (whatever you want to call it!) is “The Ultimate Guide” to your brand. They’re used to ensure a consistent strategy, look, and feel across your entire corporate brand.

Your brand guideline should include all of the elements from your brand strategy and your brand identity design. Further things you should include are:

• The do’s and don’ts of your brand identity
• A written explanation to the assets, how to use them, and where to access them
• Usage across different touchpoints
• Example brand and marketing campaigns
• Who to contact with questions

There are some great examples of brand guidelines online, including Walmart, Asana, and Starbucks.

It’s also worth noting that your brand guideline document doesn’t have to be a simple PDF. As you can see from the companies above, people are going above and beyond, creating digital experiences and combining their brand guides with culture manuals.

Think back to your brand strategy, and create a brand style guide that works for you.

Corporate Branding Activation Across Your Brand Touchpoints

With your fresh new brand style guide in hand, it’s time to roll out your new corporate branding across your brand touchpoints.

As we highlighted earlier, consistency and memorability are two of the most important factors when it comes to building a powerful brand.

Remember:

Consistency drives memorability.

This means that your new corporate brand should be applied across each of your organisation’s brand touchpoints. From your stationery and print design, through to your corporate branding merchandise. Everything you produce with your new brand identity on it will need to be carefully considered.

Common brand touchpoints include your:

• Website
• Blogs
• Email
• Events and Networking
• Word of Mouth
• Direct Mail
• Social Media
• Brochures
• eBooks
• Advertising
• Videos
• Podcasts
• Interviews and FAQs
• Case Studies
• Public Relations

And then anything industry specific too. For example pubs and hotels will have a huge range of different touch points compared to a company selling a B2B SaaS product.

When activating your brand across your touchpoints, we think about things in 4 buckets:

• Cold leads: These people have no awareness of your brand. They’re trying to find solutions to their problems, not necessarily looking for outside help.
• Warm leads: These people are aware of your brand, but need more convincing.. They’ve been to your website, followed you on social media, or come across you elsewhere.
• Hot leads: These people are almost ready to buy, but still considering their options. They’ve likely been to your site several times, maybe used live chat, or even sent an email enquiry.
• Customers: These people have a relationship with your brand, and that needs nurturing and growing. Your customers are typically always happy to be engaging with you. Now you need to find a way to grow that relationship, and then surprise and delight them.

For each of these buckets, plot out a table with 3 columns:

• Customer mindset
• Touch point
• Benefit / idea

Then work through each stage in the funnel and map out each element.

This will give you a list of each of your brand touchpoints. It’ll make sure you don’t miss anything, and also help you to spot any opportunities to enhance your touch points and customer experience as you go.

Remember:

Every touch point is an opportunity for brand storytelling and communicating with your audience. It’s important not to let any opportunities go unexplored.

Once you’ve completed your brand activation and rollout, remember to backfill the details into your guidelines.

Launching Your Corporate Brand

Finalising your strategy and brand identity then activating across your brand touchpoints is one thing, but how do you make a big splash with your target customers?

This is something we come up against every day at Canny.

And that’s why we introduced the RESET framework. This is how it works:

• Reassure: Let your customers know you’re making changes but it’s for the better.
• Explain: Explain why you’re making the changes and what’s changing.
• Sell: Highlight the benefits of the change to get your customers to buy in.
• Essentials: Give them the essentials, what they need to know, and what it means to them.
• Timely: Announce the rebrand in a timely manner so it doesn’t just drip out with a whimper.

How you do this will depend on your specific business type.

In B2B it’s typically a blog post, an email newsletter, and a PR campaign.

In B2C and Direct to Consumer business it could be an email newsletter, something all over social media, and maybe even TV and paid advertising.

You can get creative, but following the basic principles of Canny’s RESET framework will help you launch your corporate brand effectively.

Building Loyalty Through Your Corporate Branding

Your corporate branding has the potential to play a huge role in building brand loyalty with your customer base.

The best way to explore this is through looking at established brands that have built up loyal brand following.

IBM: The Titan of Tech and Trust

IBM stands as a testament to continuous innovation, adaptability, and forward-thinking. While many other tech companies have faded away, IBM’s commitment to pioneering technological solutions tailored for businesses has ensured its success by building a base of loyal clients in some of the largest companies in the world.

To do this, they centred their efforts on:

• Customer-focused innovation: IBM has consistently pushed boundaries in technological advancements, ensuring businesses have the best tools at their disposal.
• Creating educational resources: They offer numerous certification programs and courses, ensuring that its users are well-educated and can fully utilise its solutions.
• Strong ethical brand values: IBM’s commitment to ethics, transparency, and corporate responsibility has fostered trust among their customer base.

Lego: Beyond Toys, Crafting Generational Loyalty

From its humble origins in a Danish carpentry workshop to becoming a global powerhouse in the toy industry, Lego is renowned for their creativity and quality. Their commitment to creating high-quality and innovative products, has turned the brand into a cherished household name.

• Building community platforms: Lego Ideas lets fans submit their designs and then have people vote on the next Lego Ideas kit, building a strong community connection.
• Thematic sets and collaborations: Partnerships with brands like Star Wars or Harry Potter keep Lego culturally relevant and their audience wondering what’s next.
• Legoland and experiential branding: The theme parks immerse visitors in the Lego universe, deepening brand affinity and giving customers a new way to explore the Lego brand and touchpoints.

HubSpot: Nurturing Business Growth and Loyalty

HubSpot are the champions of inbound marketing and have transformed the way businesses approach online sales and customer engagement. By providing a comprehensive suite of tools and nurturing a thriving loyal community of marketers, HubSpot has become the gold standard in its domain, building brand loyalty that leads to business growth.

• Inbound philosophy: By championing inbound marketing, HubSpot positioned itself as a thought leader, attracting businesses that align with this approach.
• Extensive educational resources: The HubSpot Academy offers free courses, helping businesses succeed while promoting platform loyalty.
• User-Friendly platform: Their integrated suite of tools for marketing, sales, and customer service is intuitive and efficient.
• Active community engagement: HubSpot nurtures its community with regular webinars, user groups, and an annual INBOUND on-site and digital conference event.

Each of these brands have leveraged their corporate identities to create unparalleled customer loyalty. Their strategic alignment, compelling narratives, and commitment to their brand strategy have been key to their success.

Without the foundational elements in place, these brands might have faltered. Instead, they stand as shining examples of building a powerful corporate brand.

Engaging Your Employees with Your Corporate Branding

Your employees aren’t just your workforce; they’re your brand ambassadors. When they believe in your brand, they deliver better service and also promote your brand on a personal level.

Here’s how to get them onboard:

• Brand introduction: With your new brand in place, bring everyone in, talk them through the decisions, and introduce them to your new corporate identity.
• Brand induction: Initiate new hires with a comprehensive introduction to your brand strategy and guidelines. Make it an immersive experience so they feel they’re becoming a part of something bigger.
• Regular training: As your corporate brand evolves, ensure that the team is updated. Run refresher courses with your team on a regular basis.
• Incorporate feedback: People on the frontline often have the most valuable insights. Create ways for them to share feedback about the brand and what they’re hearing from customers. This inclusion not only assists with your strategy but also makes them feel valued.
• Celebrate the brand: Mark big milestones with internal celebrations. This creates a sense of collective achievement.
• Provide branded collateral: From uniforms to desktop wallpapers, infuse their work environment with the brand. It’s a constant, subtle reinforcement of who you are and what you stand for.

Remember:

A brand that speaks to your employees is more likely to speak to your customers. When your team is fired up and invested in your brand, it can create a domino effect that can lead to greater customer loyalty and trust.

Maintaining a Strong Corporate Brand

Even the best and most powerful corporate brands can start to wane if they’re not taken care of. Maintaining a strong brand requires diligence, foresight, and adaptability.

Here are 5 steps to maintaining a strong corporate brand:

• Run regular brand audits: Back to the first point in this post, running a regular brand audit will help to evaluate your brand’s health. Monitor metrics, conduct customer feedback surveys, and ensure you’re meeting, if not exceeding, the standards you’ve set.
• Stay true to your brand strategy: While evolving is crucial, the core of your brand strategy should remain consistent. It’s the anchor that customers and employees relate to and that your corporate brand is built upon.
• Consistent communication: Ensure your brand strategy, identity, and messaging across all channels remains consistent. A unified voice strengthens brand memorability.
• Protect your brand: This includes taking legal measures like trademarking your name and identity, but also maintaining the quality of your products and services, and addressing any public relations challenges proactively.
• Celebrate and innovate: Acknowledge brand anniversaries or big milestones. But also be open to innovation. Add new product lines and improved services to maintain brand appeal.

Creating a strong corporate brand isn’t a one-time achievement; it’s an ongoing commitment. Regularly nurturing and defending your brand’s integrity ensures it remains an industry leader, attracting customers and talent in equal measure.

Corporate Branding FAQs

Unleashing the Power of Corporate Branding

Corporate branding is a blend of art and science, strategy and creativity.

Now more than ever, it’s evident that a powerful corporate brand isn’t just a luxury, it’s a necessity. The market is overly saturated, and your brand is your only way to differentiate.

From the formulation of your strategy to your identity design and marketing campaigns, every aspect of your brand should be considered and scrutinised. Your branding plays a pivotal role in differentiating from your competitors, standing out in the market, and attracting both customers and talent.

As you move through your branding journey, remember:

Your corporate brand is more than just a name or a logo; it’s the heartbeat of your business. Nurture it, invest in it, and watch as your company transforms.

We’d love to work with you on your corporate branding project. Get in touch with Canny today to discuss your project.

It is the first crucial step towards ensuring your chosen agency or anyone writing your content for the matter, is aligned with your specific goals and objectives.

Instead of your chosen agency ‘assuming’ they know what you want, this document guides the entire project ensuring the end result lives up to your expectations.

The SEO Brief Template

An SEO brief template is a very valuable resource as it tells your chosen agency everything they need to know about y...

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Think of your SEO brief as a roadmap that provides anyone working on your content with the essential information they need to propel your online presence.

Whether that’s through a targeted content strategy, keyword optimisation, link building strategies, or technical website improvements this ensures everyone is working towards the same goal – improving your website’s visibility and performance in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Your brief covers your company’s goals, target audience, and unique selling points while addressing the unique challenges and opportunities within your industry.

View post as your complete guide to writing an effective SEO brief, and we’ve even thrown in a free SEO template for you to follow.

Let’s get started.

What Is an SEO Brief?

An SEO brief is a document that outlines the goals, objectives, and expectations for an SEO project.

Its purpose is to facilitate clear communication between a client and an SEO agency or an in-house SEO team.

This is a critical document, as without it, different parties can have different ideas of what is expected. For example, a client might want to increase website traffic, whereas the SEO agency might be prioritising improving organic search ranking.

This shows a miscommunication and misalignment of the end goal which could lead to frustration.

Unless you’re planning on managing and executing your own SEO efforts, you need to create a detailed SEO brief to avoid scenarios like this.

Taking the time to craft your SEO brief will ensure that anyone working on your project can read it and understand what is required and what the deliverables are. It removes ambiguity and provides a clear foundation for everyone involved, giving you peace of mind that the end result will be successful.

Why Write an SEO Brief?

A good SEO brief would include all of the necessary detail needed to execute an SEO campaign, regardless of who is working on it.

It should set the direction for all parties involved so that they can produce the best results.

Other reasons to write an SEO brief include:

Resolving miscommunication
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As the client, you might feel frustrated when a piece of content comes back from your SEO agency and it doesn’t meet the requirements.

Perhaps it’s targeting the wrong keywords, or the topic isn’t something your audience would be interested in, or maybe it’s driving readers towards the wrong call-to-action (CTA).

Similarly however, your chosen agency might be frustrated as revising this piece of content creates more work due to miscommunication from the start.

SEO briefs can put an end to this frustration from both sides and align both parties instead of the dreaded back-and-forth.

Scale up your content production
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SEO briefs can help teams create content output at scale with consistent results.

Thanks to full alignment with campaign goals and project specifics, anyone writing your content is set up for high-quality content production.

Essentially, it empowers your team and your chosen agency with the information, direction, and context they need to create SEO campaigns that drive meaningful results.

This not only saves time and resources but also improves the overall effectiveness of the SEO strategy as everyone understands what it requires.

Eliminate scope creep
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To ensure clients are getting the most out of their investment in SEO, writers and SEO agencies need to produce content on time, on strategy, and within budget.

However, it can be easy for projects to grow arms and legs with clients expecting more deliverables or SEO agencies doing what they think is best, which can affect the final cost of the project.

This is where SEO briefs come in useful as they detail the requirements of the project in full so that both parties understand the scope. This reduces the temptation for either party to start adding extra things into the project as there’s a clear expectation and timeline to follow.

Who Writes an SEO Brief?

Usually the responsibility for writing an SEO brief falls on the marketing team or a dedicated digital marketing specialist.

This might include:

• Digital marketing manager: This role often oversees the digital marketing strategy, including SEO.
• Content team: If the SEO brief is focused on content optimisation, the content manager or content team may be responsible for creating the brief.
• SEO team: SEO specialists or SEO team members have the expertise needed to outline specific SEO strategies and requirements.
• Marketing director or CMO: In smaller companies the marketing director CMO may take on the responsibility of creating the SEO brief.

Don’t worry if you don’t have every part of your SEO brief nailed down.

A good SEO agency will be able to help tighten your brief so that your project stays on track.

By being selective and choosing the right agency, they should be engaged enough to be dissecting your brief and asking you thoughtful questions.

It’s important to note that a SEO brief isn’t the finished article.

You’re in a partnership with your chosen agency and it’s about working with them to create the best results. You need to trust them and the value that they’re bringing to the project.

What Should Be Included In an SEO Brief?

Now you know why an SEO brief is important, and who should write it, what exactly should you include in your SEO brief?

An effective SEO brief should include:

• Company Overview
• The Problem You’re Facing
• Goals and Objectives
• Competitor Information
• Your Target Audience and Market
• Brand Tone of Voice
• Content Strategy
• Keyword Suggestions
• Topic Suggestions
• Content Length
• Internal and External Links
• On-page SEO Requirements
• Off-page SEO Requirements
• Local SEO
• User Experience (UX) Enhancement
• Project Specific Information
• Project Timescales
• Project Budget
• Contact Information
• How the Project will Be Awarded
• Required Response

Let’s look at these sections in more detail to identify how they fit into your brief and what should be included in each.

Company Overview

Provide a brief description of your company, including your industry, history, and unique selling points.

This gives the agency some sort of background as even if they’ve worked with clients in your field in the past, you can’t just assume they ‘know’ your business.

Even if they have had good luck on your website before chatting to you, they’ll never be able to obtain the same level of information.

So be specific about your company, and provide a solid overview of what you do and why.

To get you started, here’s 4 key questions that you should have the answers to:

• What do you do and how do you make your money?
• How do customers currently buy from your business?
• What makes your business different from its competitors?
• Why do you do what you do?

Every successful SEO project relies on all parties having a crystal clear understanding of the company they’re working with and the sector they’re working in.

Goals and Objectives

Clearly outline your SEO objectives and goals.

For example, do you want to:

• Increase organic traffic?
• Improve rankings for specific keywords?
• Boost conversions?
• Or achieve other specific outcomes?

This information is key for your chosen agency or anyone working on your project as it gives them a direction so they know where to focus their time and resources.

Let’s say you identify the primary goal as being to boost conversions.

Armed with this information, your chosen agency might start implementing strategies such as A/B testing, checking mobile responsiveness, landing page improvements, and user experience enhancements to support this goal.

However, if you identified increasing organic traffic as the primary goal then your chosen agency might prioritise tactics such as keyword optimisation, link-building strategies, and technical SEO improvements to drive more visitors to your website.

Having a clearly defined goal in your SEO brief ensures that your chosen agency can align their efforts and allocate their resources effectively.

Your Target Audience and Market

It’s vital that both you and your SEO agency have a clear picture of what your target audience looks like.

These are the people buying your product or service so every campaign needs to be speaking to their intent.

We love asking the following questions:

• What are your customer’s values/what do they care about?
• What do you want them to care about?
• Why should they care?
• Why don’t they care?
• Why would they be loyal to your business?
• Why would they avoid your business?

If you’re struggling to define your target audience, the below infographic will help:

Competitor Information

Your chosen SEO agency will work with many different clients, so don’t assume they know your competitive landscape inside out.

As mentioned above, even if they have worked with clients in your sector before, every company is different and has their own place in the market. This includes their own list of competitors as every brand is up against someone.

Even the most established brands (we’re all familiar with the Coca-Cola vs Pepsi battle) will have competitors who they want to outshine.

It’s crucial that your chosen agency knows who these competing companies are as there might be opportunities here that you can take advantage of.

For example:

• Do they rank for certain terms that you don’t?
• Do they have blogs dedicated to industry topics that you don’t?
• Do they have a stronger backlink profile?

All of this information is highly valuable and can help your chosen SEO agency maximise opportunities.

Tone of Voice

When briefing your SEO agency, it’s important to convey your brand’s distinctive tone of voice effectively.

Is your brand characterised by a professional and expert approach?

Or is it more light-hearted and humorous?

Defining your brand’s tone of voice can be done using a set of adjectives that paint a clear picture for anyone working on your SEO project. It’s important to recognise that the tone you choose is very important as this has to be synonymous with your brand.

For example on the Canny site, if we were thinking of language to use for a snappy CTA that drives people to get in touch, we might say something like ‘Let’s talk. We don’t bite!’

And that’s because our brand tone of voice is purposefully friendly, approachable, and we write the way we speak.

However, if you worked in a corporate environment and you wanted to be perceived as serious and professional, your CTA might simply read ‘Get in touch.’

When deciding your brand’s tone of voice, follow this process:

Keyword Suggestions

‍Including keyword suggestions in your SEO brief give your chosen agency an understanding of what terms you’d like to rank for.For example, if you were a property recruitment company, you might want to rank for:

• Best recruitment company
• Property recruitment company
• Property recruitment company [insert location]
• Property jobs
• Property jobs [insert location]

You get the idea. All of these target keywords are relevant to your audience and will help draw the right traffic to your site.

When listing out some keyword suggestions, try to include a mixture of seed keywords and long-tail keywords.

Seed keywords: These are general keywords that have high search volume but are highly competitive.

Long tail keywords: These keywords are specific, have lower search volume, and are less competitive but can attract more targeted traffic.

By including keyword suggestions within your SEO brief, your agency knows where to focus their time and effort.

Topic Suggestions

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You need to give your chosen agency an idea of what topics you think your audience would be interested in. Obviously it’s their job to look into these topics to make sure they’re viable and that there’s a demand for them too.

However, providing them with a list of suggestions acts as a good starting point, then from that point onwards, they can carry out their own research and start crafting a focussed, optimised content strategy.

To start with, think about the types of things your audience usually asks for. What type of enquiries do your sales or customer service team get? What are people engaging with on social media? Do they leave any comments about the areas of your product/ service they’re most unsure of?

All of these insights can help you list out topic suggestions as there is obviously a demand for this from your audience. Also look into what your competitors are doing as this could give you ideas for topics to write about on your own website.

Content Length

‍In terms of content length, it really depends on what you’re writing and the purpose of it. For example, if you’re writing an in-depth blog post on an expert niche topic, then it needs to be a longer read.

However, if you’re instructing your agency to write your website copy then the length of this would vary depending on the page. For instance, you might need a one-line hero statement, a short and snappy call-to-action, and some supporting copy for a ‘who we work with’ page.

It really depends on the nature of the project and how the content can be best placed for that specific platform.

Essentially, there is no ‘set rule’ for content length as long as you’re providing your audience with value.

Adding an extra 500 words to a blog post for instance, instant necessarily going to mean it performs any better in organic search, if you’re including a load of fluff. If however, you’re adding 500 words of fresh, valuable content that hasn’t been covered elsewhere in the blog, then you could definitely improve its performance in search results.

Think about the specific SEO project at hand, and decide on your content length from there.

Internal and External Links

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Should there be links to other articles, or to certain pages or products? List them here so your chosen SEO agency can shape the content around it.

For example, if you want to drive more traffic towards a resource page, your chosen agency can include this in blog posts. This increases the likelihood of readers taking the desired action and clicking through to access your resources.

Similarly if you’re wanting to drive more traffic towards a specific product, your SEO agency could build content around this product and seamlessly integrate links into the copy so that people click through to it.

Internally linking is crucial on your website and helps users navigate through your content. External links are equally as important as they contribute to the credibility of your content and enhance the user experience by linking out to reputable websites.

Internal links: Links that connect one page to another within the same website or domain.

External links: Links that connect one page on a website to a different website or domain.

On-page SEO Requirements

Including specific details about on-page SEO requirements help shape your website’s structure, content strategy, and technical improvements to guide whoever is working on your project.

On-page SEO requirements could include:

• Keyword optimisation
• Meta tags
• Meta descriptions
• Header tags
• Alt text
• Internal and external linking

Moreover, specifying these on-page SEO requirements helps reduce the likelihood of any misunderstandings or misaligned efforts (which we spoke about earlier in this blood), which leads to a smoother and more effective SEO campaign.

Off-page SEO Requirements

Include details about any off-page SEO requirements including link-building objectives, outreach methods, and backlink strategies.

For example when it comes to your link-building goals, outline the number of backlinks you want to secure and when you hope to reach these targets. Whether it’s building links to certain landing pages, blog posts, or product pages, a robust link-building strategy forms the foundation of an effective off-page SEO approach.

By providing your chosen agency with insights into your off-page SEO strategy, they can start to improve your website’s authority and credibility online.

Local SEO

If your business serves a local audience, provide details about your local SEO goals and what you want to achieve with it.

For example, do you want your business to show up on Google Maps when people search for services like yours in your area? Or maybe you want to get good reviews from local customers online.

By giving your chosen agency these details, they’ll know exactly how to make your business more visible to local customers, which can lead to more business from your local community.

Content Strategy

Including information about your content strategy in your SEO brief ensures that your SEO efforts are closely aligned with your content creation goals.

By specifying the types of content you want to create, such as blog posts, videos, or infographics, and outlining the topics you want to cover (see section about topic suggestions above), you enable your team to focus their efforts on producing valuable and relevant content.

This serves a dual purpose: it not only attracts organic traffic from search engines but also engages your target audience. Engaged visitors are more likely to stay on your site, explore your offerings, and become customers.

Furthermore, by highlighting any existing content that requires optimisation or a refresh, you ensure that your SEO strategy covers both new and existing content, maximising its effectiveness.

User Experience (UX) Enhancement

Mobile optimisation, fast page load times, intuitive site navigation, and mobile responsiveness should be outlined as key expectations in your SEO brief.

You should also consider mentioning accessibility requirements for inclusivity to appeal to all types of audiences, and express your willingness to A/B testing for continuous improvement.

Finally, if improving conversion rates is a goal, make it clear and request that your chosen agency, or anyone working on your SEO campaigns, assess and optimise the conversion process.

The Problem You’re Facing

Outlining the problems you’re facing in an SEO brief provides context for your SEO agency.

It helps them understand the specific issues that need to be addressed, allowing them to tailor their strategies accordingly. This ensures that the SEO efforts are not only aligned with your goals but also directly target the areas that require improvement, leading to more effective and efficient SEO campaigns.

For example you could say:

“Our website has experienced a significant drop in organic traffic over the past six months. Despite our ongoing content efforts and backlink building, we have seen a decline in organic search visibility. This is impacting our lead generation and sales, and we’re concerned about losing our competitive edge in the industry.”

Project Specific Information

Clarify the objective of the SEO campaign within your SEO brief.

Is the aim to develop a valuable resource to attract leads at an advanced stage of the purchasing journey?

Or

Do you intend to provide educational content without overly selling your product or service?

Regardless of the approach, it’s vital to ensure that your chosen agency fully understands the campaign’s intended goal and how they should promote your offering to optimise the content effectively. This helps maintain consistency in conveying your message and aligning it with your overarching project objectives.\

Project Timescales

Including project timelines and milestones within your SEO brief is essential to ensure a well-coordinated campaign.

You must provide your SEO agency with a clear roadmap of what lies ahead throughout the project’s journey including details such as meetings, revision cycles, and the final delivery date.

By highlighting meeting dates and checkpoints, it allows your agency to prepare and participate in meetings related to content strategies, keyword optimisation, and performance tracking.

Moreover, outlining revision cycles and deadlines helps your agency manage their time effectively and prioritise tasks in terms of what’s due and when.

Furthermore, the final delivery date serves as a target to work toward, giving your agency a sense of purpose and urgency, ensuring the deliverables meet with the campaign’s goals and objectives.

Project Budget

You have a call with an SEO agency. You introduce yourself and briefly discuss what you’re after. And then you send over the SEO brief you’ve toiled over.

It contains every detail about your campaign requirements including your target audience, tone of voice, and your timescales.

But, no budget information.

Your SEO agency reads through it and comes back with a proposal.

It’s double the budget you’ve been allocated. You’ve lost hours of your time – and so has the agency who put the proposal together.

By being clear with your budget early on, you can make sure everyone is on the same page right from the get go.

Contact Information

There always needs to be a lead point of contact in any SEO campaign.

You need one voice of reason that can be used to add balance to the discussions and go between both the agency and the company. You need a project lead and a good point of contact for the campaign.

In this case, it’s most likely a member of the content team or an SEO specialist.

Clearly listing out the contact details of the project contact, as well as the best time and way to get hold of them will help things run a lot smoother.

How the Project will Be Awarded

Often, there are several elements at play:

• Cost/value for money
• Quality of work
• Previous experience
• Alignment to the SEO brief
• Suitability of the agency

There are any number of factors you could use to judge the responses.

It’s normal to write into your SEO brief, the percentage and weighting of each of the awarding criteria.

Required Response

It’s simply a case of listing out what you expect to receive back.

Perhaps this is as simple as:

• A written response to the brief
• Examples of relevant work
• Testimonials from happy clients

Tell them how to submit their proposal, what to include, by when, and you’re all set.

Reach Out to SEO Agencies

Now that you’ve learned how to write an SEO brief, it’s time to start reaching out to SEO or content marketing agencies.

If you’re still not sure on how to find an SEO agency, you could contact us to discuss your project.

So, it’s time to get the process started!

SEO Brief FAQs

Let’s look at some frequently asked questions relating to SEO briefs.

How to Write an SEO Brief (With Free SEO Brief Template)

How confident do you now feel writing your own SEO brief? And have you downloaded our free SEO brief template?

As discussed in this blog, the importance of a solid SEO brief cannot be overstated.

Without this document, anyone working on your SEO activity is left to their own devices which can lead to miscommunication, misunderstanding, and a misalignment between what is produced and what you had expected.

By taking the time to document your requirements and following the process outlined in this blog, you can be confident that you’ve crafted a robust SEO brief that anyone can read and understand.

At Canny we love finding ways to help our clients improve their SEO efforts to excel their online presence. Whether that’s through strategic website copy, a targetted content strategy, or an SEO audit that reports your current performance and areas of improvement, we help our clients succeed. To find out more about it, get in touch with our team!