Creating Space for Brand Decision-Making Through an Engaged Process
So, you're thinking about creating a brand, huh? This is an enjoyable and creative exercise, and you're going to have a great time. But here's the thing—you can't just whip up a logo with a simple litmus test and call it a day. Successful branding is an ongoing commitment that requires a thoughtful, engaged process to make decisions about your brand's positioning, name selection, sponsorship, development, and more.
Why Having an Engaged Process Is Important
Can’t you just wing it and make brand decisions as you go? You could, but it’s like going somewhere without directions—you probably won’t reach your destination, and you’ll waste resources getting there.
There are a few reasons you should have a process in place for brand decision-making:
- Collaboration: An engaged process fosters active client and team cooperation. It encourages open communication and continuous feedback, leading to a more refined and successful brand.
- Clarity: Engaging everyone involved provides a clear roadmap, making it easier to track progress, stay focused on goals, manage expectations, and deliver on promises.
- Adaptability: An engaging process allows flexibility and responsiveness to new insights and feedback. This versatility helps the brand evolve based on real-time input and changing needs.
- Quality: By incorporating a process, you ensure the final product is well thought out and thoroughly vetted.
- Ownership: Engaging clients and audiences in the process gives them a sense of ownership and investment in the brand—forging an emotional connection that can translate into stronger brand loyalty and advocacy.
The Components of an Engaged Process
Okay, so making brand decisions takes more than tackling them ad hoc. You need a process that includes discovery, iteration, and testing. Here’s what that may look like:
1. Getting to Know Each Other
Think of the discovery phase as the getting-to-know-you stage of a relationship. You need to understand your client and their audience (or your audience if you are doing the marketing yourself). What are their values, goals, and dreams? What makes them tick? Get ready for some deep conversations and prepare to ask lots of questions to nail down the brand vision, target audience, and other details that help you create a brand that resonates.
Get input directly from the audience, too—their insights help shape the brand’s direction. Surveys, focus groups, and social media polls are your best tools for understanding the audience’s needs and preferences.
2. Playing with Ideas
After discovery, you have all the info you need to iterate. This is the fun part—coming up with a bunch of ideas and seeing what sticks. Create multiple versions of your logo and other brand elements.
Iterations create options and spark discussion, helping you understand the brand more deeply.
Branding is a team sport—share your ideas, get feedback, and refine your concepts based on what resonates most.
3. Testing Your Ideas
You wouldn’t buy a car without a test drive first, right? The same goes for your brand elements. Testing helps ensure that your concepts work in the real world. Run your designs by a focus group or share them on social media to get feedback.
Pay attention to what people like, what confuses them, and what leaves them indifferent. Testing helps you identify areas that need more attention to make changes that strengthen aspects of the brand or brand strategy.
Bringing It All Together
Creating a solid, successful brand doesn’t happen in a silo, and every brand decision involves more than choosing between A and B. Why A? Why B? What’s working and what isn’t? Are there better ideas out there?
An engaging process helps you make sound brand decisions and create something that looks good AND resonates with people. Use feedback to help you improve, stay curious throughout any branding exercise, and have fun with the process. Happy branding!