How to Build a Brand: Our Approach to Creating Transformational Results
We know this might be surprising to hear, but being a branding agency isn’t just about designing logos and creating toolkits. Sure, these are wonderful—and critical—outputs of our process and creativity. But to answer the age-old question of how to build a brand, we must start with a bit of reflection before we ever get to the creation phase.
In order to develop a transformational branding strategy, we have to start by digging deep into an organization. Our process begins with questions and conversations. Why? Our goal is to uncover existing passions, understand shared beliefs, and discover the threads that connect everyone in your organization together. Once these come to light, we start to craft how to define your brand and create the strong foundation that your branding strategy will build upon.
While this might sound really simple, it can be a challenging—even uncomfortable—exercise if participants aren’t aligned to the objective and purpose of brand development work. It’s important to stress that there is no right answer; opinions and individual perspectives matter. Our goal is to understand each person’s why: why this company, this role, with these people, at this time? Here are our best tips for diving into these conversations that will shape how to build your brand:
Ask questions and really listen to the answers.
Like, really listen. Bring your best active listening skills. Ask a lot of questions, even ones that feel unrelated. Ask your people about their passions, but also about their pain points. Be willing to sit with answers that might make you uncomfortable or reveal a truth you’ve tried to ignore. Ask them what they value—at work but especially in their own lives. Talk to every single person in your company. All perspectives matter, from the break room to the board room.
Look for the common themes
Take lots of notes and go through those notes many times. Highlight all the similar answers. These are the shared beliefs that already exist at every level in your company. These are the connections that matter most, and this is the starting point to creating a strong cultural foundation for your organization.
Be willing to be honest, transparent and authentic.
Strong brand cultures are born in open conversations. Some of the questions you ask may stir up uncomfortable answers. That’s good! What doesn’t challenge us doesn’t change us. We have to be willing to hear the truth, even if it makes us squirm a little. Don’t settle for answers that seem like what people think you want to hear. Ask for, and honor, authenticity and transparency. This begets trust, and trust is a key pillar of a strong brand culture.
Existing strengths create alignment.
Alignment fuses teams together and fuels business growth.
When everyone has a stake in building the brand culture, the path forward is clear. Shared interests and beliefs create a compelling point of differentiation. They also signal to customers who share those same interests and beliefs that yours is an organization to align themselves with. These meaningful connections form the catalyst for transformational growth, creating momentum for your business, spurring people into action, and solidifying a resilient environment in which your business can thrive.
Building this alignment is what we do best.
