11 Dec What is the best way to define brand identity?

Brand identity is at the front and centre of marketing. Essentially, it is the face and personality of your brand. It is first impressions, and lasting impressions.

To get to the core of your brand’s identity, you need to narrow down its central idea. Think about what your clients want, what you can realistically deliver, and try to identify the gap in the market – what aren’t your competitors doing?

People will gravitate to a brand that is unique, one that has something they can’t find anywhere else. If you can fill this niche your brand will become desirable, it will be wanted or needed, or both.

A brand’s identity has visible elements – its name, logo, colour, products and even packaging. It is important to keep these consistent so your brand is easily identifiable.

But a brand must also be authentic. If your clients smell a fake, they won’t engage. Your brand identity must be believable and it must deliver what it promises.

But the best branding moves beyond the external. It runs deeper. It takes on a life of its own, has its own personality and sense of itself. If you can create, not just a brand identity, but a brand personality, it will tug at people’s emotions and encourage loyalty. Loyalty is as good as it gets when it comes to branding.

So how do you achieve this?

You need to go beyond brand identity and unveil its beating heart. What are your brand’s values? What is it’s purpose? Thrash these out. If you can successfully communicate these, people who have the same values, the same purpose, will see a reflection of themselves in your product or service. They will get on the bandwagon and encourage others to do the same.