Branding your business

In our last blog post, Natcho’s ten top tips for starting a business, one of the points we looked at was the importance of branding. To paraphrase, your business is only as strong as your branding, but what does ‘branding’ actually mean? And how can you do it well? Is it a colourful logo like Google’s? A catchy jingle? “Autoglass® repair, Autoglass® replace,” anyone? (Sorry, not sorry!) Or perhaps it’s a punchy tagline like Subway’s ‘ Eat Fresh?’ Branding is all of the above but it is a bowlful more than that too…  

Let’s start with a simple equation: Successful branding = clear communication + consumer understanding over time. Branding is like your business’ DNA. It is an aesthetic created through considered verbal, written and visual elements. Combined they form your brand’s identity which is used to communicate who you are and what you offer to your target audience. Successful branding establishes trust, ensures your brand is easily recognised and set customer expectations. For example, McDonald’s is known for being an affordable and convenient fast-food company and is immediately recognised by its golden arch typography and duo colour scheme. Clear visual identity and the way your brand sounds will help you communicate your DNA and convey your brand’s personality. 

“____ and chill…” 

Chances are you can probably fill in the blank above (and if you are unfamiliar, you can ask Google for that one). Netflix, the company that helped us escape those early lockdown days, is a case study of successful branding. Originally starting as a DVD rental company to rival Blockbuster (millennials will remember these days, if you’re Gen Z ask your elders), Netflix soon evolved to be the go-to place for online streaming. Although recognised by the striking yet minimalistic black and red colour scheme, Netflix’s identity has been established through pillars of accessibility, ease, convivence, high-quality content and a personalised experience. Like Netflix, your brand may – and should – evolve over time to stay current, but it should always be easily recognised.  

Sign your name here…  

Much like our personal signature, your brand’s name is often the first form of identification to an audience. So naturally, when people think of branding the first thing that comes to mind is logos. Whether that’s two overlapping dots (Mastercard), a triple striped triangle (Adidas) or the back-to-back double C’s (Chanel), there is no doubt the impact a strong logo can have. (Test your logo knowledge here and here). However, branding is multi-layered and is made up of sections that include colour palette, typography, tone of voice and ethos. To help drive your branding, you’ll want to create a guideline document to outline each of these sections. This will become your tool kit and will help set your business apart. 

The branding building blocks… 

You’ll want to make sure the points below are consistent across all your platforms. Nailing these elements first will allow for greater focus on your business goals. So, let’s tuck in: 

Brand ethos – essentially, this is how you want your brand to be seen and remembered. It will be one of the first points you’ll consider when setting up your business as these values can influence other elements. For example, if you are an eco-friendly brand you can communicate this immediately with green branding. Ethos is important because research shows 82% of consumers opt for brands that align with their values. Take Lush, this bath and body company tends to attract conscious consumers who will make purchase choices based on sustainability and animal cruelty policies. In turn, being consistent with your branding over time will create familiarity with your audience.  

Logo – the most important piece of art to consider. Your logo will single-handedly represent the brand at certain times such as on your app icon or products. As such, you’ll want to take your time developing this. Browse a range of different logos and styles for inspiration before working with a designer to create your own. Once you have this in place, the rest of the branding will flow from this aesthetic, so it’s important to smash it.  

Fonts – can say a lot about a brand’s personality. If you’re looking to establish authority you might choose fonts that convey tradition such as Times New Roman. If your brand is creative, energetic and fun you are likely to pick a contemporary style font. And if you have a darker aesthetic, you might consider a gothic font. A designer can help you here of course, but you’ll commonly need: 

• Two main fonts. One for your titles – these are often thicker and bolder, aimed to grab attention, and are similar in style to your logo – and another for your main copy. The latter must be easy to read otherwise your target audience will click off your website faster than you say, ‘natcho sure it’s for me.’ 

Once you have an idea of the fonts that best represent your brand, you can play around with the spacing, curling and weight, but you’ll want these fonts to work well together and pair with your logo.  

Colour palette – the fun part! These shades will represent your brand so you’ll want them to pop. Say you own a hotel on the beautiful sunny shores of a Mediterranean island – your brand’s colours are likely to feature blue to represent the ocean and meet consumer expectations. Your own branding bible should be made up of primary colours and secondary colours. The first are shades most associated with your brand, while the secondary shades are more used as fillers and are tend to slightly muted shades. At Natcho, our primary colours are black, white and mustard yellow. You’ll see these unanimously throughout our website, logo, socials and communications, while our secondary colours are dark grey and burnt orange. These complement the primary colours but are not always used.  

Mood board – allows you to visualise the photography style you want for your brand. Photography style is made up of lighting, composition, colours, and atmosphere and each snapper will have their own unique stamp of these. For a successful creative collaboration, you’ll want to work with a photographer whose style is similar to your mood board.  

Adjectives – just as we use adjectives to describe our different personalities, you’ll need these for your brand too. Is your brand loud, energetic or daring? Maybe it’s sophisticated, classic and sleek? Or how about contemporary, cool and creative? This may sound like an odd section to include in a branding document however, once you list the best adjectives that describe the business, it will allow you to see the theme that can then lead into your brand voice.   

When coming up with these adjectives, Hello Luci says it is helpful to consider the following questions: 

When people interact with my content, products, and services, I want them to feel ______. 

When I talk to my ideal people, I want my tone of voice to be _________. 

When people see something from my brand they think it is _________. 

Brand voice – by now we’ve nailed the visuals, you’ll want to focus on your brand’s voice. This is essential to being consistent and your adjectives will help you figure out how you want your brand to sound. If you are a young, fun brand, then you will want this to reflect this with energetic copy. If you want to be seen as professional and business focussed, then your copy tone will be a more corporate and formal affair.  

Congratulations! You’ve made it and now you’ve got everything in place to form your completed branding guideline document. Not only is this essential for keeping your business ‘on brand’, you’ll also need to send it to anyone you may collaborate with. And speaking of collaboration… At Natcho, we focus on brand storytelling through digital content. If you want you shine through the digital world, Drop us a line today by clicking here. Good luck!