Here at Elastic, we talk a lot about branding: branding is important, your brand is more than your logo, why brand guidelines are crucial…
And it’s all true, but it’s also a little mystifying sometimes. You run a business, not a brand, right? And how much does a ‘brand’ really matter?
A lot, it turns out.
What is a ‘brand’ exactly? Well, it can sound a little abstract, so let’s break it down: your brand is everything that defines your organisation, and anyone from your employees to your target audience should be able to define your ‘brand’ clearly and consistently in just a few sentences. Your brand is your logo, what you stand for, the way you work with your clients, your interior space, your signage, your USP and even the name of your company. The things that make these facets of your brand include your ethics, your industry, the colours of your logo and more. In short, your brand is what defines your business, attracts new customers and, most importantly, retains existing customers.
Ok, so a brand includes a lot of things. When do you need to consider taking a look at your brand to make sure it’s doing what it should?
Maybe your company has been through a big round of changes recently and your old look and feel no longer apply: time for a rebrand.
Maybe your logo has been around since your company was founded and it’s looking a little dated: time for a refresh.
Maybe you’ve started a new company and need to design all the collateral that goes with it, from logos to letterhead to the interior space itself: time to develop a brand identity.
Or maybe you’ve had so many small changes over the years, spearheaded by so many different people that you no longer even know what your brand identity is: time to set brand guidelines.
Time for Elastic. It may seem like a Sisyphean task to create or update a brand identity for your organisation, but Elastic takes the difficulty out for you, starting with a brand workshop.
A brand workshop is an Elastic-led session where we work hands-on with the stakeholders on your team to make sure we understand your business and its goals from the inside out. We ask the questions, you give us the answers, and we use those answers to help you refine your proposition and, in turn, your brand. The workshop takes place in a half-day session and starts with putting ourselves in the mindset of your target audience. What are their challenges? What are they looking for? And most importantly: who are they?
Once we know who you are talking to, we work with you to define your objectives, how you currently see yourselves and whether that’s how you want to see yourselves. We use this information to clarify (or establish) your brand personality and unique proposition, then compile it into a document you can share with your team to ensure everyone is on the same page.
If you’re not sure what your brand is, if you don’t think your brand is working as hard as it could be, if you want to be able to communicate your brand to your customers in a better, clearer way, a brand workshop is for you. Contact us today to find out how we can help!
