Brand Identity and How It Leads to a Successful Brand Strategy
Certain brands are familiar to almost everyone. Whether luxury items or mass-market goods, they have become an inseparable part of our lives. Silently and subconsciously, our minds assign specific attributes to these brands, influencing whether we perceive them as a fit for us. However, this process is not a matter of chance but the result of a well-communicated brand identity. This blog post explores what brand identity entails and the opportunities it presents.
Brand Identity: How a Brand Sees Itself
Brand identity (also known as Brand Identity or BI) defines how a brand perceives itself. From this, its unique selling proposition (USP) can be derived, determining how and why a brand distinguishes itself from others and what makes it unique.
Beyond that, brand identity provides the foundation for clear brand positioning and enables further development. The primary purpose of brand identity is to assign clear characteristics and create points of identification. This allows a brand’s perception to be influenced externally. Brand identity—how a brand sees itself or wishes to be seen—stands in direct contrast to brand image, which reflects how the brand is actually perceived. These concepts are also known from the related field of corporate identity (CI) and its counterpart, corporate image. Many terminologies are shared between these disciplines. While brand identity and corporate identity are often used synonymously, this is only accurate in certain cases.
If these terms are unfamiliar, there’s no need to worry. Instead, it is recommended to first learn some basic principles of corporate and brand identity with the help of this blog post: “Understanding Corporate Identity.”
Why a Strong Brand Identity Is Essential
A well-communicated brand identity is crucial because it serves as an anchor in the minds of key stakeholders, such as customers, suppliers, and employees. Through consistent and unified communication across all channels—both internal and external—specific attributes can be associated with a brand. Once core elements, such as brand design and values, have been sufficiently conveyed, they become recognizable to potential customers. The stronger the recognition factor, the more likely customers will identify with the brand’s communicated values.
For example, if a consumer wants to signal their commitment to environmental consciousness and sustainable manufacturing, they will seek out brands that align with these values. When they find a brand that matches their ideals, identification occurs, making a purchase decision more likely.
Another benefit of strong brand identity is evident when launching new product lines. Many clothing brands, for instance, expand into the fragrance market. A consumer who has never smelled a particular perfume is statistically more likely to choose a product associated with a familiar parent brand. However, this only works if the consumer already identifies with that brand. People tend to choose what they already know. A strong brand positioning allows for an image transfer that extends to new products. Who hasn’t, when faced with a selection of unfamiliar products abroad, opted for the one labeled “Made in Germany”? This illustrates why a strong brand identity with high recognition value is crucial for long-term market success.
Key Characteristics of Brand Identity
Every brand consists of various factors and characteristics that collectively shape its identity. These elements define a brand and establish points of identification through their audiovisual, verbal, and emotional components.
- Uniqueness: As mentioned earlier, a strong brand identity hinges on its unique selling proposition (USP)—what truly sets it apart. Without uniqueness, a brand risks being forgotten. Recognition is essential for identification, making purchase decisions less likely without it. There are numerous ways to establish a USP. One of the most striking and effective methods is through design, encompassing name, logo, and product aesthetics. A distinctive design enables instant recognition among thousands of competitors. Since a brand’s first impression is often visual, these elements must be memorable, clear, and easily comprehensible.
- Consistency: Another crucial factor is consistency. Even the most well-crafted and visually unique brand identity is ineffective if it is not perceived consistently by the public. A brand can only be associated with the intended attributes through uniform communication of its identity. Therefore, standards must be upheld whenever the brand is presented externally. Brand guidelines provide clear directives on logo design, color schemes, and spacing. Using standardized stationery, greetings, and typography further strengthens a brand’s uniqueness and recognition value. This is why changes to a company’s logo or name are such significant interventions in its brand identity.
Brand guidelines are definitely an exciting topic in their own right. That’s why this blog post explains exactly what it means: “How brand guidelines standardize your communication”
- Authenticity: Authenticity is another fundamental pillar. A brand that promotes values inconsistent with its established public perception (brand image) can generate distrust. Brands aim to build consumer trust, so inauthentic messaging should be avoided. A banker adopting a restaurateur’s persona to attract new clients is unlikely to succeed—just as the reverse scenario would fail.
- Emotional Value: Branding aims to evoke emotional connections with the target audience. This is achieved not only through carefully selected color schemes and advertising jingles but also by creating emotional value for consumers. Giving customers the feeling that they are part of something greater or obtaining something truly valuable and unique enhances their connection to the brand. Strong commitments to humanitarian or social causes can also contribute to emotional value—provided authenticity remains intact.
The emotional impact of color in branding is well-documented. This blog post explains why: “The Importance of Colors in Website Design.”
Developing a Strong Brand Identity
A strong brand identity is the foundation of any successful brand. Developing such an identity requires several essential steps, which are too detailed to cover entirely here.
First, a brand identity needs a solid foundation on which further development can be built. Brand values define what a brand stands for, what it represents, and the principles by which it operates—essentially its core philosophy.
Understanding the target audience is equally important. This involves identifying the values they uphold and why. What desires, hopes, and fears does the brand address? How does the target audience perceive the brand, and what attributes do they associate with it? Does the brand’s identity align with its image? Addressing these questions ensures that a brand’s communication strategy effectively reaches its audience.
Once the foundational elements are established, the brand must be effectively communicated. The target audience will only recognize that a brand fulfills their needs if this message is clearly conveyed. A unified and strategic communication approach across all channels is essential.
It is important that a brand is oriented towards the target group and is authentic in terms of its brand values. The well-known principle: “There is no such thing as bad advertising” may be true to a certain extent, as more brand awareness is not a bad thing. However, historically there are many examples of ineffective brand communication strategies that have indeed damaged a brand. In this respect, it is advisable to focus only on the people who are to become consumers of a brand.
Once all values have been defined, the target group analyzed and a communication strategy developed, the perception of a brand by third parties (image) can be developed or changed. A comparison between your own brand identity and the results of the target group analysis is suitable for this purpose. What values does the brand stand for and which of these values are important to the target group? How does the target group really see the brand? And what needs to change so that the brand image is more in line with the identity? These and similar findings can be used to further develop the brand image.
There are many methods and possibilities for doing this, which can hardly be listed here due to their multitude. Instead, the development of the brand image will be illustrated using a brief example from the fast food industry. Towards the end of the last century, fast food chains clearly advertised family-friendliness and convenience, but today many brands focus on sustainability and health. The reason for this is that the generally associated attributes of fast food brands (brand image) tend to be negative. In this respect, an attempt is now being made to develop the external perception in a certain direction, which corresponds more to the brand’s own perception, through an adapted brand design and a new communication strategy.
Specifically, this means more earthy and green tones in the brand design to communicate a connection to nature, sustainability and health.
You are not alone: developing a brand strategy is not for lone wolves
Building and developing a brand identity is a complex task. Many key decisions have to be made, particularly with regard to strategy, which have far-reaching consequences. Whether these consequences are positive or negative depends entirely on the company’s understanding of its own brand, target group and communication. If companies grow organically over the years or launch new sub-brands for new target groups, their own brand identity can quickly suffer as a result.
Even defining your own brand identity is a complex process for which various methods exist. Organizations without their own branding or marketing department quickly reach their limits here. There is also the omnipresent risk of operational blindness. Internal employees tend to make certain assumptions simply because they seem self-evident to them. This can become a real problem, especially when it comes to brand controlling and the implementation of new brands, if the wrong considerations become the basis of the strategy.
Brand strategy is a multi-layered and highly complex topic. This blog post sheds more light on this important specialist area: “An introduction to the world of brand strategy”
To prevent this, professional branding agencies can take on these tasks or at least provide support at key moments. They bring the right know-how, practical experience and a strong network to their own organization. Whether cooperation is limited to a few essential points in time or holistic support makes more sense depends heavily on the size and type of your own organization. However, it is crucial that the core elements outlined above are also taken into account and that the amount of work involved in brand management is not underestimated. To this end, every company must ask itself whether the resulting workload can be managed in terms of expertise and personnel. Otherwise, there is a risk that the brand identity will be communicated incorrectly from the outset or developed in the wrong direction over the years.
Branding Agencies: Why They Are Invaluable for Brand Identity Development
Selecting the right branding agency depends on multiple factors. There is no universal answer to which agency is the best fit for developing a brand identity—it depends on the specific needs and expected workload.For startups or major rebranding efforts, a full-service agency with a holistic approach is highly recommended. These agencies employ experts across various disciplines, assisting not only with conceptual development but also with practical implementation.
Alternatively, multiple smaller agencies or freelancers with specialized expertise can be hired. However, this increases communication overhead and costs. In-house branding departments are another option, though they are costly and still susceptible to internal bias.
Professional help is essential for small and medium-sized companies and organizations, especially when establishing a brand for the first time, i.e. when searching for its identity, so to speak. This all-important step lays nothing less than the foundation for the brand strategy of the coming years. Regular brand audits are also worthwhile for a brand that has already existed for some time. They analyse how an organization is perceived by itself and by others and whether, over the years, it no longer communicates its values as it should according to its identity. It is also conceivable that the brand identity has been strictly maintained and communicated, but that the target group has changed so much in the meantime that the identity must also be adapted in order to remain attractive.
This also determines whether a company can successfully position itself on the market or whether it develops in the “wrong” direction, i.e. away from the preferences of its own target group. Of course, it is up to each managing director to decide whether and to what extent they are prepared to pay a not inconsiderable price. In the end, only you can decide which one is right for you.
Conclusion and Outlook on Brand Identity
Brand identity can be considered the soul or personality of a brand. It forms the conceptual foundation for brand strategy. Through strong brand design, a brand can be recognized, fostering identification with the target audience and ultimately leading to positive brand perception and purchasing decisions.
Given the increasing competition in today’s globalized market, adhering to these principles is more crucial than ever. With digital media driving an intense battle for consumer attention, brands must employ strategic methods to maintain their market position. Looking ahead, this challenge will only intensify.