Can’t Keep Up? Good: How To Build A Brand Identity That’s Bigger Than A Trend.
Consumer culture has beckoned a new golden era of the ad. Everywhere you go these days there is an ad. It is assumed that the average person sees about 4,000 - 10,000 ads a day, which has skyrocketed from the measly 500 - 1600 ads we saw in the 70s. Digital marketing has been an entrepreneurial godsend, many businesses today have gotten their start by building audiences online. The humble brick-and-mortar has fizzled in the wake of the digital age. However, with this rate of advertising, and the sheer number of brands competing for eyeballs in the consumer space, how does one stand out?
It seems every day, publications are repurposing already existing products, associating them with a new trend concept, such as the tomato girl, or clean girl aesthetic, and sending it out into the world, praying that consumers, even if for a brief shining moment, buy into the new trend.
The prevailing assumption amongst marketers is that the trend cycle dominates consumer patterns, and it seems they may be correct, as we observe viral products that surge in popularity, and subsequently sales, according to the triumphant trend of the moment. However, is this a good long-term strategy? There are limitations to building a brand that takes its cues based on the current trend cycle. One particular pitfall is that your brand doesn’t get its own identity that speaks to its direct audience. It is essentially a chameleon. This may fare fine in the short-term, when the trend it's catering to is popular, but doesn’t bode well in generating long-term brand recognition. We can all think of brands, certain celebrity brands perhaps *cough cough*, that have capitalized on virality but couldn’t stand the test of time.
The key element to a long-term brand strategy, one that generates a loyal (as well as paying ) audience, is doing one thing well. Never fraying from the ethos of the brand, no matter what the trend cycle may demand. That being said, here are a few tips to build a brand identity that outlasts the trend cycles, stays true to its loyal audience, and places its bets on the long haul.
Tip 1:
Greed isn’t good.
Oftentimes, the driving force behind trend cycles is greed. We live in a capitalist society, you heard it here first. Corporations are always looking for ways to tap into fresh sources of demand in an overly saturated market. This is an understandable temptation, however, it isn’t sustainable. Brands built based on a brief trends tend to fizzle out. So when it comes to making decisions about your packaging, visual identity, brand ethos, or product, don’t chase the noise even if it's screaming “money”. Make sure that these decisions, which will stay with your brand for a sizeable period of time, are based on strategy.
Tip 2:
Ask the people.
If you manage to capture an audience through tapping into viral trends, think about how you can make them stay. By strengthening your relationship with your captured audience, through various forms of interaction, you can take a brand that wasn’t created with a specific audience in mind, and tailor it to an existing one. Rather than trailing the general population through trend chasing, focus on the audience you have captured, to retain long-term loyalty.
Tip 3:
It’s not all about the aesthetic.
We live in the age of the brand. Due to social media, we are all somewhat versed in image curation. This means that when making decisions for our brand, we tend to think of aesthetics before function. The amount of packaging I see these days that is just bright colours and bubble-lettered font makes me wince. Some of our most recognizable brands don’t have the cutest packaging or the prettiest logo. Yet, we still recognize them instantly, and therefore, they never go unnoticed. It’s why Burger King recently changed its logo to something distinctively similar to its previously longest-reigning logo. Recognizability is a must-have, pretty is a nice to have – take it from someone who loves pretty.
