5 Ways to Build an Unforgettable Brand Identity
Your brand needs to stand out, connect and be remembered. Otherwise, what’s your brand for? Old Diorama, 2023
Alright, I'm going to be blunt here:
Your business brand or online personal brand identity… do you like it?
Don't take it personally! As a brand photographer based in London who works with startups and online businesses day in and day out, I've simply noticed a sad reality:
Many entrepreneurs don’t put enough thought into cultivating a cohesive, memorable brand identity that connects with their target customers.
In a busy market like London, where brands are screaming for attention from every angle, trying to get by with a forgettable, muddled brand presence is a surefire way to stay stuck in obscurity.
The good news is you can easily course-correct and craft an unforgettable brand identity by following these 5 stupidly simple steps.
1. Get Hyper-Specific on Your Brand's Core Identity
This critical first step is where most founders drop the ball from the start. You can't just rely on vague "I want my brand to feel trustworthy and modern" nonsense.
Nope, to nail an iconic identity you need laser-focused clarity on the precise:
Core values driving your brand.
Unique brand voice and tone.
Distinctive personality traits.
Specific emotional qualities you want to be associated with the brand.
Exact ways your brand differs from competitors.
Write all of this down in painstaking detail to create a brand identity guide as unique as a fingerprint. Half-doing it here is a recipe for disaster.
2. Map Out Your Key Customer Personas (Obsessively)
"Our target audience is everyone!" I can't even begin to tell you how ineffective that branding strategy is.
For your brand identity to truly click and connect, you need to intimately understand your 2-3 most critical customer personas inside and out:
Precise demographics like age, location, job title, etc.
Deep psychographic insights into their values, interests, and personalities.
Biggest pain points, struggles, and unmet needs.
How your brand identity can align with and solve for those needs.
Exactly how to speak to and market to these specific people.
Getting this granular with your personas is the key to crafting a brand identity that feels custom-tailored just for them, like a bespoke suit.
3. Visually Bring That Brand Identity to Life
With the strategic brand positioning work out of the way, you can start having fun embodying your identity through visuals!
Some key areas to lock in:
Brand Name & Logo
This is the literal first impression for potential customers, so make it count! Ensure your nomenclature and mark are an instant reflection of your brand personality.
Signature Colour Palette
Establish a set of complementary brand colours that evoke the intended vibe and emotions. Think bright and vibrant for fun/playful identities or more muted, sophisticated tones.
Photography & Image Style
What overall aesthetic, mood, and brand personality do you want your photos and graphics to visually communicate? Candid and authentic? Bold and modern?
Visual Brand Voice
Detailed guidelines around word choice, tone, grammar, etc. to ensure your brand's personality is consistently reflected across all messaging.
Every single visual and messaging element should cohesively reinforce that core brand identity you mapped out.
4. Infuse Your Unified Identity Everywhere
Don't be one of those brands with a hopelessly disjointed, all-over-the-place identity across channels. You want your dream customers experiencing your brand persona in a unified, immersive way from the first interaction.
Some typical customer touchpoints to audit:
Website design and UX (user experience).
Social media channels and content.
Sales and marketing assets (brochures, case studies, etc.).
Email and advertising campaigns.
Packaging and product design.
Physical office/retail environments.
The more you can infuse your unique brand identity into every single touchpoint for total consistency, the stronger your audience's brand awareness and affinity will become.
5. Commit to Continuously Developing Your Brand
Look, even if you diligently execute all of those steps today, your brand identity won't stay fresh and relevant forever. Marketplace trends, cultural shifts, new offerings - all of these factors will inevitably require brand updates over time.
That's why the final step is:
Baking in annual or bi-annual brand identity audits to evaluate what's working, what needs modern, refreshing, visual updates, etc.
Dedicating budget for continuous brand asset updates, tweaks to messaging tonality, and other "upkeep" to prevent your identity from getting stale.
Viewing your brand identity as a constantly evolving, agile system that nimbly adapts as your company itself pivots and grows.
The Brand Identity Payoff For Londoners like You
Look, I get it—there are a million priorities. clogging up your startup's to-do list right now.ive brand identity may not seem like the biggest one.
But from working with tons of London-based entrepreneurs and digitally-native brands over the years, I can tell you just how game-changing an iconic identity truly is, including:
Cultivating crystal-clear brand recognition and recall
Allowing your marketing efforts to actually break through the noise
Forging authentic emotional connections and loyalty
Elevating your perceived value for premium pricing power
Unlocking more sales as your brand persona deeply resonates
The founders who constantly treat brand identity as an afterthought? They're the ones who stay stuck in commodity purgatory - just another forgettable face in London's crowded market.
Craft a unified brand identity that instantly clicks and captivates? That's how you transform from just another option into one of the city's unmistakable premium brand leaders.
So ditch the piecemeal branding efforts and quit doing your business that disservice. Your dream audience is desperate for a bold, resonant brand identity to latch onto and evangelise.
Give them what they crave and reap the rewards!
Need support bringing your iconic brand identity to life?
As a brand identity consultant and photographer for over 20 years, helping London businesses ‘up their branding game’ is my bread and butter. Let's start turning heads!
Get in touch to book a brand photoshoot, or for a free brand consultation!