Top Ten Tips to give your brand more personality

When it comes to a branding agency, we have to admit to being just a little bit biased. The Indytute branding has been created by Stuart Lang, director of the talented branding company 'We Launch'. The company was formed in 2010 to with the simple ambition to work with people, brands and organisations that inspire them, and their list of clients now covers companies as diverse as The Post Office to The Outward Bound Trust.

The Indytute manage to keep a close eye on all things 'We Launch' , by placing our desks in the corner of the office so we didn't have far to go to ask Stuart for his top tips on giving a brand a personality boost. So whether you are a shop owner or a designer, these are his very practical tips on boosting your brand. Read and action.
 

Give your brand more personality.  Here are We Launch's top tips.

1. Brand values - Begin by writing down a list of 5-6 words that will define your business. Not only now but for the future too. Which words do you truly stand for and which business decisions you anchor you? Your brand values are internal characteristics of the business - your customers do not necessarily need to know what these are. The words can be anything important in your vision of your business. Here are some examples: Dynamic / Edgy / Fun / Inspiring / Innovative / Different / Quirky / Professional / Challenging / Quality etc.
2. USP - Once you have established your brand values, think about your USP. What can you say about your business that none of your competitors can?
3. Brand characterisitcs - With the above two defined, list down some tangible, physical attributes, qualities or characteristics of your product / service / offer.
4. Your audience - Now detail out all of your different audiences - age / professions / demographics / motivations etc.
5. Your competitors - Take a look at the competition. Determine what they're doing, but more importantly, look at what they all might NOT be doing - both visually and verbally.
6. Brand personality - To begin to build a unique personality for your brand, you need to remember all of the answers you wrote down for the above questions. These answers will become the thread that ties all that follows together.
7. Your design preferences - Now look at the world around you. What visually excites you? Do you prefer illustration or photography? Bright colours or muted? Bold and contemporary typefaces or more classic ones? Which other brands do you like the look of - and why? Cross reference your answers here with the words you wrote down above - and it should all start to paint your brand picture.
8. Consistent message - Don't forget about how you talk to your audience too. Every headline, sentence or paragraph you write should all be of a consistent - and well considered - tone of voice (which should ideally reflect your brand values). Will you write in a soft, subtle and understated way? Or in a much more confident and loud manner? Are you funny or serious? Offer-led or brand-led? Try not to chop and change your tone - people won't know what you stand for.
9. Everything must be consitent - Overall, think of everything as one big joined up brand, anchored by your brand values. Every touchpoint - from your logo and colours, right the way through to your messaging and imagery - goes into making up what your customers think of your business. This consistent journey needs to be obvious to them when they walk into your shop, visit your website, see you at an event, or when they spot you on social media. Consistency builds confidence and trust in a brand.
10. Your brand is a never-ending story - Finally - and most importantly - you need to think of your brand as an ongoing, a never-ending dialogue with your customers. If you stop talking to them in the engaging ways that they're used to, they'll soon get distracted by someone else. Keep surprising and delighting them with new content. Giving birth to a brand is only the start - it's how the brand grows up is what most people get wrong.

Find out more by joining Stuart Lang from We Launch Brands on LinkedIn