In our 15 years of experience as branding strategists and design thinkers, we’ve partnered with countless businesses and people on building a distinct identity for their brands. The baseline for any such project has always been a purpose and plan for success, but equally, enough creative leeway to pivot against failure.

A brand identity is greater than the sum of its parts. It needs to resonate with a broad spectrum of stakeholders – from consumers, to competitors, to partners, to shareholders, to employees. It needs to keep with the times all the while staying true to its ethos. And it needs to be guided by strategic business considerations and objectives.

In short, it is a building block, not an afterthought of the brand-building journey. That’s a lot of moving pieces, and a lot rides on the early stages to ensure that they fall into place. Here are five questions to get you started: 

 

1. What is the purpose behind my business/brand?

In creativity as in life, purpose drives planning, perspective, and ultimately, execution. Great work can often be lost in a weak starting point, or even worse, an unclear final destination. In the context of brand-building, defining your purpose is a two-fold exercise. The first fold is understanding the raison d’être of your business or personal brand. The second is imagining its evolution and trajectory in the future. When you think of your business and brand purpose, start with questions like:

• Why did I start my brand/business?

• What are the gaps filled, problems solved, and value created by my business/brand for my target market and audiences?

• What core values and beliefs does my business/brand represent?

• What will my business/brand look like in the short, and long term? 

 

2. What are the key strengths of my business/brand?

By the time they reach the brand-building stage, most business owners will have performed some form of SWOT assessment to understand their competitive edge in the market. This analysis serves as a strong baseline for their brand promise and positioning, but it is merely the starting point. When working with our clients, we often come to learn that our creative lens sheds light on unique selling points and propositions they have never considered. Open dialogue and full disclosure with your creative partners are key to unlocking not only strong brand positioning, but an equally strong business proposition.

Honesty is the best policy in doing just that.
Dare to ask yourself:
Am I offering my target audience a product,
service, or experience that no one else does?

• Is there room to improve my offering to support a stronger and more distinct brand proposition?

• If my offering is not unique to the market, what other strengths can I leverage in favor of my brand?

In answering these questions, clients have a penchant to undermine the compelling narrative behind their own business journey. Often, the brand story that this journey inspires builds an entirely new proposition that can resonate and connect with a far bigger audience, and at a far deeper emotional level. 

 

3. Who is my target audience?

While this may seem like an obvious question, the legwork behind answering it is far from simple, to say the least. Brands and businesses often have a clear idea of who their broader audience is. The real value, however, lies in understanding high-potential and high-value segments that fall under this audience. Gone are the days of simple demographic and psychographic segmentation. The lines between different consumer segments are becoming increasingly blurred, and the deluge of data we have about them can be sliced and diced in so many ways.

In the early stages of your target audience definition, ask yourself the following questions:

• What data do I have at hand that can help me better profile and segment my existing customers and the wider consumer market in my industry?

• Which role does each of these consumer segments play in growing my business and brand?

• Which segment(s) drive(s) sales, and which can help amplify my brand voice?

• What are the interests, behavioral patterns, and needs of each consumer segment that my brand/business can help in addressing?

• More importantly, which consumer segments do I want to exclude from my target audience and communications efforts?

 

4. Where can my business go and grow?

Your business is not limited to what it offers today. When you think of building a brand around it, think of how it can scale, expand, and diversify in the future. Let the upshot of this exercise be broad-minded, borderless, and bold. Do not shy away from exploring expansion opportunities that may seem distant from your core business today, but that will make total sense in the future.

Take, for instance, Moleskine notebooks, a brand that has always strongly positioned itself in the global creative community. Moleskine has thought far beyond stationery and leveraged this clout to build a compelling narrative, promise, and portfolio around a simple product. The business followed, with the launch of its design-centric cafes around the world. When you think this big, be sure to proceed with caution on the promises you make to your partners, consumers, and even competitors.

If your business can’t practice what it preaches,
it is better to err on the side of conservative.

   

5. Who are my competitors, really?

Another consideration that may seem obvious for brands at first sight but is, effectively, much more complex, is their competitive landscape. While you may know your strongest and weakest competitors today, a deeper dive into how your industry is evolving unravels the unlikeliest bidders for your audience’s attention. Your competitive landscape goes far beyond your product or service category.

Think of how much competition is vying for a simple breakfast meal in your day. Granola and yogurt are pitted against bacon and eggs, or even milk and cereal. Now multiply this substitution threat by the many moments throughout a consumer’s day when they have to pick between one and another option.

Whether it’s for your direct, indirect, or potential competitors, look at both the strategic and nitty gritty behind their brand-building and communications efforts:

• What is the focal point of their brand platform and key messaging?

• How do they define their brand identity?

• What USP (Unique Selling Point) and UVP (Unique Value Proposition) do they dial up?

• What is the narrative behind their visual identity and storytelling?

• What channels and platforms do they leverage to share and amplify their brand story?

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These 5 commandments are based on our experience in the domain and extensive practice with real-time brands that we helped build or revamp. Many sub-questions will arise depending on the industry or category your brand is in and these will be streamlined as you go deeper into your brand-building adventure.

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Contact us for a free consultation to help you start your journey on the right track!