Inside Small Business | Small Business & Home Business Marketing

Branding Your Brand

Stephen Wright, Wright Graphics

Logo design companies supply your logo to you in many different formats for consistent and easy use across different media e.g. web, print. But the challenge is how to tackle brand-building. What is the strategy for small business? Here’s a scenario to consider - You have your new logo, you can start the marketing now, right? Wrong!

It takes more than just a logo; you need to brand your brand. Let’s start with a typical small business situation: you know you’re different and can do a better job than the competition - if given the chance.

But first impressions count. You need to be seen to gain recognition and build your reputation. In a crowded market a couple of seconds is all you may get! So how do you communicate all the benefits of using your services to your target audience? A strong, relevant logo supported by recognizable branding which is achieved using color, typefaces and imagery - that are relevant to your company or services. Importantly there are 3 rules we apply when branding a company:

1. Consistency

2. Consistency

3. Consistency

Repetitive branding will build your brand, to brand your brand, i.e. create effective brand awareness of your company or services. To maintain this consistency you will need to have and follow a style guide. This is a simple, easy to understand guide to using your logo, colors and fonts - and maintain consistency in your branding approach whether it’s for a business card, flyer or a sign outside your shop.

I would suggest that you employ a designer to help you devise a style guide, one that has a strong portfolio of corporate design, because the basics are the same for any company - be it large or small. Your style guide will be worth spending money on, because as you grow your business it will be your roadmap to branding success. Basics like consistent use of color and shape will all become even more important as you grow! With the right style guide you will be able to manage effective and consistent branding across all your marketing.

Stephen Wright is a leading branding and corporate communications designer and manages his Sydney Graphic Design firm Wright Graphics on Sydney’s Northern beaches. http://www.wrightgraphics.com.au

Related Topics: Advertising, Branding, Design, Marketing    2 Comments    

Is Producing a Marketing Video a Good Investment?

Greg Womble, President of WOMCOM

Moviemaking isn’t just the domain of west coast producers. Large corporations have been making “marketing videos” for years, and, just like their Hollywood counterparts, often get mixed results. Unlike the entertainment industry, however, they rarely know their ROI.

Now, online business video is everywhere—and produced by everybody. “Making a video” is certainly more affordable for small- and mid-sized companies, but you might agree with me that many online videos today are vacant of quality and content.

Most businesses can benefit from a well-made online marketing film (let’s start differentiating your video product from the masses by using film, a term that connotes quality and timelessness) if it’s well-made and serves a purpose in your overall marketing strategy.

However, in producing online film content the “R” in ROI may mean a certain number of hits to your website or more qualified email inquiries about a job posting by HR. You’ve got to know what you want before you can expect any marketing tool to assist you in getting it.

“Yes” answers to these questions will assist you in deciding if it’s a good investment for your company:

1. Are our company’s values, key messages, and target audiences/markets clearly defined and written out?

2. Does our company have a flexible marketing plan in place with funds to implement the marketing in new and creative ways?

3. Are all of our primary marketing tools and tactics in place, attracting some attention from our markets and achieving some of the return we have defined in our marketing plan? Especially Internet marketing tools and tactics?

4. Realizing that the best marketing films are often slightly offbeat but always entertaining, are we really interested in telling our story in a fresh and different way?

5. Are we willing to get outside help in finding and telling the stories about our company that will help make the film successful?

If you have more than one “no” answer, don’t despair. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t produce a marketing video, it just means you probably shouldn’t IF you expect to see a discernable return on the business investment!

Greg Womble is president of WOMCOM, a project-oriented firm providing marketing planning and media producing services. For over 20 years he has written and produced film/video content for business and the entertainment industry, such as THE SCIENCE POLICE, a comedy-information TV series for Kentucky Educational Television. Contact Greg at greg@womcom.net or visit www.womcom.net.

Related Topics: Advertising, Branding, Business, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Technology    No Comments