Branding is one of the most important aspects of a company because it is how the public pictures any given company in its mind. When they think of Nike, they see athletes, running, physicality. When they think of REI, they picture mountains, camping, and outdoor activities. You can hire all the celebrities you want to wear your clothes or use your brand of hiking poles, but a paycheck to some name does not a successful brand make.
You need to have the trust of your audience to make a great brand. Having the confidence of the public in what you make elevates you Everything else that comes along with it is simply flavor.
How do you earn trust?
Show the product doing what it's made to do.
Achieve this by making products that stand out and scream quality. People like knowing what they're buying and are willing to spend money on items that they've seen at work. Showing the products doing what they're advertised to do will help solidify that isn't vaporware — built to vanish as soon as the going gets tough. Since there are laws that the public knows about that specifically state Adidas cannot say that their shoes cure cancer, they can watch an ad or see a sponsored individual using a product and trust that it can do what it says it can do.
Have a consistent voice.
It would be strange if DuPont put out an ad about their bleach using a unicorn and 80's graphics. I'd welcome a shakeup, but that isn't their brand for their line of cleaning products. They are dependable, simple, and keep a traditional look that says, 'Hey, I'm more stable than your last boyfriend. Take me home.'
Now, if Old Spice did the unicorn thing, no one would think it was odd. A fair share of the public would think it was a tame ad unless a cat popped out of the mythical creature with a Terry Crews head yelling at the audience.
Then that would be on point.
Having a voice that stays consistent with your product is paramount. Once you catch the cultural zeitgeist with your brand's ad copy, it's tough to change course on it. Your brand's voice isn't just the ad copy. It's the graphical look, color choices, and overall themes that it's trying to latch on to that magnifies the product in your buyer's mind. It's why you see Smokey the Bear in the woods rather than at a club. He's got no game in the nightlife of a city. He's a country bear who cares about stopping forest fires. City fires or how hot a nightclub is are not his forte.
By building up these two factors, you are going to make a brand that stands out with your target audience. Be authentic, be as transparent as possible, but most importantly have fun with it. Everyone remembers the fun one at a party, so stop being a wallflower with your product.
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