What is branding?

Branding… a popular term you often come across in the world of communication. A a business it’s important to have a ‘strong brand’, but what exactly does that mean?

Good branding starts with a clear brand strategy. A solid brand strategy will ensure that you truly stand out in your industry. What kind of feeling do you want to convey? Who is your ideal customer? Where can they be found? And how can you reach them? What look & feel suits your company and how will you engage the customer with it?

So branding is more than just a logo or a website. Branding is never just one ‘thing’, it’s the combination of strategy, form, image, text and colour.

‘‘Branding is what people say about you
when you’re not in the room.’’

— Jeff Bezos

Brand Strategy
When we at Supersky receive a branding assignment, we start of course by getting to know the cleint during a creative session. By asking the right questions, we gain a good understanding of the company or brand.

There are a few tools to capture this in a solid strategy. We like to work with Simon Sinek’s “Why-How-What”, also known as the ‘golden circle’. With this approach from the inside (the why) to the outside (the how and what). This results in a concise brand strategy that we then use to develop a suitable brand identity. With this method, we aim to find the truly distinguishing factor that prompts consumers or businesses to choose your brand or product.

Brand Identity
The brand identity stems from the positioning of the company or brand. A brand identity can be quite coprehensive, but the basics consist of the following elements: 

• A logo with several variations, such as in color (corporate) and a version in white

• Optionally, a corresponding icon

• A colour palette

• A font palette

 Below are a few examples of brand identities we have worked on.

Brandbook
Branding can be expanded across various online and offline mediums. To achieve a consistent appearance, rules are laid out in a brand book that must be adhered to in all communications. From Instagram to a brand movie, and from a business card to a catalog.

For small businesses, a compact format may suffice, such as a single-page brand board containing all the basic elements of a brand identity. For large companies with many employees and opinions, an eleborated brand book is a must-have to streamline all internal and external communications.

What branding exactly mean for your company is a story for another time. So, keep an eye on our blog and if you’d like to chat further with us about branding, let us know!