Once you're happy with your brand positioning, it's time to take careful consideration as to how you package your brand. You want to develop a brand image that compliments your brand values and personalty. Since differentiation is the key, your first step is to look to your competition. Analyze their color use. Discover what the color opportunities are. I use a spectrum chart and I circle the location on the chart a company's brand palette resides. The open unused areas are your opportunities for color. Choose from these open areas, keeping the psychology of color in mind. Color is a very powerful icon.
Next in brand packaging is your brand logo. Keeping in mind the demographic you are selling to, your logo wants to appeal to them. It must resonate with them. A professional image exudes trust, and it also exhibits your brand values. Keep in mind that this image has to exist on many items, both large and small. When you use your brand logo and brand palette, you must be sure to be consistent in their use.
Brand packaging also involves your brand's personality. Understanding this aspect of your brand, you show what flavor your brand image has. It involves the types of photos you use, what the tone of the writing is and what fonts are appropriate. This comes in handy when you develop your websites, blogs and print materials.
Done correctly you will go a long way in strengthening your brand image. This in conjunction with the rest of your brand elements, results in a very powerful proposition to your target audience. Over time it will represent you in the conscienceness of your customer.
This is exactly where you want to be.
3 comments:
Hi Ed,
I work in the area of teaching people about their numbers which is a very boring and uninteresting area. In 2002 I wrote a book called 'where's the money gone?' which outlined a tool called The Financial Fence which was a way of showing people visually how their numbers worked. As an accountant at the time I never realized that colour was important at all but since then we have used colour extensively in the producta and now in our brand One Sherpa.
Having had a personal experience of the power of colour I'm a true convert.
Your comments on colour struck a real chord with me.
I appreciate your comment Andee. It's heartening to see someone in your industry who pays attention to colour. As part of your differentiation strategy, it will set you apart subliminally. Your audience isn't conscience to it's power, but because it is visually powerful, it is so much easier to register than the written word. It will also compliment your positioning.
So in your instance, is the slogan "Future Confident"
strengthened by your colour palette? Blue being a soothing colour, it no doubt plays an important role.
Hi Ed,
My comments on colour relate to our product called The Financial Fence.
In it we have a colour that represents each of the overall categories of the numbers.
i.e. Capital is Green, Debt is Red and Equity is Dark Blue, Income is Sky Blue, expenses are Orange.
We also carry that through our game called Where's the money gone and through a whole methodology that can work for an individual as well as a business.
I have recently also taken a planning package which we used as part of the soporate group I was in for 12 years and adapted it so that the key analysis is a separate colour and people can read the sections more easily.
What we've found is that it is easier to read the shape of the numbers rather than the individual numbers themselves. It helps people not get stuck seeing the wood for the trees!!!
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