If someone asked you what brand you associated with ‘a tick’, chances are you would respond pretty quickly with ‘Nike’! Alongside Apple, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and so on. Nike is one of the world's most iconic and identifiable brands. It is rather remarkable to think that we draw such strong associations with these brands, but why is this? And how do brands form these strong associations for us in our minds? With the brands mentioned above, their brand identities have been built out of years of dedicated brand development in which these businesses have worked to build a unique brand mission statement and foster global customer loyalty. However, if you are a new or development company don’t panic! - this does not mean you too cannot achieve the brand identity of these iconic names. This is why we have developed this condensed Wriggle Marketing guide to developing a strong brand identity…

What is brand development?

As defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary, Brand Development is “the process of improving a brand or improving customers’ knowledge and opinions of a brand.” Building a BRAND is essentially building a perception on a customers’ mindset. A brand can be anything from a symbol, design, name, sound, reputation, emotion, employees and much more that separates your brand from another. Therefore, brand development is about building a unique and identifiable level of quality, value, and trust that the customer finds in your company. In this sense, your brand is potentially one of the most valuable assets to your business and is what builds the foundations of your brands visibility, reputation, and ultimate popularity. Brand develop is therefore vital and involves the careful and considered process of creating and strengthening your business’s brand and building authority within your industry through a variety of channels. In today’s flooded market there are advertisements on every street corner, however, this does not necessarily indicate a measure of success. Instead, you must enable your brand to rise above the competition and create a promise to your respective customers that makes you speak to them on a more personal level and come to you for that service every time.

How to create a brand development strategy:

In order to create a brand identity, you must first have a focused brand development strategy. According to Carly Stec, a brand strategy essentially ‘encompasses specific, long-term goals that can be achieved with the evolution of a successful brand -- the combined components of your company's character that make it identifiable.’ Your brand is not just all about the visual elements of your company like your website, logo or name - it’s about far more than that, it’s the thoughts and feelings that people associate with your brand through your conveyance of attributes, values, purposes, strengths, and passions. Therefore, a well thought out brand strategy will consider the follow…

1. WHO ARE YOU - Consider what your brand is before you put it out there! What type of company do you want to be? What is your growth strategy? Be clear about where you want to take your business and how to use your branding in line with this strategy.
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3. THE CUSTOMER - Understand the relevance of your brand to your clearly defined target audience. The more focused this target audience, the greater the success of your business. If you to broad of a target audience, your marketing and branding strategies will become too diluted and ineffective. Do your research on your target audience frequently to ensure you keep in touch with your audiences wants and needs as your business grows and evolves.
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5. THE COMPETITION - Do your market research into your competitors and determine your market position. In marketing and business strategy, market position refers to the customer’s perception of a brand or product in relation to competing brands or products. How does your brand differ from others and why should potential clients within your target audience choose you and not them? Deliver a unique promise!
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7. DELIVERING THE MESSAGE - How then are you going to tap into your customers emotions and pass on your brand identity by forming a connection with them? This involves making your brand communication channels as effective as possible to make your brand the most memorable it can be. This involved packaging your brand and creating its overarching identity through graphic design, web design, creating a tagline, social media, advertising, content writing, and much much more. All of these channels will act as methods through which is communicate or symbolise your brand to the world.
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Overall your brand strategy should craft your brand extremely carefully to ensure that it is properly and authentically representing your brand as you want it to. Once you have your brand strategy BE CONSISTENT with your identity and track its progress to ensure you keep managing it as the goal posts of your audience develops and evolves. Create your identifiable purpose and keep it going! There are a number of tools through which to develop your brand strategy and if you require further advice here at Wriggle Marketing, our in-house marketing experts would be more than happy to help you! Do not hesitate to contact us today on 0191 285 6128 or email us on tickleus@wrigglemarketing.co.uk.