Cool Logos Are Everywhere

Apple was just a computer in a world of people who didn’t use computers. Nike is just a shoe. Rolex is just a watch. Birkin is just a bag. Shell is just an industrial company.

A bad branding hurts you in more ways than you know.

How? The simplest answer is an unmanaged understanding about your business. People might assume you sell stamps. Maybe they think you’re cheap and unfriendly. Their impression of you is based on the salesperson they meet and a bad ad they happen to see during a bad time. Without branding, so much of your business is just luck.

“Yeah, we know. Every business wants a nice logo. It’ll solve all our problems. The customers will be impressed and love us.”

You know that’s not true. Business is harder than that. Aaaaaaaand that’s why you’ll spend as little as you can on a logo.

Does that mean your business doesn’t need a rebrand? If you think that, your business doesn’t deserve one. If you’re considering it, read on.

Why Businesses Need Branding

Let’s skip the history lesson on cow herding and ancient stores, shall we?

So many businesses rely on so many uncontrolled factors to set their brand perception. Bad salespeople, 100 different ads by 100 different agencies, clichéd taglines by your nephew and, finally, what’s in trend right now.

That means your business has no identity. Everything is different. Exciting, maybe. Cool even. In all likelihood, your marketing is what Malaysians call caca marba (a.k.a. chaotic).

A branding gives your business a well-curated and strategized identity. In simple words, it keeps every message, every ad, every design choice, every photo, every video, every salesperson consistent and within a set parameter. A brand is not everything for everybody. It’s just not effective.

Nike can be nice shoes or a statement to start changing. Apple can be just a computer or the latest move in innovation. KFC can just be chicken or it could be generational comfort.

It tells people who you are in a refined manner. Better than that, it convinces them.

How Has Branding Changed

Gone are the days where people buy things based on limited options. Not only are there local competitors, the world has gone borderless. Everything is available all the time from any corner of the globe.

Client Story #1 The Hotelier

There was a client that said to me “I didn’t need branding 40 years ago”. True. People experienced your hotel in person 40 years ago. They told their friends. They made the decision impromptu. Your hotel was probably the best-looking one on the island.

Today, that reality is a fantasy. Prospective customers first experience your hotel months in advance through your website and social media. They check it to feel your credibility remotely. They obsess over your photos and how well-curated your site is.

Can they remember your name after going through 8 other hotel websites?

Do they remember your name? Your colours? Is booking easy?

Client Story #2 The Vape King

There was a client that said to me “I didn’t need branding 40 years ago”. True. People expAnother client had a deep impact on us when he told us the following: “You have no idea what the branding did for us”. Prior to the rebranding, the overseas supplier assumed the business was the smallest amongst its competitors. They had quoted a high price stating that they already had a big client in Malaysia despite the client being more than double the output its closest competitor.

Interview candidates would bail when they saw what the office looked like. It didn’t look like a place that would befit their status.

Branding changed the game for this client. It managed perception of their prospective talent pool and even affected pricing from their suppliers and manufacturers.

The Big Change

There’re too many facets of communications in today’s world. Social media, website, calls, in-person sales, stakeholder management, advertising, events and etc. Every medium will call for different partners and agencies.

Having a strong well-strategised branding concept creates a standard and guidelines for all these. It’s your logo designed to be used in different contexts and environments. It’s your tone of voice, manners, brand elements, photography, video style and many others.

You limit the questions everybody needs to ask. Your agencies, your stakeholders, your customers and even your employees.

What Is Branding Today

Branding today is a sophisticated machine. It can take the form of a 200-page manual to be distributed across your employees, vendors and agencies.

In a market surrounded by simple aesthetics, branding is a concept. Something an architect, a designer, a photographer, a writer, a strategist and a marketer can understand to build your brand further.

It’s also something crafted for ease of understanding by the people you’re trying to capture. It’s well-reasoned, it’s done in their language, it’s simple and it’s convincing. Something your salespeople and board can repeat easily.

Most of all, branding is consistent. It doesn’t help your business to change direction every 2 weeks. There can always be different messages and styles under one flagship. Different, but familiar.

How To Start Branding

The first step is to go beyond the money. Businesses need money, but consider the perspective of the customer.

People buy things for status, principles, convenience and many others. Why should your clients and customers care about your business? Why should they pay attention?

Once you start considering from that perspective, ask your stakeholders what are the things they don’t care about your business. Talking to an agency after considering this will assist them in building the best branding for your business.

In a world where new businesses and startups are popping up like mushrooms, you can’t afford to blend in. Trust us, you don’t want to be the next Nokia and Blackberry.

Some companies are too big to know what people think of them. In this context, consider strategic brand audit to understand what people expect from your business. In a world where you’ve been keeping in touch with your customers and stakeholders, make bold moves.

Talk to agencies where you can be the voice of reason while they’re playing active agents of change.

How It Can Help Marketing

With a solid brand footing, your marketing will be a lot more focused. All your ads won’t just be creative. They will be creatively you.

You will be able to build upon every marketing activity. Every cool activity and initiative will snowball and deepen all your stakeholder’s understanding of your brand. More importantly, it will build their interest. Active repetition also helps build familiarity and recognition.

Be the brand that your customers can recognise without seeing your logo. Whatever you do, they’ll know. Everybody will eagerly await your next communication and they’ll enjoy it.

Here’s the kicker: people love talking to others about brands people already know. That’s how all instant noodles in Malaysia became Maggi and all diapers became Pampers.

Conclusion

I’m sure you already know your brand is boring. Your business had to be boring to make it to this point. Stability was what you chased. That’s necessary.

If you’re thinking of rebranding, my suggestion is to not make it a formality. Branding is too costly to repeat the same mistakes on. Push your business further. Have some fun doing it.

It will be a welcome breath of fresh air to your stakeholders. It will tell them you’re not stagnating and resting on your laurels. In the worst-case scenario, your branding will be an excellent PR item to make everybody take another look at your business. It opens you up to new customers, renew interest from your old ones and even allows your loss customers to reconsider you.

So let the world see the business you’ve put your heart and soul into. It’s really not as boring as you think.

It’s time to have some fun in your business again. It sure helps that branding is the smart business move too.