You get a whiff of something that smells good, and it takes you back in an instant. Memories and emotions come flashing back into your mind, as if you were sent back to the very first moment you ever tasted the dish attached to that sweet-smelling aroma. Maybe it was the scent of your mother’s home cooked meal or the smell of fresh goods as you pass by your favorite bakery. Great branding also has the power to do this. Like the aroma attached to sweet memories, a good brand can also take you back to the very first time you ever experienced it.

Good branding is like a really great meal. Seth Godin says, “a brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.” Branding is a combination of ingredients that, when combined together, create an unforgettable experience for the target audience and consumer.

Some might put their branding on the backburner in order to get everything else started, but we think that having your brand together and prepared is essential for a successful launch. Having a memorable brand creates a connection with customers, increases marketing effectiveness, and influences purchasing decisions by portraying a more established and quality business. There are a few key ingredients that will add a little spice to every brand:

A cup of personality

Do you want your brand to create a lasting impression? In order to do so, it needs some personality. A “brand personality” is the set of human characteristics, traits, and emotions that consumers associate with a brand. Your brand personality helps establish your business’s voice. It’s your first impression. It will help you connect with your customer and set you apart from others.

Creating a voice for your brand and connecting with your audience is so much more than just the cliche “niching down” you always hear from marketing and social media gurus alike.
One great example is the way Caraa showcases their personality and connects with their audience on social media. Caraa is a luxury sports bag and accessories brand based in New York City. In this example, they’ve photoshopped their bags onto characters from Gilmore Girls, Blackish, A Modern Family, and more. It creates this witty and fun humor with their target audience while staying relevant by connecting through pop media. They have a very editorial, magazine-ready finish with interview styled content and quirky graphics/photos that align with popular trends.

Think of your brand’s personality like getting to know someone for the very first time. How would your brand behave if it were a person? Put yourself into the shoes of your target audience and become their best friend through your voice, tone, communication, marketing, and content.

Two tablespoons of visual consistency

Creating a classic recipe is only good if you are able to repeat it, and that is where visual consistency comes in. Let’s admit that we can all fall guilty of judging things by the way they look before becoming familiar with them first: books, food, people, or brands. The visual components are what we see first, and, when done right, help set your brand apart.

One brand that has stood the test of time in visual consistency is Apple. We see this in their product design, software, marketing, logos, website, and all the way down to their custom typefaces. Their website is like a summary of all the things they do great when it comes to visual consistency. You don’t even have to get onto your iPhone to see what it feels like to scroll through Apple iOS. Their website shares that consistent feel with their visual brand components and web animations. Even Samsung stans can spot an Apple product when they see it.

Being consistent in your brand’s visuals will help your customers recognize your brand every time they see it. This may be as simple as always using certain fonts or developing a specific color palette.

A whole lot of storytelling

Good branding requires some great storytelling. What is your business's vision, values, and mission? Is it being told throughout your brand? Regardless of what it is that you are selling or promoting, your brand should be telling a story.

LEGO has some of the best storytelling. Whether taking us on their origin story journey or celebrating their 90th anniversary, LEGO has a consistent voice and impeccable way of telling their brand’s story.

Every good story will pull the heartstrings, connect with its audience, and create relatability in which the reader or viewer is able to put themselves into the story. You can achieve this by sharing a strong origin story or reason behind why you started your business in the first place. You can also do this by various marketing campaigns that allude to your business’s vision without having to repeat it word for word or over and over. Another way to tell good stories through your brand is by your content (emails, social media, blogs) and summarizing your latest products/projects leading up to a launch or relating it back to your business’s core values. When you achieve great storytelling in your brand, you welcome your ideal audience to put themselves into the story and feel like the main-character.

​​The cherry on top

To top it off, we will leave you with some final thoughts. Every brand should be custom made. Everyone has different tastes, which is why it is important to know who you are catering to. When you follow a new recipe for the very first time, it may not always come out the way you want it to. Sometimes it is not fluffy enough, it’s too spicy, or too sweet. So you make alterations, note what to do differently, and adjust to taste. The same goes for your branding.

It might take some trial and error and taste testing different ingredients, but once you get it, you’ll have your own secret brand recipe. If you need any help pulling everything together with your brand, let’s connect.