This past week, Evian released a YouTube video featuring adults reacting to their baby reflections in a store front window. What is Evian’s brand identity? Youth, and it’s stronger than ever.
What is your identity when no one is looking?
There has been a flood of information telling businesses to appeal to Millennials; to Gen-Y-ify their office and create an internally fun work environment. But too often businesses get so concerned with upping their internal brand that they forget to re-energize their outward brand to potential customers and audiences.
Let me ask you two questions:
1. Are you who you say you are?
2. Are you reaching the audience you want to reach?
If you answered yes to these questions, congratulations, you’re on the right track. But for most of you, your business brand identity may have begun with two strong Yes’ but is now answering with some shaky “Maybe’s” and “No’s.” That’s okay! Here are the first steps I recommend to revamping your brand identity and being sincere in your answers to the above questions.
Your identity is not your image!
Brand image is often confused with the brand identity of a company. A brand image is who your customers say you are and what they see you as. But that image is incredibly weak if their isn’t a strong brand identity behind it. I recommend sitting down with your team and laying out exactly why your business is doing what it’s doing. From there you can figure out the What and the How.
You don’t have to be magical to have a vision!
But if your vision is blurry and you are taking everything just as it comes, customers will deem you as unpredictable. And no one wants a brand image that is impulsive. By having a brand strategy that reaches further than just Friday will allow you to look past the small things and use them as stepping stones toward the ultimate goal.
What do you stand for?
I’m not talking about your product or your service, necessarily. Instead I’m looking for the human quality. What is it that people believe you stand for? Is that brand image the one they want their children to see? If it’s not, is it marketed correctly and with discretion? Your brand image and identity don’t have to be rainbows and butterflies, but they do need to be specifically targeted.
Developing your brand identity and your brand image are not overnight occurrences; and it’s important to know that. Provide the best experience you can now but begin shifting toward something greater. Who knows, it might take you viral!
Got any other brand strategy ideas? We’d love to hear them!
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Three Girls Media, Inc. is a public relations and social media management agency with teams in Silicon Valley and the Seattle area. We love working with small and emerging companies across the nation to raise their brand awareness and name recognition. We offer a complimentary 30-minute phone consultation with our CEO and can answer your questions and discuss your specific marketing needs.
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