A brand impression is made in a matter of seconds. At every point of contact, your audience is either relating with you or ignoring you. You can either spark or lose their interest. Every contact evokes an emotion. And if that emotion is relatable and consistent , your brand becomes memorable and earns loyalty for your audience .
That is the power of successful branding. It can create space, it can create an audience, it can create magic, only if done right. To achieve a positive impact of this kind, a branding that is effective and strategic becomes necessary.
In the words of Jeff Bezos, ‘Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.’
To make branding for your brand easier, we will tell you the 5 essentials of successful branding.
But before we begin – let’s understand what a brand and branding mean and why it is important.
A brand is not just your logo or just your company. It is your vision, your audience, your purpose, your people, it is everything and everyone that interacts or communicates with you or for you. Branding is necessary to make sure that these wide range of activities, people, ideas and beliefs all work towards and communicate the same goal.
With that said and done, let’s get started. Let us understand, The 5 essentials of successful branding with the example of Coca-Cola because
Admit it – We all drink pepsi, only when we can’t find COKE.
1. Defining your brand story
Clearly define where you’re going, you need to know where you come from, to keep in mind what irked you and what motivated you to start your brand. It is important to have a story that your customers can get behind. Ask the most important question : Why? because people need a purpose to follow, to connect, to believe in a cause to become a loyal follower. Following with other questions : How does it help your customers? What can you offer that no-one else can? Once you do this, you will know where you want your brand to be headed. It will then become easier for you to clarify your vision, mission, values and belief i.e. The brand core. Your core in turn will drive you forward. For example, let us see how the brand Coca cola, derives it’s vision from its backstory and why it is still emotionally engaging today. The Coke Story Dr. John Stith Pemberton, a local pharmacist, produced the syrup for Coca-Cola, and carried a jug of the new product down the street to Jacobs’ Pharmacy, where it was sampled, pronounced “excellent” and placed on sale for five cents a glass as a soda fountain drink. Carbonated water was teamed with the new syrup to produce a drink that was at once “Delicious and Refreshing,” a theme that continues to echo today wherever Coca-Cola is enjoyed. Their vision till date reflects a part of their story – “to craft the brands and choice of drinks that people love, to refresh them in body & spirit.” The story is still successful today. Simply put, it works because they have a dreamy story of nothing to everything , a strong presence , the aim to refresh people and spread joy and because they do good.2. Positioning your brand in the market
The question : ‘Where do I fit in?’ is one, that most people do not even think about in their lives. Unfortunately, brands do not have that luxury. In fact, figuring out who you are, what you stand for and what difference you can make is the first order of business – before the products or service even hit the shelf. The world has become an extremely competitive environment. And each market sector, is filled with companies offering similar services. That is where positioning your brand can set you apart. Your brand positioning in short, is knowing your audience, understanding what they are missing, knowing how your product can solve that and then giving them just that. Confused? Let us understand how Coca- Cola does it. As we all know, Coca-Cola is aerated drink. A beverage. But so is Pepsi. So how do these brands have different images and perceptions in people’s heart and minds. When we hear the name Coca-Cola, we associate with the word, the feeling of happiness. That is because Coca-Cola has made it their mission to keep happiness at the core of everything they do. You cannot directly associate a soft drink to happiness. But with the right messaging like Coca-Cola does, it seems right. It hits home.
They do so, by portraying people, happy people having Coca-Cola in moments of enjoyment. At a picnic with friends, On a date, after an achievement, as a celebratory drink and more.
The positioning that Coca-Cola employs is ‘open happiness’
3. Crafting a brand personality
People relate to people. And that is the truth of the world. Humans crave relationships, affections and bonds. And the same goes with brands. A brand with a personality, will attract their audience and be able to keep them. Personifying your brand makes it easier for people to relate with it. When crafting your brand personality, keep this one simple thing in mind, if your brand were a person – how would you want people to describe them ? How would you want people to interact with it? All of this is reflected in the way you talk to your audience, how your messaging sounds, what your brand does, everything. Basically, your brand becomes a person, and every act is judged. If your personality is inconsistent, it is unauthentic. The Coke personality When you think of Coca-Cola, you think Youthful, Energetic, exciting, Joyous, Social, Empathetic and most of all Happy. This gets re-enforced, every time we interact with Coca-Cola. Their bright red wave, the images of happy people, their messaging like ‘open happiness’ all goes in hand with their image. And not just that even their physical campaigns are innovative, engaging with people, exciting and induce happiness and curiosity in people. Coca- Cola as a brand, does every thing it can to remain the young, exciting and happy brand that it is thought to be.4. Keeping it consistent
A brand can do everything right, and still go completely wrong. And this happens because they lacked consistency. Being consistent is the key to success in life, and the same goes for brands. If you are not consistent, you are not authentic. And your consumers will see that, sense that. Consistency is also important in terms of your visual language and tone of voice. If your brand does not look consistent in terms of brand colours, visual language, tone of voice, messaging content etc, it will be difficult for people to understand your message and relate with your brand. Put simply, get to know your audience, set a tone and visual language and stick to it. Let people relate to your brand, give them time to interact with your brand and give them time to fall in love with your brand. The key to consistency is to avoid talking about things that don’t relate to or enhance your brand. Does it align with your message, or was it just something funny that would, quite frankly, confuse your audience?Consistency plays a big role in building brand loyalty. You cannot promise your customers one thing and then move away from it. The Coca – Cola consistency As a result of its commitment to consistency, every element of the brand’s marketing works harmoniously together. This has helped it become one of the most recognizable brands in the world. The last time coco-cola ‘looked‘ different, has been decades ago. Their Red wave, their happy images, and their happy content has been around since forever. And one look at just the wave, no pictures, no logo is enough for us to know, it’s Coca-Cola. It’s enough for us to feel happy and excited. It’s enough to generate trust. And that is the power of consistency. It generates intense loyalty, emotions and recognition. Let consistency lead the way, it never goes wrong.5. Creating an effective presence
Brands all over the world invest heavily in marketing and advertising, even when they got brand loyalty and recognition. Ever wonder why? To generate awareness? Irrespective or sector, size, success, brands need to stay present in the public eye. If you’re not around, you’re forgotten. If people are not seeing you, talking about you or thinking about you, they have forgotten about you. The world is changing rapidly these days, and we all agree that it’s important that brands adapt to that and change themselves. Being present isn’t just about being visible, it is about maintaining your customers, by telling them how hard you’re working to make your brand better. Your presence is a medium through which you reach your customers. The medium through which they know you care. The way they find stories to relate to you. For your customers to feel some way about you, they need to know you’re still around and you still care. That is presence. The Coke Presence Coca-Cola as a brand, needs no reminder. It is so ingrained in our lives, that we subconsciously are always interacting with it. And yet, their presence is stronger than any other brand. Time and again, Coca-Cola comes up with campaigns – be it social, promotional or even just emotional. They align all their handles to the same ideology, consistently reach out to their audience and constantly call for attention. And apart from all this, Coco-Cola blends into your everyday lives. In college Canteens, or movie theatres or even ads and videos, Coca-Cola is everywhere and you might not even notice. Their presence is so normal, that it is a part of your world now.Thank you for reading.
With that, we have understood the five essentials of successful branding. Let us know how you liked the article.
If you want to contact us, please reach out to us at – [email protected]
