18 Essential Branding Elements And What They Mean
If you're in the process of developing your brand, brand strategy or brand identity this will help you gain even greater understanding by walking through 18 essential branding elements and what they mean. (And be sure to check out the previous article, "Brand, Brand Strategy & Brand Identity: What’s the Difference?”)
Think of this as your brand glossary of definitions for the various branding terminology so you understand what you need in order to effectively build your brand and have a plan in place to communicate it to your audience.
01 - PURPOSE
Definition: The reason for which your brand exists.
Why It’s Important
Your purpose is your Why, and your Why is what makes people buy. It tells your audience why your business exists in the first place and gives them a reason to care.
02 - PERCEPTION
Definition: A way of understanding, interpreting or assigning meaning; a mental impression of your brand.
Why It’s Important
Your brand perception is how your audience perceives your brand. It’s the experience they have that tells them how to feel and what to expect. You want to be able to shape your desired brand perception and communicate that consistently to your audience.
03 - KEY BRAND WORDS
Definition: The curated list of words that encapsulate how you want your audience to perceive your brand.
Why It’s Important
These words are important because they help you shape the content pillars of your brand so you have a strong foundation to stand on helping you show up consistently.
04 - IDEAL CLIENT
Definition: The person or group of people you most want to work with and reach with your product, service or experience.
Why It’s Important
Identifying your ideal client is an essential first step if you want to build a brand strategy for your business. You first must know who you’re talking to and targeting before you can position your brand to resonate with them.
05 - BRAND PROMISE
Definition: Tells customers what to expect in terms of results, transformations, or experiences based on the type of business you’re in.
Why It’s Important
Your brand promise shares your commitment to a certain outcome or goal that your product, service or experience delivers to your ideal clients.
06 - MISSION
Definition: A mission statement defines what business you’re in and your approach to delivering on your overall goals and objectives.
Why It’s Important
Your mission statement is important because it’s a quick and easy way to communicate to your ideal clients that they’re in the right place and what you deliver matches their goals and ambitions.
07 - VISION
Definition: Your vision statement is the grand, lofty goal that describes where your business is headed & future position of your company.
Why It’s Important
Sharing the direction your company is headed helps communicate to your audience your goals, purpose and values. And it gives you a north star to make decision-making in your business easier.
08 - CORE VALUES
Definition: What your brand believes in and stands for.
Why It’s Important
Core values create a guidepost to how your company operates and how you communicate your beliefs to your audience, giving them another way to connect, align and believe in your brand.
09 - BRAND BENEFITS
Definition: The value your clients experience as a direct result of your product or service.
Why It’s Important
Leading with the benefits of your product / service in your communication strategy is captivating to your audience. They want to know the outcome or results to expect from your brand.
10 - TAGLINE
Definition: A identifiable short phrase or slogan for your brand.
Why It’s Important
The entire purpose of your tagline is to inspire and hook your ideal clients. It helps you stand out to your audience quickly.
11 - BRAND STORY
Premise origin story
Definition: The narrative of your brand your customer encounters in everything you do.
Why It’s Important
Your brand story is what makes you more than just a product, service or company doing the same thing as the next company. Your story makes your audience feel something; inciting an emotional connection point with your ideal clients is what engages them with your brand and transforms them into loyal customers as they continue to share your story with others.
12 - POSITIONING
Definition: The carving out of a distinct niche for your brand; defining your place in your industry and in consumers minds in order to set yourself apart.
Why It’s Important
Your brand positioning helps customers see what makes you different, why you’re special and inspires them to make you their #1 choice if you’re positioned successfully for your target audience.
13 - ELEVATOR PITCH
Definition: A succinct and persuasive sales pitch about your brand.
Why It’s Important
You need to be able to verbally express what your brand is about, who it's for and the biggest value you offer in order to gain your audiences’ attention and interest quickly and to compel them to want to discover more about what you do and why you do it. It’s one thing to write words that describe your brand, and quite another to be able to say it out loud.
14 - BRAND VOICE + PERSONALITY
Definition: Choosing a set of traits and a communication approach that truly expresses the value and identity of your brand and expressing those traits.
Why It’s Important
Defining your brand voice and personality helps you understand how to show up, to create marketing materials and to communicate regularly about your brand to your audience. It’s your words, your language, your personality that paint the picture you want your customers to see and experience.
15 - MESSAGING
Definition: The value you convey in the content you create for your brand.
Why It’s Important
Your brand’s messaging is what inspires and engages your audience and ultimately, motivates them to buy. It’s your way of connecting and relating to them so your ideal client feels seen, heard and fully understood.
16 - BRAND IDENTITY
Definition: Your brand identity is the visual strategy for your brand. This includes your logo, color palette, fonts, patterns, marks, image and audio style plus anything that represents the consistent visual look of your brand in the world.
Why It’s Important
Brand strategy informs design. Designers aren’t responsible for designing a brand for their clients. It’s their job to design a brand identity that’s a translation of the meaningful brand that’s been developed and that leverages the brand strategy that’s been built.
17 - BRAND PHOTOGRAPHY
Definition: The visual style for images related to your brand.
Why It’s Important
You want all the images you share for your brand to have a consistent style. Determining these photo style guidelines is an important decision so when you work with a brand photographer you can direct your shoot to create images consistent with your brand.
18 - BRAND POLISH
Refining your brand as it evolves.
Definition: The act of refining and evolving your brand.
Why It’s Important
You want to evolve your brand as your audience’s ambitions grow. You want to always be fine-tuning with your ideal clients in mind. A polished brand is the mark of a great brand.