![[What is branding_Banner.png]] # what is a brand? Your personal reputation is what people think and say about you when you’re not in the room — and it’s the same with brands. The act of branding is the process of consistently shaping that reputation in a way that will achieve your long-term business goals. The reputational tools available to us: - How you look - What you say - How you act # how do you build your reputation? Brand strategy links what you want to achieve with the way you look and the things you say. By defining your business objectives we can then decide how we will meet them with a designed reputation: - What reputation you want to have - Who you want have it with So long as the audience is specific, will resonate with your values, and isn’t already owned by a competitor that can’t be beaten, we have a long-term brand building opportunity. # who do you shape a reputation with? But we can’t build a reputation with everyone — the old adage *if you appeal to everyone you appeal to no one* rings true here — and that’s why getting into the minds of your target audience is important. When you understand their needs, fears, and desires, you can design for them ensuring that your brand is best placed to cultivate an intentional reputation that will generate long-term results. # how do you plan for your reputation? Positioning is key to this — the way that people perceive your brand in relation to others. To find your positioning we consider: - The strengths of your brand — what you're good at - What consumers need, want, and desire in your brand's category - The strength of the competition — which offers can be beaten and where is the unmet need With this defined, we can establish the kind of tone that will be required to execute your new positioning. For example, if you double-down on premium expertise, you might require a tone that is sleep, sophisticated, and upmarket. If you double-down on sustainability, then you may require a tone that brings in earthy and well-meaning elements to communicate that. # how do you make people think of you in that way? Brands are personas created from the things you say and the way you look. This is communicated through: - Messaging and tone of voice - Logos and graphic elements - Photography style - Colour pairings - Font pairings - Curation of texture - Sounds and music - Motion and film