Brand Research

Before starting a branding project, it’s important to do your homework. Brand research means looking at your industry, market potential and who you want to be targeting. This will inform the next phase of Brand Strategy, and how we’re going to set the stage for your brandings development. There’s more to good branding than how it looks; brand identity encompasses your ethos and your mission, and this is where we’ll start to explore how you’re going to succeed.

Brand Strategy

Brand Strategy is what it says on the tin, we strategise what you want your brand to achieve and how we’re going to get there. It may sound simple, but this is where we carve out the road that your brand will take and how you can optimise your reach with the most potency. We can lay out the plan for achieving your business goals and acquiring your target audience.

Brand Workshops

For us to define your brand, it’s important we’re all on the same page. In a Brand Workshop, you can align your team’s views into one clear and defined vision of your brand. We’ll achieve this through an old fashioned conversation, where we encourage debates and agreements throughout the process so we can capture what your brand is, and what it isn’t. During this stage, we can also discuss what your brand can offer in terms of products, services and marketing.

Brand Refresh

Not every business needs a total brand redesign. Sure, we can totally transform brand identities when necessary, but it’s equally important to know when to look at the big picture and see when a brand may simply need a small makeover. It may be a visual modernisation, realignment of your brand vision or improved marketing, we’ll always be transparent and tell you what you do need and what you don’t.

Naming

The name of your brand should encompass all that you are, and will be one element of your brand that will (hopefully) never change. Therefore, it goes without saying it’s important to get it right. Choosing a name could take anywhere between five minutes to five days, that’s why we offer our expertise in considering all aspects of how your target market will perceive your brand through channels such as marketing, brand identity and tone of voice and how your name will be remembered.

Logo Development

It’s easy to assume a logo design is simple and quick. Though, in fact, your logo should be more than just a simple graphic. Hopefully by this stage you’ll understand that your brand is more than a logo, but your logo should reflect everything about your brand. Our branding process ensures your logo and identity is suited to but also stands out within your sector. At the forefront of your business, it’s vital that potential clients see your logo and get a glimpse of the full story of your brand.

Graphic Design

Our bread and butter! Whether it be social media assets, marketing collateral, printed media or signage, our flare for Graphic Design within any of these areas allows us to elevate your brand and spread your message to potential clients and effectively generate a following. This is where we help you get noticed, and we can take care of any design requirements you may need. If you are looking for Marketing Material, contact our Branding Manchester team.

Tone of Voice

Your Tone of Voice portrays your brand character. The language you use, how you use it and where you choose to speak are all factors in how people will perceive your brand culture. People will make their judgment on who you are via your tone of voice just as much as your logo design, company name or design collateral. It’s an easy one to miss, but it’s important to remember that consistently using the right tone of voice throughout your marketing, your website and design work may be the difference between attracting the right or wrong following and acquiring a client or not. Whether it’s informal and fun or formal and professional.

Brand Guidelines

This is the final stage of your brand’s development, but just the beginning in creating your brand’s legacy. With your new branding ready to go live, it’s important to realise that the concept of your brand is no longer in our incubator! To prevent your brand message being diluted or warped, we recommend creating brand guidelines for your business. This document sets clear guides on tone of voice, typography, imagery, logo usage, colour usage and more to ensure your brand has consistency in the future.

Is it necessary to have a brand story to have a successful brand?

You can build a brand that takes 5th position or lower within its market, and many who do, do not have a brand story. With many brands selling very similar products or services, the difference between a brand which dominates an industry and one that falls short is almost always the dominating brand having a brand story that consumers can emotionally engage with.

How long does it take to develop a brand?

Utilising every step of the brand development process, a brand can take a matter of weeks to develop. To build a real brand in the public eye, however, will take years. The public’s perception of a brand is not its logo or visual identity alone, it is their concept of what a brand stands for – which, over a matter of weeks, we can craft and manipulate through our brand development stages. If you would like a timeframe for your project, call our Branding Manchester team for a quick chat.

What’s the difference between a logo and a brand?

A logo is either a piece of type or a graphic which is used as a trademark for a brand, whereas a brand is the entirety of a company’s ethos and business objective. Do not underestimate the importance of a logo, it is the face of your company, but it is not your brand. See our latest rebrand for an example of how we realigned ourselves as a brand, rather than just redesigned our logo. If you are struggling do understand give us a call our Branding Manchester team can help.

Do we need to be local to develop a brand together?

It’s always good to be face to face, but we understand not every client can have their brand workshop in Manchester. This is why we can always work via video call or telephone, If you’re ready to start a project with our Branding Manchester team click here.

If you’re interested in developing a brand with us, here’s some food for thought to get you started: How to write a branding brief