Brand building isn’t just having a great name.

Great brands are more than just great names. They mean something.

Think of Nike; it isn’t just a globally-known athletic brand, but it means something to casual, or even non-athletes. Or think Apple. It isn’t just a leading high tech brand, but there’s more, especially to Apple devotees.

How did they do this? They asked themselves certain questions that helped them define who they were and who their target audience is. These questions helped them showcase their value (something I recently wrote about).

When sitting down to define your brand, many questions will come into your head, but the following questions are vital to answer:

1. Why is my brand in existence? Your brand is your company. It is who you are. Sports teams exist to win trophies and to bring their supporters joy. What does your company bring to to its target audience?

2. What value does my brand offer? Before a potential consumer becomes a consumer, he or she will want to know what value your product will have for them. Value can be monetary or a positive emotional or health benefit. But before a consumer decides on the economic value of your brand, an emotional consideration will occur first. Define what value you are offering to your target audience. Like a sports team or a pop performer, your brand should offer a specific valuable experience for your consumer.

3. Is this what your audience needs? After you’ve answered the first question about why your brand exists, you must also know if what you are delivering is what your audience needs. You must be able to deliver an experience, and a product/service that your consumer needs. It isn’t just enough to be another computer company, but you must differentiate yourself from your competition.

Need help defining your brand? Contact SPARKS! and we’ll help you.

Promote your brand’s value to the consumer.

“A brand is an honest promise” is a maxim that every marketer knows. If a brand fails to deliver on its promise – better service, better experience, etc. – that failure to meet the consumer’s expectations will result in the loss of a customer, and in this connected world, will be made public. In the end, any brand with this problem will face a very difficult challenge in winning back the consumer.

Each brand also has a story. As I mentioned in a previous post, the best brands tell great stories. By telling stories, they connect with us emotionally, and consumers’ emotions influence whether or not they will make a purchase.

The other aspect a brand should emphasize is its value to the consumer. A brand needs to show why any consumer should purchase its products. But you shouldn’t just focus on your products and/or service; you need to promote your brand’s value. This bleeds into the question of why any consumer should choose your brand over another.

Volvo did a successful job of showcasing their value. The car manufacturer waded into the issue of bicycle safety and came up with something called Life Paint, which cyclists can spray on to their clothing and bicycles. Long known for bring a brand that focuses on consumer safety, Volvo further underlines their commitment to safety, whether those traveling are in their cars or outside and riding alongside of them. What does this do? It makes people look at Volvo in a wholly new way as a car manufacturer that really cares about safety, as the video shows.

Not sure how to promote your brand’s value? Contact SPARKS! to see how we can help you.

What some of the best brands like Nike can teach us.

Successful branding seeks to create a unique image in the customer’s mind and that stands out from competitors. More than that, though, a brand is an honest promise. When we buy something, we’re expecting it to fulfill our expectations. However, brands must first catch our attention.

Some of the best brands like Nike and Disney do this effectively. By telling stories, they connect with us emotionally.

Nike tells exciting stories about professional and aspiring athletes, stories which inspire the athlete in each of us. We are able to connect with the same desire in each athlete on the screen. We know the same hunger for improvement and to achieve a specific goal. One example is the following video called “The Chance,” in which shows the story of Abdoulaye Coumbassa, whose desire is to play soccer.

Combining wonderful imagery and Spike Lee speaking about how inner drive makes goal achievement possible, Nike’s story inspires us.

Disney, a completely different company, has built upon storytelling. Its brand, when one thinks of it, brings to mind, stories. Disney’s tagline “The Happiest Place on Earth” connects with everyone’s yearning for a place that offers unlimited enchantment. It’s the place where dreams come true. Each movie that Disney releases is accompanied by products related to that specific movie. Its movies are its content. In his column in Forbes, Will Burns sums it up best, “They create a brand story – a movie – and then build products around that story.”

Think of your brand’s unique storyline. When you know what it is, and when your employees have internalized it, it will be easy to deliver on its promise, delivering experiences that customers will want to be a part of.