A strong brand is a priceless commodity for any organization, but it can be a difficult asset to fully understand and develop.

It is vital to first understand your company and its goals in order to build a successful brand which achieves authenticity and consistency in message—a look and tone for every interaction with your audience, every time. There is a complete process involved in revealing a brand’s strengths, along with its weaknesses, and then creating a marketing strategy to leverage those strengths.

It is more than just a company logo or tagline, a strong brand does many things:

• Increases corporate, product or service value.
• Differentiates you from competition.
• Elevates your organization into the consideration set.
• Simplifies purchasing decisions.
• Positions a company, item or idea for higher awareness.
• Creates a better opportunity to receive funding support.
• Reduces risk and anxiety for buyers, builds trust.
• Enhances the self-image of consumers who select this brand.
• Establishes an emotional connection between companies, products and people.
• Establishes a trajectory for corporate growth.

The brand statement—the promise that you make to your customers—is the foundation for the brand. This statement serves as the springboard for communication plans, visual and messaging standards that will keep communications consistent across all touch points to reach your audiences effectively. The brand profile also creates “umbrella” messaging that can be used across multiple platforms and organizations within your company.

Some of TVG’s brand development tactics include: branding sessions, building a positioning pyramid, developing a brand map and main messages, training employees on verbal communication of your brand, and creating graphic elements such as a logo or web site which consistently delivers your brand.

Contact us at tvg@vandivergroup.com or send comments to blog@vandivergroup.com.