You're developing a brand identity. How can you ensure it stands out from the competition? (2024)

To make your brand stand out, you should first self analyze the USP of your brand. Then plan a strategy around the brand identity and positioning it in the market.

To build a standout brand, know yourself (mission, values, audience) and research competitors to find your unique niche. Craft a story around your USP with a distinct voice and visuals that stay consistent across all platforms.

One of the pitfalls a lot of clients fall into is confusion over the difference between a brand tagline and brand pillars/vision.Again, brand honesty and truth are key. The tagline can be as catchy as you want, but if it’s not rooted in these essential elements it will ring hollow to your customers.Also, be wary of the old adage “a bad brand tagline like many things is known as a camel - a horse designed by committee. Input from many sources is great, but like any good symphony, it’s only as good as the conductor bringing it all together.

A brand's visual identity is anything and everything that represents a brand visually.See it as a brand's FIRST IMPRESSION to its target market.The most important step in creating a solid visual identity, is conducting a thorough research about other competitiors and their visual identity, to ensure that their identities are not replicated by your brand.The next step is to hire a branding company or a freelancer to create a visual identity that strongly resonates with your brand's target market.The type of brands that, most of the time, don't get their visual identity right, are start-ups. This is usually caused by a low budget, resulting in the use of online logo makers and logo generators. It's a BRAND, not a small business.

Creating a comprehensive brand style guide will greatly help identifying the key elements of your brand. This can be the logo mark once a critical mass is achieved in brand recognition and customer loyalty. But a solid well defined brand style guide will set the foundation for success. Many entrepreneurial brands shy away from what they consider “the restrictions that come from following a style guide”.It is my opinion that this is not the case at all, in fact, quite the opposite. A strong brand has so many moving and evolving pieces, not just a great logo mark and tagline. Having the foundation set with a strong brand style guide will build the brand up from the ground for success, rather than the top down for inevitable problems.

A positive tone of voice works. Taglines play a vital role eg : vistara - fly the new feeling .other brand elements should also be in sync like the logo the colors which will add up to the overall consumer experience and create a differentiator

In my experience, and at the risk of sounding redundant, a clear path to the right tone of voice for your brand should always start with honesty and truth. I’m not speaking of the kind of truth and honesty “Honest Abe” was known for, but knowing and expressing the truth of your brand in an honest intelligent way that speaks to your customer base. Obviously, before doing this you need to know your customer base and understand what they are looking for from your brand versus the competition.But once identified, you can take the ‘good, bad and ugly’ of your brand and have an honest dialogue with your customer base. Yes, I said ‘bad and ugly’, If you truly know your customer base and want to grow it as well as your brand… More to follow here

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In my experience brand guidelines help in uniformity of the way is visible, creating the first impression even before knowing the brand. The logo, the colors and the tagline everything creates a holistic image of the brand, making it all the more important to keep it consistent.

Here are key points for developing a brand identity1.First & Foremost understand your target audience, their preferences, values and pain points2.Tailor your brand identity to resonate emotionally and intellectually3.Conduct market research to gather insights into what appeals to your audience4.Use research information to shape brand personality and messaging5.Define what sets your brand apart - unique benefits - quality- features- customer service- visual elements- messaging- tone of voice across all touchpoints, logo, color palette, typography, website design, social media presence, advertising materials, and customer interactions.- build brand recognition and trust while reinforcing identity in the minds of consumers.

Of course, measurement tools may differ from one platform to another. And also from one audience to anotherUnderstand your audience, differentiate your brand, create a compelling story, maintain consistent branding, design an innovative visual identity, focus on brand experience, stay authentic, and monitor and adapt.