INSIGHTWhat is a brand?
A special series for our partnership with Navima.
Much of our branding work begins with a request for a new visual identity, a new logo, or a new “look and feel”. Early in our discovery process, we often find the brand itself is most in need of work.
A brand is not “just a logo.” A brand is an idea that is conjured in someone’s mind when they think of or interact with an organization in any way. It is a feeling. An association. A sense. A memory. A brand is conceptual.
We encourage our clients to think of their brands as vessels. Each vessel must be strong enough to carry an organization’s purpose and products or services. It must have integrity. This integrity will provide the strength to bend, but not break, toward change.
Down markets, customer churn, and competition are all exigent change factors that may make an organization look toward brand revitalization. But just as dangerous to the under-constructed or tired brand are changes like positive growth, innovation, and/or new products or services.
Your brand is not a stopping point along the journey. It carries you through the entire journey. The ups and the downs. A brand should encapsulate the true reason why an organization has come to exist and uphold its future vision. A good brand is aspirational and achievable, as well as ownable and adaptable.
THE CUSTOMER-CENTRIC VIEWTo better illustrate (and pardon the turn of phrase), does a person who is blind have a different impression of the Coca-Cola brand? A visual identity—logo, colors, type—is only one expression of the brand. It’s certainly an important part of the brand, but it is not the brand itself.
A brand is better expressed in a phrase. The words we choose can encapsulate why an organization exists.
It’s important to not conflate a brand statement with a tagline, though the former often begets the latter.
The remarkable thing about a brand’s visual identity or tagline is that it can quickly resonate with a customer and remind them of their relationship with the organization. Think of the Apple logo or Nike’s “Just do it.” tagline. Expressions of brands become lighthouses, offering a promise, trust, and familiarity with the product or service. We follow its beacon to the shelf, to the package, to the website, to the app.
THE INVESTOR VIEWWhen investors in a tech start-up consider investing, their gazes go beyond the balance sheet—and promises of exponential revenue—to the brand. Is its purpose valuable? Is it well-constructed and presented so as to inspire? The investor never invests in the logo. Instead, they look for potential. The brand must demonstrate that potential.
THE ORGANIZATIONAL VIEWA CEO’s main objective is to continually orient the organization—its people, its goals, its initiatives, its approach to and actions in the market—around the brand. For leaders, the brand provides a single point of truth. A well-constructed, trustworthy, and true brand will provide guidance in day-to-day operations. The many actions and decisions undertaken by perhaps hundreds or thousands of employees will be better oriented toward and unified around brand principles.
THE HOLISTIC VIEWWithout the brand itself, the logo is one of many, the tagline meaningless. With solid brand foundations in place, organizations can strive for and achieve their purpose, time and time again.
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This content series is part of our ongoing partnership with Navima.
Navima provides M&A teams with an intelligent way to collaborate globally, guide deals, and build repeatable playbooks in a single platform. This offering includes access to industry-leading experts, including our contribution—the most concise branding playbook ever designed, specifically for M&A.
is + at is proud to contribute to its success.