Branding 101: Learn To Build Your Brand In 25 Minutes — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00What's up brand builders Stephen Houraghan  here at BrandMasterAcademy.com and in this
2. 0:03video you're going to learn branding 101 how to  build a strategic brand so you can understand the
3. 0:10machine that influences audiences to choose your  business of your competitors again and again so
4. 0:17what exactly is branding well look it's a pretty  broad question and when you sit down and think
5. 0:24of it there are many different perspectives on  this a lot of different players with different
6. 0:28opinions and different positions on what branding  actually is but when you strip away all of that
7. 0:35complication and really think about what branding  is it's about making a business more appealing
8. 0:41to a certain group of people than the competitors  and the aim of the game here is to influence their
9. 0:48buying decision now a lot of people believe that  branding is about how a brand looks you know the
10. 0:55the logo how it appears visually and for the most  part the they are right to some extent but really
11. 1:02that's only the tip of the iceberg beyond the  iceberg below the surface you have a machine of
12. 1:08elements all working together to make up the brand  if all you have is a logo if all you have are
13. 1:15the visuals then there's no mechanism behind that  brand to make those connections with the audience
14. 1:21so to answer the question what is branding it's  all about understanding exactly who that audience
15. 1:27is and then building a brand and an ecosystem  around that to make that business more appealing
16. 1:35to that group of people so why exactly is branding  so important well think about the alternative for
17. 1:42a second you have a business and you want people  to buy your stuff but in order for them to buy
18. 1:49your stuff you're going to have to influence  them now if all you know about branding is that
19. 1:54you need a logo on a website and you go ahead  and pay a designer to get that logo and to get
20. 1:59that website and you put that website out into the  world what do you have to influence those people
21. 2:05the Assumption there is that people are just  going to come to your website and see that you
22. 2:10have a good looking brand you have a website copy  telling them what you do and then they're just
23. 2:14going to hit that buy button but the reality is  completely different there are so many businesses
24. 2:20vying for the attention of your audience and  they're doing their very best to influence their
25. 2:26buying decision and they're not just using logos  and websites they're digging deep to understand
26. 2:31exactly who Their audience is how they tick you  know what makes them tick what drives them what
27. 2:37motivates them what what what are their fears  what is it that they really want to achieve and
28. 2:43what problems do they have that the business can  solve once they understand all of that then they
29. 2:48can devise a plan of how they will communicate to  them that will influence how they feel and think
30. 2:54about that brand which will ultimately influence  their decision okay so what is the difference
31. 2:59between brand strategy and brand identity these  are two terms that are often used synonymously or
32. 3:07if people see these terms side by side they can't  really differentiate between the two the brand
33. 3:12identity is the visual brand it's how the brand  shows up in the world visually so we're talking
34. 3:17here about those visual assets we're talking about  the logo the color palette the fonts the image
35. 3:23style you know everything that the brand uses  to show up visually is the brand identity that's
36. 3:29how the brand is represented visually the brand  strategy on the other hand is the plan behind the
37. 3:35brand and how they're going to engage and resonate  and connect with that audience again to ultimately
38. 3:42influence their decision now the brand identity  will have an influence on the audience they will
39. 3:49see that identity and if the colors and the style  match what they like it will draw them in but it
40. 3:55won't influence their buying decision just with  the visuals behind those visuals there has to be
41. 4:02some kind of strategy and some kind of messaging  that's going to speak to who they are that's where
42. 4:07the brand strategy comes in within the brand  strategy you understand who that audience is
43. 4:12you understand what the competitors are offering  them and then you have a position in the market
44. 4:17that's different from those competitors and  that difference is going to offer your audience
45. 4:22an alternative to what's already out there in  the market and with that difference with that
46. 4:27understanding of what you do and the value you're  going to bring to the table it's going to help
47. 4:31them to make their decision with that position  you need to communicate that position well and
48. 4:37you do that through your messaging strategy you  do that through your your storytelling and you
49. 4:41also do that through your brand personality  they are the characteristics that you use the
50. 4:47traits that you use the verbal identity how you're  going to speak to your audience are you going to
51. 4:51be cheeky are you going to be fun are you going  to be formal or authoritative what is it that's
52. 4:56going to draw them in to help them to choose you  over your competitors all of these elements come
53. 5:02together in the brand strategy and that is the  makeup of the strategy and on the front lines of
54. 5:08that is the visual identity so they work hand in  hand together to ultimately influence the audience
55. 5:14the perception they have of the brand and their  buying decision now behind every successful brand
56. 5:20are a set of familiar fundamental pillars that  provides the foundation for that brand to grow
57. 5:26so let's dive into each one of these pillars first  up is the brand DNA now within the brand DNA you
58. 5:32have a few key ingredients here you've got your  purpose your vision your mission and your values
59. 5:38now this is probably the most common common area  of branding the people are aware of before they
60. 5:44get into positioning and differentiation and  personality they will probably come across
61. 5:49these elements first and foremost and they tend  to be overlooked a little bit in terms of their
62. 5:54importance people put together a purpose statement  a vision statement a mission statement some values
63. 5:59and then they don't know how to communicate them  but communicating them is not the name of the game
64. 6:05the brand DNA is about who the brand is internally  and it's there to guide decisions and actions as
65. 6:12to where that brand is going where they're going  in the future what are they committed to in order
66. 6:17to achieve their vision for the future what  do they hold dear in the way they do business
67. 6:22through their values these are all internal guide  posts to help the brand make the right decisions
68. 6:28so that the brand stays on track it stays on brand  in terms of where the leaders want that brand to
69. 6:35go and what perception they want to create in  the market so it's really important to have the
70. 6:39Brandy and a first and foremost the leadership  team and everybody within the brand knows where
71. 6:45they're going next up is the target audience now  I have seen this mistake time and again Business
72. 6:52Leaders they come to the table with a business  plan and they have an idea for a product or a
73. 6:58service but they really haven't taken the time  to consider exactly who they're trying to help
74. 7:04they know there's a market out there for their  products and their services but every Market is
75. 7:09broken up into segments and if you turn up with a  product or service to the market that is meant for
76. 7:15the entire Market most likely you're going to miss  out on pretty much all of those segments because
77. 7:22you're not relevant enough to those segments so  think of your Market as a pie now if you turn up
78. 7:28to the market and you try to appeal to that whole  pie then chances are you're not going to be able
79. 7:33to do that if on the other hand you segment or you  slice up that pie and you hone in on a particular
80. 7:40slice then you can identify what differences  those people have within that segment to the
81. 7:47rest of the market and when you understand that  when you understand those differences when you
82. 7:51understand what makes them tick then you can  appeal to them more specifically so this is
83. 7:56without a doubt one of the most important aspects  in the whole spectrum of branding and marketing is
84. 8:02getting clear on exactly what segment of the  market you want to Target so you can appeal
85. 8:07to them more specifically and be more relevant to  who they are next up is your positioning strategy
86. 8:14now again going back to the leader going into  the market for the first time having a product
87. 8:19and a service that the market wants is great but  if your product and service is the exact same as
88. 8:25everybody else in the market first of all you're  at a disadvantage because those are the players
89. 8:30in the market already have that awareness they  already have a head start on you so you're not
90. 8:34giving your audience anything to really choose you  over them so you're at a complete disadvantage if
91. 8:39you just have the same as everybody else so what  you need to do is you need to understand what
92. 8:45your competitors are offering your audience and  then look for gaps and opportunities as to what
93. 8:50the audience wants and what they're not getting  from your competitors in the market and that's
94. 8:56where your opportunity for your positioning  strategy lies and your differentiation in
95. 9:01the market so this is really about showing up to  the market with something different to offer an
96. 9:07alternative to what's already out there and look  this doesn't necessarily need to be disruptive
97. 9:12you don't need to be an Uber going into the market  disrupting the the taxi industry it just needs to
98. 9:18be something slightly different maybe it's the  way you provide your services maybe it's done
99. 9:24with you instead of done for you maybe there's  a an element of convenience to it maybe there's
100. 9:29something along the brand experience that's a  little bit different to what your competitors
101. 9:33are offering but this is really really important  to show up to the market not just with the same
102. 9:38as everybody else not the same price products in  the same Services targeting the same people Target
103. 9:43someone different Target a specific segment of the  market and give them within the market something
104. 9:48different than your competitors are offering and  they will turn their attention towards you the
105. 9:53next pillar is your brand personality now showing  up to the market with a great visual brand is a
106. 10:00really good way to get some attention to get  some visual attention but let's say for example
107. 10:05you have a beautiful looking website you have  a beautiful logo and then your audience turns
108. 10:11up to your side and your website copy is Bland  and it's dry and there's there's nothing really
109. 10:18there to draw your audience in you're speaking in  corporate tones it's very very easy to lose the
110. 10:24attention of modern consumers today because quite  frankly you know this yourself we don't have a lot
111. 10:30of attention to give other people or other brands  and we really need to feel drawn in to give our
112. 10:37attention and brand personality is a great way  to do that and this goes back to understanding
113. 10:42who your audience is not just what they want not  just their desires and their fears but also what
114. 10:48is their personality what traits do they have  what is it that they're trying to achieve in
115. 10:53life are they you know chilled out do they have a  connection with the Earth are they driven are they
116. 10:58full of energy do they want to save the world are  they authoritative do they have a desire to have
117. 11:05a high status in society what is it that drives  them and what are their personal quality traits
118. 11:11when you really understand that you can understand  how to show up with your brand and archetypes are
119. 11:16a very very good foundation for you to build your  brand personality with if you don't know what
120. 11:21archetypes are I have a video on brand archetypes  I'll leave that in the description but it's about
121. 11:26understanding the personality of your audience  and then really putting together a personality
122. 11:32that's going to appeal to who they are and using  traits within how you communicate and not just
123. 11:38your visuals here but your messaging as well what  tone of voice are you going to use what traits are
124. 11:43you going to use within your communication within  your writing and that will really help to draw in
125. 11:48your audience because you're showing up to the  market with a bit of personality and something
126. 11:52different to what's already out there the next  pillar is your verbal identity now I touched
127. 11:57on this with the brand personality and verbal  identity is essentially an extension of your
128. 12:02brand personality it's the way your brand speaks  in the market how it it talks the language that
129. 12:09it used the the the tone of voice it's going to  use so you know are you going to show up with you
130. 12:16know rough language rugged language are you going  to be a little bit edgy or are you going to show
131. 12:21up a little bit more relaxed more eco-friendly  a little bit more soft in how you communicate
132. 12:28with your audience so there's a lot of scope for  differentiation here just within your your verbal
133. 12:34identity alone so really thinking about you know  how we are as people how we connect with other
134. 12:40people and the people that you like within your  lives you know do you tend to have a group of
135. 12:46friends that are energetic and a little bit more  edgy and you know use bad language or do you tend
136. 12:53to gravitate more towards people who are kind of  laid back and you know speaking soft tones so just
137. 13:00understanding this alone about yourself and your  own life and the the people that you're attracted
138. 13:05to will help you to understand how brands use  verbal identity and again this this goes back to
139. 13:11who your audience is who you're trying to connect  with who you're trying to appeal to but as I said
140. 13:15there's a lot of scope for differentiation  within your verbal identity but it's really
141. 13:19understanding the role that you're going to  play in the market who your audience is and
142. 13:24the way you're going to resonate with them next  up is your brand messaging now this is probably
143. 13:28the one of the most impactful tools of influence  that any brand has and it probably overlooked more
144. 13:36than not by brand leaders who go into the market  trying to build a brand they put all this focus on
145. 13:42how the brand looks you know the logo the website  how they're appearing in the market and they put
146. 13:47very little emphasis on the messaging that they're  going to put out there in the market now I'm not
147. 13:52just talking about copywriting here copywriting  on your website this is the whole spectrum of
148. 13:57communication within your brand you know you need  to Define exactly what you want to say to your
149. 14:04audience what's important to your audience when  it comes to choosing a brand when it comes to over
150. 14:10coming the problem that they have what is it that  they're they're looking for and what signals will
151. 14:15provide them with the idea that you have what they  need so your brand messaging is super important in
152. 14:22determining exactly what you want to say to your  audience and how you're going to distribute those
153. 14:27messages across channels now again this goes  hand in hand with your brand personality the
154. 14:33messages that you put out there into the market  is what you're going to say and the personality
155. 14:37and the verbal identity is how you're going to  say them so understanding what you want to say
156. 14:42is super critical in influencing how your audience  perceives your brand the next pillar is your story
157. 14:48now your Brand Story can come in different forms  of course you have the Founder's story so who the
158. 14:55founder is where they've come from where they're  going to now in all honesty your audience is not
159. 15:01too interested in who the founder is now that will  probably crush a few egos here but really building
160. 15:07a brand is not about you it's all all about  your audience the story that your brand needs
161. 15:13to be telling or certainly needs to be focusing  on is the story of your audience now you can do
162. 15:18this in many different ways you can look at past  clients or past customers that have been through
163. 15:23the process that you provide and document  that document that through case studies and
164. 15:29testimonials so that they can tell their story  that will resonate with your future audience
165. 15:34or with your future customers but this is really  about resonating and connecting we're all drawn
166. 15:40in to stories we certainly remember stories a lot  more than we remember facts and if you're able to
167. 15:46make that emotional connection and if you're able  to tell a story that kind of aligns with who your
168. 15:51audience is the journey that they're on where  they're coming from where they're going to the
169. 15:55challenges that they're having along the way  they're the kinds of stories that draw Us in
170. 16:00and if you think about this yourself when you sit  down to read a story and there are many different
171. 16:06characters within the story you tend to take the  a position of the protagonist within the story
172. 16:12and you tend to follow their journey and that's  exactly what we want to do with our audience we
173. 16:17want to tell that story and if your story is  super aligned with the journey that they're
174. 16:23on they're going to be drawn in so thinking about  exactly what you do as a brand where you've come
175. 16:29from where you're going is is great but when you  really nail down your audience and their story and
176. 16:35you weave that in to the stories that you tell  and the messages that you put out there in the
177. 16:40market then you're really going to draw your  audience in because you will confirm to your
178. 16:45audience that you understand their Journey what  they're going through where they're going and
179. 16:49what they're trying to achieve and then of course  you have your brand name and your tagline now this
180. 16:54might seem strange that it's so far along and we  haven't mentioned this before but really if you
181. 16:59think about it your brand name and your tagline  is a strategic tool it tells your audience who
182. 17:04you are and what you're about and if you do this  early on in the process then you're not going to
183. 17:10have the added advantage of knowing the position  that you want to take in the market the difference
184. 17:14you're going to offer the personality that you're  going to show up with and the messages that you're
185. 17:18putting out there into the market when you have  that information putting together a brand name
186. 17:22and a tagline is far more effective because it's  helping you solidify that position it's helping
187. 17:27you to communicate to your audience exactly how  you're going to help them and what you're all
188. 17:32about so this is a really really important part  of branding and you know it tends to be kind of
189. 17:38tacked on to services that are out there but in my  opinion this is probably one of the most important
190. 17:44aspects in the whole spectrum of branding because  when people see your brand name and they see your
191. 17:50tagline you know you think about how many people  will see that and if you're able to throw a hook
192. 17:57out with that brand name and that tagline and it  resonates with them quickly it tells them quickly
193. 18:02what you're about and what you can potentially do  for them that will help them to bring them into
194. 18:07your world so really Define finding a brand name  that is aligned with your position in the market
195. 18:13and the position that you're trying to own and  the message that you're trying to get across to
196. 18:17your audience is really important if you do this  too early in the process you're going to miss that
197. 18:22opportunity and unfortunately that's how most  brand names are created they're created by the
198. 18:27business owner before considering the strategy but  the right way to do it is to consider the strategy
199. 18:32then develop the brand name And the tagline and  last but not least you have your visual identity
200. 18:37now we're getting to the visual identity at Point  number nine when a lot of people believe when they
201. 18:45think about a brand or building a brand this is  the first point that they will look towards to
202. 18:50build their brand but really think about all the  elements that we have considered up until this
203. 18:54point we've considered who the audience is we've  considered the competitors in the market how we're
204. 18:59positioned in the market the difference we're  going to make the personality that we want to
205. 19:03show up with what those traits are and the verbal  identity within that personality as well and the
206. 19:09messages and stories that we want to send out into  the market now think about all the tools we have
207. 19:14at our disposal to design the visual identity  and think about the designer in this position
208. 19:19being able to reflect on the strategy and allowing  that to guide their designs compared to a designer
209. 19:26who is sitting down with an open brief to design  a visual identity for you know brand name X so
210. 19:32designing the visual identity with the strategy  in mind is the best way to do this because we
211. 19:37can really consider that personality and those  traits and weave that in to the person into the
212. 19:43visualized identity that we are designing so again  a really really crucial element in the brand when
213. 19:49we see the brand for the first time it has that  immediate impact on us and there is no element
214. 19:54within the brand that is as impactful as that  visual identity in that short space of time that
215. 20:00we have to really draw our audience in so it's  really really important but it's really brought
216. 20:07into the context of how important it is is really  under the microscope when we consider the strategy
217. 20:13beforehand and we consider how that strategy can  influence the design so now that we know all the
218. 20:20pillars what is the process in putting all this  together in building the brand and building those
219. 20:25pillars and then getting that out there into the  market well simply following those pillars that
220. 20:30I've put forward which are in chronological order  should be developed in that chronological order
221. 20:39the purpose the vision the mission the values  understanding what's important to the business
222. 20:42leader where the brand is going and what they are  committed to in the way they do business and then
223. 20:48looking into the market to who the audience is  and what really they're trying to achieve and
224. 20:54what segment of the market you're going to Target  because remember you can't Target the whole Market
225. 20:59or you're simply going to blend in you're not  going to really appeal to those because you don't
226. 21:03have enough specificity targeting a segment  within the market gives you that opportunity
227. 21:08to to add specificity and then when you know that  Target you want to go after you can look at who's
228. 21:13already serving that audience and what they're not  doing well what gaps they're leaving in the market
229. 21:19that's where you find your positioning strategy  that's where you find your difference and that's
230. 21:23where you're going to be able to add value to the  market once you've done that once you've defined
231. 21:28your position then it's all about how are we going  to show up in the market what's the personality
232. 21:32we're going to lead with what are those traits  and what are those verbal identity elements that
233. 21:37we'll use what are the traits that we're going  to use when we speak to our audience then we move
234. 21:43into the messaging and the storytelling so we're  understanding what we want to say to our audience
235. 21:48so that when we go out into the market and  communicate with our audience we're influencing
236. 21:53their perception about what we mean in a strategic  way instead of just blurting out anything that
237. 21:58we think they want to hear we have methodically  sat down and understood what perception we want
238. 22:03to have in the market and what messages we need  to put into the market in order to achieve that
239. 22:08percent exception then we go into the visual  Identity Design we get our designer on board
240. 22:12and we put that visual identity at there into the  market now that is just building the brand that is
241. 22:19building the vehicle that is our brand that we're  going to be able to use to communicate to the
242. 22:24audience then it's about your marketing strategy  a lot of people think that the brand strategy and
243. 22:28the marketing strategy are running the same they  are not now it's about understanding where your
244. 22:34audience is congregating where are they online  where are they physically and how are we going
245. 22:39to engage them on the front lines of the market  what are they going to respond to and how are we
246. 22:45going to draw them in do we have a funnel are  we going to guide them along every step of the
247. 22:49journey until they become a customer so thinking  about all those different steps of the funnel all
248. 22:55those different potential channels and platforms  that we can use to engage is super important in
249. 23:01getting your brand out there into the market it's  not just about building the vehicle it's about
250. 23:05understanding where that vehicle must go in order  to appeal to your audience now look at the end of
251. 23:10the day as I said in the beginning branding is  simply about making a business more appealing
252. 23:16to a certain group of people so that they choose  that business over the other businesses that are
253. 23:22in the market offering similar products or  services so really thinking about who your
254. 23:28audience is and what they're going to respond to I  can't emphasize how important that is because your
255. 23:35brand is not about you your brand is not for you  your brand is owned by your audience because it's
256. 23:42a perception it's not a tangible thing it doesn't  live on a billboard or a website or even in your
257. 23:48office it lives out there in the marketplace as a  perception and all we can do as brand builders is
258. 23:54try to influence that perception as best we can  so if you think about your brand and branding in
259. 24:00those terms as something that is out there in  the market that your audience is going to form
260. 24:06by themselves then we can think about how can  we help them to form that perception and that
261. 24:12what is what branding is about at the end of the  day it's about understanding that your brand is
262. 24:17a perception and all we have as brand builders is  the ability to try and influence that perception
263. 24:23through our position through our differentiation  through our personality our messages our stories
264. 24:29and our visual identity when you understand what  branding is from that perspective you have the
265. 24:35tools at your disposal to be able to influence  your audience now if you want to dive deeper
266. 24:41into brand strategy then this video here will  help you out but before you click it if you want
267. 24:45to become a master of brand make sure you hit  the like And subscribe to get notified when new
268. 24:49videos like this come out until next time Brian  like a master and I'll see you in the next video
269. 24:59[Music]
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