Bootstrap Business Seminar 5: Creating an Awesome Brand

Branding f0r startups

@benmumbycroft

1.  Define what we mean by the B-word

2.  Introduce you to two key concepts – Positioning & differentiation

3.  Understand why branding matters

4.  Introduce you to some tricks of the trade

Today’s session

A little bit

About me

Enterprise education Marketing

Will be talk about branding for food.

@oneltd

“Products are created in the factory, but brands are created in the mind.”

Walter Landor

What you stand for in the mind of your customers (and potential customers)

A brand is…

It’s NOT a logo…

“A brand is the most valuable piece of real estate in the world: a corner of someone’s mind”

John Hegarty

The process of finding a simple idea that

separates you from your competitors

Branding =

For example…

Safety

For example…

Safety Luxury

For example…

Safety Luxury Performance

For example…

Reliability???

For example…

“In a world where everyone is after your

business you must supply your customers with a

compelling reason to buy you instead of your

competitor.”

Jack Trout

What compelling reason might make people want to

buy this new sports car?

Or, to put it another way…

You need to Make your cow different from all the other cows in the

field…

From this…

To this!

Successful brands stand for something

in the minds of target customers

At their core is A differentiating idea that marks them out

it might be all about

speed


originality


design


choice


ethics


safety

It might even be all about

badass-ness

“If you don’t supply a compelling reason, then you better have a very

good price.”

Jack Trout

Beware The

commodity price trap!!!

Branding is all about finding a competitive mental angle & owning a piece of this

question

Why did BMW call the Mini a Mini and not a BMW 1-Series?

Question…

Why did NEW Coke flop?

What stops Apple introducing a range of no frills, budget

workstations?

WHAT STOPS Disney producING a hard-hitting, gritty drama about

sexually active teenagers?

Brands go bad when they don’t deliver

what they promise…

No, it’s much worse!!!

Mind the brand gap!!!

Everything you do to communicate your brand to potential

customers

Brand identity =

Logo Tagline Visual language

Tone of voice

Name

People experience behaviour story

BMW High Performance, German

engineering

Logo

Tagline

Experience

People

Visual style

Good design is key to performance!

Take away lessons…

•  Your brand is what you stand for in the mind of the customer

•  The goal of branding is to find a simple idea, or position, that differentiates you from the competition

•  Being different is very important

•  The way you communicate this is through your brand identity

Take away lessons

question

Why does being different matter so

much?

“today we live in an over-communicated society. Every year we send out more but receive less.”

Jack Trout

Circa 1979

today!

“Today’s real competition doesn’t come from direct or even indirect competitors. It comes from the extreme clutter of the marketplace.” Marty Neumeier

What is a brand?

The human mind deals with clutter the best way it can

What is a brand?

by blocking it out!

What is a brand?

To build a brand in the mind of your customer you need to cut

through the clutter…

You need A sharp focus!

Remember: Branding is all about finding a competitive mental angle

Be BOLD

Be specific

Why has branding become so

important ?

“In today’s world, people want to buy the product (or service) that says the right ting about them.”

John Hegarty

As consumers we use brands to communicate

& reinforce our self image…

Self image =

I’m cool I’m wealthy I’m healthy I’m a geek I’m single

I’m religious I’m a rebel I’m a hippy I’m liked I’m bright

I’m ethical I don’t care I’m thrifty I’m young I’m serious

And generate peer group approval!

!

“Our lives are increasingly driven by fashion and style, not just the clothes we wear, but how our homes are styled, the food we eat, and the car we drive”

John Hegarty

“How is your brand building a bridge between who your consumers are and who they want to be?”

Take away lessons…

•  We live in an over-communicated society

•  Today’s real competition is the extreme clutter of the marketplace

•  In order to cut through, an effective branding programme needs a sharp focus and simple message

•  Customers buy brands to help build and reinforce their self image

•  And belong to the right tribe

Take away lessons

creating your own brand

Step one

name

Types of name

Types For example

Playful >> Yahoo, Monster, yelp, google, FCUK

Origin >> Ford, Rolls Royce, The north face

Invented >> Kodak, vimto, viagra

Descriptive >> Volkswagon, holiday inn, sofa.com

Technical >> Panasonic, Xerox

Conjoined >> Fedex, microsoft

Acronym >> Bmw, bbc, nhs, ibm

•  Is your first impression of the name strong

•  Is it easy to read/pronounce

•  Is it satisfying to say

•  Is it short & memorable

•  Does it sound credible

•  Is it registerable and protectable

Key naming criteria

Naming inspiration…

www.panabee.com

www.leandomainsearch.com

www.domai.nr

Name availability…

www.123-reg.co.uk

www.canva.com

www.patent.gov.uk

www.gov.uk/get-information-about-a-company

Here’s one I did earlier…

Step two

only…

1. CATEGORY: The ONLY motorcycle manufacturer 2. USP: that makes big, loud motorcycles 3. CUSTOMER: for macho guys (macho “wannabees”) 4. NEED: who want to join a gang of cowboys 5. MARKET: mostly in the United States 6. TREND: in an era of decreasing personal freedom

We are the ONLY:

That:

For:

Who:

In:

In an era when:

What makes you the only?

Step three

story

Brand storyboard Once upon a time… He/she always… But always had a problem… He/she tried to solve it…

But he/she wished that… Until one day… Unlike his/her solution, this… His/her wish came true: to…



Who is the main

character in your

story?



Who is the main

character in your

story?

Describe some of the main tasks this person regularly

undertakes



Who is the main

character in your

story?


undertakes

Describe the main problem stopping them from fulfillment



Who is the main

character in your

story?


undertakes


How is the

customer managing

to partially solve

their problem



Who is the main

character in your

story?


undertakes


How is the

customer managing

to partially solve

their problem

Outline the flaws in the solutions the customer is

currently using



Who is the main

character in your

story?


undertakes


How is the

customer managing

to partially solve

their problem


currently using

Describe how the

customer will

learn about your

brand



Who is the main

character in your

story?


undertakes


How is the

customer managing

to partially solve

their problem


currently using

Describe how the

customer will

learn about your

brand

List some of the features that set

you apart



Who is the main

character in your

story?


undertakes


How is the

customer managing

to partially solve

their problem


currently using

Describe how the

customer will

learn about your

brand

List some of the features that set

you apart

Clearly define the aspiration your brand fulfills

Step four

logo

•  Wordmarks

•  Letterforms

•  Pictorial

•  Abstract marks

•  Emblems

•  Characters

Types of logo

Image Association Technology

!!!!

cooking

conversation

exploration

Logo symbolism

Image Association Brand id cooking

!!!!

conversation

exploration

technology

symbolism

Sector language

www.designmatic.com

www.fiverr.com

www.99designs.co.uk

Here’s one we did earlier…

Step five

tagline

Step six

design

Picking the right colour

Think about colour

Colour communicates value

For example

Formal VS Informal SERIF TYPEFACE SANS SERIF TYPEFACE

Think about typography

Think about typography

www.dafont.com

Cool design tools…

www.canva.com

www.piktochart.com

www.picmonkey.com

www.stockpholio.com

www.photopin.com

www.wordswag.co

•  What’s your position?

•  How are you different?

•  How obvious is this to you customers (or target customers)?

•  How are you making design decisions to bring your brand to life?

Final comments

Questions

Thank you!!!

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