Focusing Your Company’s Vision with a Brand Proposition
If your marketing material isn’t bringing the buzz you hoped it would, the problem may not lie in the snappiness of your slogans or the design of your logo. The problem could lie in the very foundations of your brand: your brand proposition.
What, Why, and How
Driving every business intent on creating memorable brands is the knowledge of what they do, why they do it, and how it’s done. Every business is clear on what they do: they sell clothing, they create bespoke events, or they develop eco-friendly buildings. But, what many businesses lack is a clear idea on why they do these things. If a business doesn’t know why they make smoothies, it’s extremely likely a customer wouldn’t know why they should buy one from them either.
What is a Brand Proposition?
A brand proposition (also called a brand statement) should include what makes your business unique, and should clearly articulate what the ideas and driving forces behind your business are to your customers. A brand proposition should underpin your brand and run through all touchpoints of the brand, telling your customers why you’re doing what you’re doing in a way that is consistent with your brand identity.
Identify what problems are unique to your target audience, and tell them why you and your company are the ones to solve it for them time and time again. Take your customers through your journey as a company; tell them where you want to go in the future and that you want them along for the ride. Connecting to your audience on an emotional level is a great way of inspiring brand loyalty; more and more often customers are looking for brands they can trust, connect, and communicate with on a personal level. You need to show there are people and purpose behind your logo.
A solid brand proposition will support the ‘why’ of every business and inform every decision thereafter, from the next step towards developing a new product to the design choices in their next advert or campaign.
So what do you need to create a strong brand proposition?
Slurp’s new proposition we created formed a solid foundation for the new branding
Stock up on the Golden Thread
This will inform your brand purpose. It’s the what, why and how of your business, it’s consistency that informs all of your decisions, and, it’s essential.
By balancing what you want for your business and what customers need both practically and emotionally, you can occupy a particular space in their mind and be their go-to option for your particular services. Ensuring that this is communicated through every element of your business which is what builds trust in the consumer. No one likes mixed messages, after all.
For instance, Nike have built themselves on action, innovation, and inspiration, which is encapsulated in everything they do. From their iconic logo and dynamic adverts to their ever-growing portfolio of leading products and services, people have come to synonymise Nike with confidence and athleticism through visual cues alone.
The new proposition for The Worshipful Company of Saddlers created a dynamic new direction for the heritage brand
Come From Within
A strong brand proposition is inspired by the people within the company. Brand values come from your day to day workers, whether they’re on the door or behind a computer screen, they are the face of your business. As the first point of contact with your company, it’s important that your brand proposition is reflected in the way they act and communicate; staff need to believe in the brand proposition as much as you do so that customers are sold on your vision as well.
But who are brand propositions for?
All Businesses, Big and Small
Apple, Nike, and AirBnB all have solid brand propositions supporting and directing every move their companies make. But a brand proposition isn’t just for the big players. Smaller, emerging, or newly established businesses can also highly benefit from developing a clear, and accessible brand proposition to guide them, their staff (and their customers) forward.
Exploring what makes your company yours and no one else’s and how your products and services are different from your competitor’s will not only focus your business strategy, but also give your employees a clear path to follow towards common goals.
It all starts with a brand strategy workshop
If you’re considering a rebrand and want to ensure the final result will be perfectly aligned with your values and vision, we can help. If you’re interested in us running a brand strategy workshop with your team or stakeholders, drop us a line.