AB_wordmark_orange

Business strategy and brand strategy are two sides of the same coin. The way we understand branding and its association with business has begun a transformation process allowing a better adaptation to new challenges –and also old ones which have regained prominence.

#branding #business #transformation  #Covid #strategy #logo #brand  #branding studio #logo design #company logo #design for branding #branding agency #graphic design #business logo #designing a brand #personal branding #cool designs #cool logos #rebrand

In recent years, the way we understand branding and its association with business has begun a transformation process allowing a better adaptation to new challenges –and also old ones which have regained prominence.

Assuming that the brand is a strategic platform that synthesizes institutional purpose, business legacy and aspirations, at least there are four key issues which should be considered when constructing and/or revitalizing it.

It is worth remembering that the importance of brands stems from the fact that business strategy and brand strategy are two sides of the same coin:

This applies to large companies as well as SMEs, in the moments of conceptualization, creation and activation of said brands.

Putting people at the centre

It seems obvious and it really is, however, in companies –including branding firms, we usually fall in love with our brands, products and services, and forget that our reason for existence is outside the walls of our castles. The centre is in people!

The era in which the brands dictated the rules is over!

Working in a fuzzy environment

Today, like toy warriors, we fight in bloody wars trying to define what branding, customer management or corporate communication is. We also try to set limits for those practices. At the end of the day, tired of so many battles, we realize that our clients are only interested in solving their problems and looking for a benefit coming from a valuable business relationship.

I wonder, when we activate the brand of a company, aren’t we doing corporate communication? Or when in the “customer journey” we look for generating preference, aren’t we doing branding?

Reality shows that the borders between different practices are increasingly blurred. The solution is on working in networked open and resilient teams. Increasingly, solutions are found in unexplored spaces that need more brains than egos!

In any case, if you call a company to help you, make sure they have business vision, know how to balance strictness and creativity, love details, know how to flow.

Developing a hybrid thinking model

Hybrid is a buzzword which should also be in the branding sector.

In a world of subtle disruptions we must develop a more agile, more flexible, more fluid branding, allowing the combination of strategy and skills. The task is not easy, however, what must be assured is that the teams that work in the development of a brand are composed of good strategists and creatives who also excel managing the new social and digital skills.

For those who are working on their brands with a branding firm, the situation will be simple if those who work in tandem with them know how to gather the right team for the situation they face and not the best team to solve a problem that didn’t exist until yesterday. Those who have gone through this experience will understand me.

Attending short and medium term results

Creating long-lasting Value, achieving a positive Impact and generating Profits makes you a fantastic responsible of “VIP brands”.

Speaking seriously and to finish, we are facing three factors that together constitute something like a perfect storm:

The above offers both opportunities and threats. Starting from the risk side, these three points can lead to the destruction of the brand by privileging tactical and operational above strategic objectives, establishing a story which isn’t based on facts or elaborating excessive promotions that distort the brand positioning. Not only the brand loses but also the company; the system becomes unstable.

The positive counterpart allows developing the brand in a symbolic and ethical environment, and above all with meanings. It presents with sincerity -some use the term “authenticity”, the impact that the company generates and in turn makes its behaviours recognized as transparent. It knows how to balance the equation in which, without losing sight of the creation of value, develops new business models that allow it to obtain better results. VIP: Value, Impact, Profits!

The brands that transcend are those that achieve a dynamic balance between long and short term, rationality and creativity. Is your brand on this path or would you need to talk with us? Contact Laura Sauter  617.780.6485

Seeking Companies with Heart

Agency Bel can (re)ignite your brand to create authentic connection with customers, employees, the planet.