What is a brand?

You might think the definition of a brand is fairly obvious—a brand is a logo that effectively represents a company, organization, or even a person. But in reality, a brand is so much more than the picture or icon that is chosen to represent it.

Think about Target, for example. Odds are good that you’ll immediately conjure the image of a red and white bullseye. From there, you’ll remember that Target offers affordable, trendy and well-designed products that appeal to literally anyone. Especially you. And whether you’re browsing the store aisles, looking at the website or interacting with their social media accounts—this is the message you’ll repeatedly receive. There’s a lot of red, you love it all, always find what you need, and that’s why you return (and return again).

In short, brand recognition and acceptance is all about the customer’s experience.

So when we talk about the definition of a brand, we talk first about vision and image, then we dive into the experience a company, organization or person conveys in order to appeal to their ideal customers. To nail that concept, the first two components must be clearly defined.

So...Let’s break it all down:

1) The Vision

This is where the company, organization or person plays a key role. To stand out, you must have a well-defined vision that will set your intended brand apart from the competition. For example, what void will you fill? What makes you more of an expert? What will you offer and how will you grow beyond that? It also helps to know WHO you wish to appeal to. When this strategy is in place, you can dive even deeper into your visual brand.

And that just happens to be our specialty!

2) The Image

Once your strategy is locked into place, you’ll want to pull together all the parts and pieces of your visual brand identity. First and foremost, you’ll need a logo. Something that will tell your brand story in an instant while creating lasting recognition. The fonts and colors you choose, even the size and shape of your logo, will influence other key components, such as:

• Your website

• Social media accounts

• Professional photographs

…and so much more. A logo is, essentially, the tie that binds. And when it’s all bound together in one distinct package—when everything matches—your visual brand brings in the customer.

3) The Experience

Customer experience brings your brand full-circle. You have the product or service, you have the visual identity, and with targeted public relations efforts, active engagement on social media and interactive elements (like stores, websites and events)—you can begin to give your customers the type of experience they’ll talk about, hopefully buy into, and ultimately return to experience again (and again).

So essentially, the idea of a brand is quite simple, but it’s all the parts and pieces within that make it or break it. If they’re not tied together in one concise and reliable story and experience, then confusion abounds and your customers lose faith.

At LEO + LAINE, we do everything we can to help you prevent that. We build obsession-worthy brands that empower confidence. From our copywriter to our photographers and designers, all the parts and pieces of our branding agency work with you to cement all the visual parts and pieces (see #2 above) of your brand’s identity.

…and while we’re at it, we’ll become your best friends AND your brand advocates, too.

If we can do and be all of that for you, you know where to find us. 👋