How to Create a Brand: Everything You Need to Know
Would you like to know how to create a successful brand? Do you often hear about brand identity, brand awareness, personal branding, brand reputation? These are increasingly relevant topics in the world of corporate business. It is well known that the success of a company depends to a large extent on the public’s perception of its brand.
This guide will provide you with the basics to learn how to create your own successful brand, how to create a winning logo, how to register a trademark and finally how to start promoting your business. Discover the innovation manager course for business innovation and growth!
What is the branding?
Before talking about how to create a brand from scratch, let’s immediately clarify what it is starting from the etymology of the term.
The word “brand” derives from the ancient Nordic “brandr” which means to burn, and refers to the practice of branding cattle with a symbol to define their ownership. Around the twentieth century the term also spread in the Italian language.
According to the American Marketing Association(AMA) the original meaning of “brand” is “trademark” or the term, name, symbol or a combination of these elements that distinguishes a company and its products from the competition.
Originally therefore, the brand was nothing more than the result of a set of graphic signs and words that had the sole objective of distinguishing a company and/or its products and services in an unequivocal way. Over the years the meaning of the word has changed.
The actualization of the term brand is provided by Jean-Noel Kapferer, an expert in marketing and brands worldwide, who defines it as “the shared desire and an exclusive idea represented in a product, service, place, person or experience”.
So nowadays the brand (or brand ) is much more than a simple aggregation of terms and graphic elements. It represents what’s on the mind of the consumer, that’s why it’s so important. Attention! The brand is not to be confused with the trademark. The trademark is the graphic sign that serves to identify and legally protect the brand.
But how to build a brand? Below I provide you with a list of 7 easy steps that you can follow to start your business in the best possible way.
How to create a brand
Regardless of the type of your business, whether it is fashion or sport, before talking about how to create a winning brand it is essential to ask yourself some questions to better define your business .
Do you want to create your own brand with success?
Train with our course!
DISCOVER BRAND MANAGEMENT COURSE
Define who you are
Here is a list of questions that will help you build and better define your brand identity:
- What company are you?
- What are your corporate values?
- What sets you apart from the competition?
- How do you want the public to perceive you?
- What is your target?
- What will improve your business?
- What are your goals?
The Importance of Brand Identity
The answers to these questions will allow you to have a clear idea of your company’s brand identity, this represents the first step in creating a brand. Brand identity is the set of communication aspects and graphic elements on which the perception of a brand in the eyes of consumers is based. In short, in a nutshell, the brand identity is the identity of the company. You must have a strong and solid brand identity if you want the public to choose you over all your competitors
Corporate Identity
One of the most important aspects that determines the effectiveness and success of a brand is having an impeccable coordinated image. The coordinated image, also known as corporate identity, is essentially the set of graphic elements that make up corporate communication, i.e. the website, logo, letterhead, business cards and so on. All these elements must have a well-defined and coherent style, they must allow the public to immediately recognize your brand.
In the following paragraphs, I will give you some advice on brand naming and, moreover, I will tell you about how to create a winning logo. These elements are the basis for building a solid brand identity .
Choose Your Brand Name
One of the most important steps in creating a winning brand is choosing a name. Brand naming , or the choice of a company name, is not an aspect to be underestimated. This step represents one of the key points for the future of your business. The name alone is able to convey an emotion in the consumer and sometimes it can even tell a story. Having good storytelling is one of the best communication strategies to increase the strength of the brand identity. Your brand must have a proper name . Choosing a good brand name will make consumers feel that your business is strong and original.
How to choose the Brand Name?
Think of innovative and non-obvious names, stand out . When choosing your brand name, I advise against describing what you offer (exclude so-called “functional” names). Avoid calling yourself “Vernici&Inchiostri” or “Bianchi Auto”, in the future you would run the risk of being limited by your own company name. At the same time remember to stay on topic with your corporate goals and values decided in the first step. Decide on a name that is easy enough to pronounce – it must be understood by the audience the first time they hear it! I also suggest that you avoid acronyms, which are more difficult to understand and memorize. Instead, add numbers to your brand name: they will make it more profound and interesting.
So in summary, to create an effective brand name, remember that you must necessarily respect the following points:
- Tell a story
- Choose an innovative and original name
- Avoid “functional” names
- Exclude acronyms
- Add numbers in the name.
Create Your Logo
In the various steps of creating a brand, the creation of the logo is of primary importance which, recalling the “corporate image”, constitutes the most important visual element of the brand design. The visual aspect has always been considered the most effective in communication. The logo represents a large part of the visual identity of a company and in order to function it must necessarily possess certain characteristics, whether it is a logotype (consisting only of writing) or a pictogram (i.e. a graphic symbol).
Would you like to learn more about the digital professions?
Download the e-book about the career guidance on digital profession
The characteristics of an effective logo
Here is a list of some requirements that a good logo should have:
- Simple: Less is more! The logo must be simple but not superficial, clear and recognizable so that it can be easily distinguished from that of the competitors. Therefore an excessive amount of shapes, numbers, colors and/or fonts are to be totally excluded.
- Captivating: The logo must be inspiring, visually appealing and beautiful to look at but at the same time appropriate and consistent with your corporate values.
- Versatile: A logo must be visible and recognizable on any surface and in different sizes, it must therefore be versatile. The logo should be designed in vector format using software such as Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw . Vector graphics are based on geometric shapes (points, curves, lines) which generate an image to which colors, shades and effects are attributed. In this way, when the logo is reduced or enlarged, the annoying “grainy” effect typical of raster graphics is avoided(which refers to that type of images made up of a grid of square-shaped points, the pixels). The logo can then be easily resized without loss of quality and legibility. So remember, no Photoshop!
- Original: Your logo must be unique and inimitable so that it can clearly stand out from the others. It must be the result of a purely original and creative work . Note that most of the logos in circulation do not describe what the company does: The Nike logo is not a shoe, the Nokia logo is not a cell phone, the Audi logo is not a car, and the McDonald’s is not a sandwich! So I suggest you adopt this strategy for creating your logo.
- Immortal: A logo that works has neither time nor age. Its design will also have to be effective in 10, 20, 50 years. Think, for example, of the Coca-Cola logo: even if it was designed in 1890 it is still very current today. Therefore, for the creation of the logo, don’t rely on the trends of the moment!
If you don’t feel able to create your own logotype, I strongly recommend that you entrust yourself to a serious and experienced advertising agency who can guide you along this path. In some cases, trying to economize only means wasting time and money. Remember that the fate of your company’s image will depend on this choice!
The Brand: Everything you need to know
You have decided what kind of company you are, you know where you want to go and you own the logo. In short, by now you know how to create a brand. The next step in this guide is the one dedicated to trademark registration.
Why register a trademark?
One of the many advantages of owning a registered trademark is that of having the right to use it exclusively to distinguish one’s goods and services from those of the competition. Furthermore, the registration of the trademark allows the owner or those entitled (therefore the authorized persons) to protect their business and/or their corporate activity. This protection prevents any individual from using the same trademark.
How to register a trademark?
Before registering your trademark, make sure that there is not one previously registered in the same commercial category by searching the central archive of the trademark and patent office.
Also make sure that the brand has no negative connotations and that it is easy enough to memorize, write and read. The trademark is filed by completing a registration application which can be sent to any Chamber of Commerce or online with a digital signature on the Italian website of the trademark and patent office.
Attention, after you have submitted the application, it will no longer be editable! If you want to add new products, you will have to complete and submit a new request to file a new trademark. The registration has a duration of 10 years and once expired it must be renewed.
Take the test and find out which is the best digital profession for you
How much does it cost to register a trademark?
Now let’s talk about the cost. The cost of trademark registration varies according to the territory in which registration is requested and the number of classes (ie the types to which the products and services relating to your company correspond). Generally, the registration of a trademark has a cost that starts from 180 euros up to a maximum of around 300 euros.
Make the website
The next step is to create your company website. It is now known that if you are not on the web nowadays, you are nobody. Your brand site must be easily recognizable from the first visual impact. Colors, style and logo must be perfectly in tune. It must include all relevant information, which must be written clearly and correctly .
Furthermore, your site must be responsive in order to be easily accessible from all types of devices, from computers to smartphones. Responsive or responsive design is the technique that allows you to independently readapt the graphics of the sites on the devices with which they are viewed. Always remember that your site must promote and present the company to convince the public to choose your products and/or services.
But how do you actually create the website? Speaking of platforms for creating websites, the most widespread and used is undoubtedly WordPress, which allows you to decide between many free and non-free themes, plugins and customizations of all kinds.
Have you ever wondered how to promote a product and sell it online? It goes without saying that the website alone, even if it covers a very important part of the entire corporate communication, is not enough to promote your busines . You necessarily have to resort to other means and channels.
A winning strategy is to use social networks to advertise your business. In this way you will avoid spending a fortune and you will increase the probability of reaching your potential customers more easily and effectively. Try to be as present as possible in the various discussions, above all listen to what consumers have to tell you. Also, whenever possible, show your human side. In this way it will be easier to break down the barrier between your business and consumers, and in addition your brand will gain more trust in the eyes of the public.
Social media management requires professionalism and strategy: you can’t improvise as a Social Media Manager!
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER COURSE + CERTIFICATION
Just as much attention, you will need to direct it towards the creation and management of digital relationships, capable of growing the reputation and interest in the brand. In this sense, I recommend the Digital PR Course , dedicated precisely to the knowledge and understanding of all the activities useful for creating lasting relationships between the brand and the users.
Ultimately, the brand is the soul of commerce . Make sure you follow all these simple steps, think, create, experiment, stand out. In short, now you know everything there is to know about how to create a brand!
Furthermore, we are at your disposal to give you any information regarding digital marketing courses that can help you create and grow your company in the best possible way!
Discover How To Create a Successful Brand Online
0 Comments