Branding: How Red-Fern Can Help You Build a Corporate Identity

In order to define corporate identity, first we need to define a brand.

In a nutshell, a brand is the specific term, name, symbol or design which helps your business stand out from the crowd.

We can use a timeless Jeff Bezos definition by saying that a brand is what people have to say about your business behind your back. Now, we’re ready to ask the question about corporate identity.

What is a corporate identity and what do we have to do to develop it? It's your business's reputation. It includes all the values and emotions your customers associate with your brand.

How Red-Fern Can Help You Build Corporate Brand Identity

Developing your corporate brand identity is a 5 step process which requires a thoughtful approach. To ensure it's successful, we'll guide you through these steps:

Step 1. Forecasting a Vision Statement

Your company’s vision statement should be inspirational. With your vision statement, you’re describing your future expectations. You need to make sure it’s not too long. In addition, don't explain how you plan to achieve your vision. This is something you’ll take care of later. Your vision statement has to address the following points:

• Your company’s most important services and products
• All things that are unique about your brand and business
• The simplest and most efficient way your customers can describe your business and brand
• Your company’s future in the next five years

We think this is a great example of a vision statement by Apple's CEO Tim Cook:

Step 2. Creating a Mission Statement

Your company’s mission statement defines the purpose of your business. It’s supposed be simple and easy to remember. A successful mission statement should be motivational for your customers and employees. While we're working on your company’s mission statement, we always consider these points:

• Specific market expectations your company needs to address
• What you should use to address these expectations
• What your company’s guiding principles are in this process
• What your company's competitive advantages are

A great example of a straightforward mission statement is by IKEA:

Step 3. Understanding Brand Essence

Your brand essence is the very heart and soul of your company, it's all that your company stands for. In order to determine your brand essence, we'll help you address the following points:

• What kind of emotions your customers associate with your product, business or service
• Help you picture your brand as a person, and how to describe “it”

Here's a link to a slideshare that shows examples of what brand essence means: The 9 Criteria for Brand Essence.

Step 4. Building Brand Personality

If your brand was a person, how would “he/she” speak, behave, act, and react. Associate human characteristics and emotions to your brand. Here are some questions to consider when you’re feeling your brand’s personality:

• Is it fun and lighthearted?
• Is it more serious and only about the business?
• Is it down-to-earth/corporate?
• Is it mainly matter-of-fact or playful?

Step 5. Offer a Value Proposition

The final step includes a value proposition or a brand positioning statement. Red-Fern can help you create a simple statement that addresses your unique business value and benefits your customers can expect. Consider the following points when creating your statement:

• Your target audience: market, persona, and demographic
• The specific market segments you want to address
• Your brand’s emotional and rational main message
• Your specific competitive advantages

The most important part: Implementing your brand identity into your marketing strategy

Once you have clearly identified and specified your brand’s identity, you’re ready to blend it into your marketing strategy. You need to address the following points:

1. What are your marketing strategy deliverables?

Are you planning to launch a website, create an infographic or a white-paper? Maybe an email campaign? If you're an inbound marketing client client with Red-Fern, we'll help you create your messages in the correct style and tone. Find out more about inbound marketing by reading our guide.

2. How do you plan to accomplish your goals?

We'll tie your brand’s identity into to your marketing strategy and define a method to achieve your goals.

3. Who is your target audience?

You need to be crystal clear about your target audience. We'll help you develop buyer personas so you can better understand your customers.

4. What are your main messages?

The best way to determine them is to derive all essential elements from your brand's vision and mission statement. Those messages should be a key theme throughout your strategy, you'll reinforce them regularly.

5. What kind of a reaction or emotions do you plan to provoke?

For this particular point, you’ll use the findings from the brand’s essence section. These will enter the strategy in more nuanced fashion, through image selection, language, style and tone.

6. How do you plan to build credibility?

We'll help you build corporate credibility. What can you offer better than your competitors? What makes your service the best? Building corporate credibility staples your brand as the go to business in your industry.

7. Can you anticipate all potential obstacles and restrictions?

We'll help you predict any obstacles you may encounter with prior knowledge and proactive thought process. Realistically, you have to be reactive in some situations but it's always better to try and avoid a problem when possible.

Why Choose Us?

As a digital marketing company with many years’ experience, Red-Fern can help you create a corporate brand identity with impact. We manage everything from web design to marketing.

We’ve worked with successful companies throughout Lancashire, in Blackburn, Burnley, and Manchester. Our scope is large and we always meet our client’s needs wherever they are!

In partnership, our expert team works on a unique brand identity, which translates into an exciting brand strategy. A strategy that captures the core values of your business and stands out online.

Maintaining a positive brand identity will help you establish a functional network between different business associates. You can test your brand identity by gaining information from your customers after they've purchased in your online shop.

Branding Websites

Our talented graphic designers, web programmers and marketing executives ensure your company’s website is distinctive. We always listen carefully to your requirements, paying attention to the little details.

We make sure that your customers have access to your company’s products or services on any device - whether it’s a PC, tablet or mobile. Your company is always accessible.

This means you’ll reach a much bigger market. Even if your company relies on local business, you can reach customers in any other part of the UK – or even the other side of the world!

We'll Get You Noticed

Red-Fern is the agency to get you noticed. We are capable of putting your company at the number one position in Google or any other search engine.

So experience a significant increase in your sales with Red-Fern – we’ll provide you with a strong corporate identity and the visibility you need.

At Red Fern, we understand time is money - for you and for your customers. So don't waste it. Boosting your popularity online is only a click away – contact us now to learn how.

Invest in Your Future

Your brand identity goes hand-in-hand with your marketing strategy. Developing a successful brand identity requires a lot of time and energy.

Choosing a digital team with a proven track record improves your chance of achieving desirable results. Investing in your corporate brand identity means investing in your company’s future.

Editor's note: This post has been revamped and updated for 2018. At Red-Fern, we love keeping our content fresh, it ensures our articles are relevant and accurate!