At some point it will be time for a change. Sometimes that change is driven from within your business – you’re not the same company you were and you want to tell customers why and how you’ve changed (and why that’s good for them). This is a proactive change. But change can come from outside your company, from changes within your sector. This might be a change in legislation, or an increase in the number of competitors. When this happens you realise that you need to adapt in order to compete. This is a reactive change.
Whether your change is proactive or reactive, the tool for communicating that change is the same: your brand. Your brand comes in many parts, each with a role to play, so understanding each of them is really important if you want to make the best use of them. If you’d like to see some examples of how we’ve combined these elements for our clients, take a look at our portfolio. If you’d like to know more, do get in touch.
Your logo is the cornerstone of your brand. It should be memorable and distinctive. If it’s not it’s time for a change. Colour, shape, typeface; each element has a job to do. Is your logo working hard for you?
Any literature you produce should be consistent, not just in the way it looks, but the messages too. Think about quality and quantity. Think about when and how you use it. What does it say about you?
Your website can be a really valuable asset, if you use it well. It needs to look good, but it needs to easy to use too. What do you want visitors to do? Is it easy for them to do that? If it’s not, change it
If you produce a product your packaging is really important. It needs to look good (you want customers to pick it up), but it needs to protect your product too. And it needs to be cost effective to produce. Where do you start?
Your business card or your letterhead might be the first thing a customer sees, so are they up to the job? They need to work hard for you, communicating your message clearly and simply.
Having the tools is really important. But using them at the right time and in the right place is equally important. If you want to communicate well, you need to have a strategy for doing it. What’s yours?
Your visual identity is a collection of assets: a logo, colour palette, typeface, style of imagery, tone of voice and design style. When you’ve got each piece in place you’ve got the foundation for all your future communication. Have you?
It needs to look good, but it needs to work hard too. If you want people to visit your premises, make sure they can find you. It’s like packaging your business.
Your brand isn’t just about how you look… It’s about who you are. It’s the values and culture within your business, the story behind your logo. It’s the reason your customers choose you. It should make you different. Does it?
Looking for the right name for your company or your product? Where do you start? You want something that’s memorable and distinctive. And something you can claim for your own. We help our clients to find the name that’s right for them.
(c) Alder and Alder 2012