You’re tired of hearing that ‘a brand isn’t just a logo’ – which is like saying there’s more to PR than press releases. It drives you nuts that nobody has a good answer for what a brand is beyond the logo, or is able to convince you to hire a brand consultancy as large corporates do.

As an entrepreneur, your mandate is to be better than your industry, so why would you waste several months on such a marginal detail? You’ve got a point. Take MasterCard, who spent millions on what I’d term an ‘aesthetically challenged’ rebrand in 2006 – only to revert back to its old identity a few years later. You fail to see how branding would add value to your bottom line. In a nutshell, you’re wondering when you’ll come across a simple explanation of what successful branding actually entails, how it’s done in a lean fashion, and what’s in it for you. Or maybe you just don’t care at all.

Thing is, you should. A company’s brand has the potential to be its single most valuable asset. 74 per cent of McDonald’s overall valuation attributes to its brand. Even for businesses with extensive IP, such as Mercedes-Benz, that number is still just below 50 per cent; in one word – massive. You really think Nest would have sold above 3 billion US$ had it just improved the technology of thermostats, and not fundamentally invested in re-imagining the experience of using it toward something people actually enjoyed? That’s what real branding is about.

Sounds complicated? In eight years of building hero brands with start-ups, I think I found the answers you are looking for. With a little guidance, you’ll build a great brand faster than you’d imagine. To get you started on the journey, I created a handy tool that I call the Brand Canvas.

Like a business model canvas, it covers all essential aspects of your brand in a single overview. From your canvas, you derive your brand MVP, and iterate until it looks and feels just right. Blue-tack it to your office wall, know it by heart and go build your hero brand with it.

You still have no idea what branding means for your start-up? Let me surprise you – by doing what you do, you already have all the foundations of good branding. Our most valuable global icons today, be it Google, McDonald’s, Mercedes-Benz or Red Bull, all evolved from a captivating story, a disruptive idea turned into a great business model.

Few people truly believe such value can be artificially created, and it looks like history is proving them right. For a start-up like you, that’s big news. Unlike your corporate counterparts, you don’t have to manufacture a brand story: You simply tell customers why you’re here today and have the most essential part of your brand (ethos and purpose) already covered.

As brand consultants, it’s our job to facilitate that story and narrate it in the best possible way. We help associate all your operational activities into that greater something – regardless of whether you’re building a dating app or providing advice on athlete’s foot prevention. Us branding folks are no wizards, but our key skill lies in revealing what will make you stand out, and selling this at a premium to your customers. You’re not so sure anything really makes you different?

You may not be aware of it, but trust me – it exists and discovering it may go a long way. Remember the makeover shows on TV? Nearly everyone comes out of those looking sharp and feeling confident. If, say, you’re a little chubby and up for a new look, dressing well is a start, but you’ve still to undergo a lot of exercises to stand a chance of winning a beauty pageant. You’ll see real change only once you start seriously working out and change your mindset. Your brand in this analogy is the purpose you find in doing it.

So now that you know the theory, here’s a step-by-step guide to put it into practice:

1. Have a look at all the stuff you’ve created so far, and agree on a single sentence to define your company.

2. Review your existing brand assets (logo, style guide, etc.)

a. Does it correspond to what you’ve defined in step 1? Note down how you can achieve a closer match

b. Research three brands you admire. How you fare against them, and what can you improve? Keep track of all the suggestions and ideas you come up with.

c. Ask around for branding best practice publications. Does your brand withstand the expert assessment? Based on your result, evaluate how professional you communicate, and try to see which suggestions you can follow.

3. Show your brand to a handful of strangers in all age groups. What feedback are you getting? Focus on logging discrepancies between what you want to be and what people think you are.

4. Reflect on everything you’ve discovered so far. Imagine your brand was a person, and describe it in detail – strengths, weaknesses, aspirations, past life, and so on. Be sure to get this spot-on, and iterate until you get it just right. Make use of Brand Archetypes if you like.

5. Plot all the channels and stakeholders of your brand. Put yourself in their shoes and think about what they would need and want from your brand (i.e. the person you just defined), and what you currently deliver. Highlight the biggest gaps, and take a good look at what needs fixing; then design your game plan.

6. Write a short scenario of where you see your brand in year 20xx. Summarize it in a vision statement. Keep evaluating your defined course of action against it as you go about making changes and implementing improvements.

This post covers the DNA of iconic brands and a simple manual on how to go about building one. It should help you become your own brand champion and spot a savvy brand guru to give you a hand among the many fencers with dull sabres.

Think of us honourable brand samurai as a fusion of motivational speaker, style advisor and fitness coach (rather than a mix of graphic designer and chief bullshit officer). Thank you and good luck!

 

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This article was previously published on LinkedIn

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