Don’t Break Character: Why Branding Is Bigger Than Visuals

If you have thought about starting a brand or already started one you know about the basics of branding. Branding 101. it’s the thing you get when you Google “What do I need to know when starting a brand?”. You’ve probably thought of your logo, a potential colour palette, maybe even a mascot to give your brand some oomph, make it stand out in a sea of great branding. Everyone knows about the basics of branding. But, what if there is more to it?

Here is the thing. We are living in the age of the brand. The internet has become increasingly fragmented, every little corner of it is a small audience. Everyday people are pushing out new products, new services, new everything to cater to these many fragmented audiences. It’s why celebrities keep churning out skincare brands despite the plethora of competition out there, we know that there is still demand. However, audience segmentation is now more important than ever. Take Liquid Death for example.

The genius canned water brand. Liquid Death takes on a very specific brand persona, that speaks to the audience that inspired its product. Heavy metal concert goers. Everything about the brand speaks to this specific audience. And at the beginning of Liquid Death's journey, they placed their product in places its audience frequented, such as tattoo parlours. However, Liquid Death uses its hilarious sense of irony in its marketing to emphasize its brand identity. It is an ironic product, a canned water brand that uses gothic imagery and frequently features zombies is a far cry from the visions of waterfalls we see in traditional water brand ads. Ordinarily one wouldn’t think of water and think of death. But that irony gives it a sense of intrigue. Not only is Liquid Death able to fit in perfectly in the world of its initial target audience, it’s unique enough to draw in interest from outsiders looking in. They stay true to the brand personality that was inspired by their initial target audience, and they don’t break character. 

Building a brand personality that is resonant in every aspect of a company takes a lot of effort and consistency. But here are a few tips to get you started: 

Tip 1:

Watch your tone.

Visuals are immensely important, yes. However, how you interact with a customer at every stage is a factor that can influence the feel of your brand. Think of brands that have an immerse feel to them, from the visuals to the announcement emails they send you. There is a sense of consistency. Having a brand identity that includes a well considered tone of voice is a tip to help in this area. Building your brand’s visual identity in tandem with your communication strategy is also a great way to make sure these two aspects of marketing inform one another. 

Tip 2:

Remember to do it for the culture. 

The internet, where a lot of branding lives, loves to exchange memes and key cultural moments almost every second of the day. As I said before however, this is becoming increasingly fragmented. There are niche cultures within, niche cultures…within niche cultures. When it comes to tapping into culture, keeping our fingers on that pulse is key to connecting with an audience. However, our fingers don’t need to be on every pulse. Find out what else your audience cares about. For example, if I consistently workout and own one of those special running vests, perhaps I really care about my health. In terms of media, I probably listen to the Huberman Labs Podcast. Therefore, a well-timed Huberman husbands meme is something I would appreciate. If fit into the target audience you are speaking to, that is the kind of cultural trend you should be referencing in your marketing content. You don’t have to keep up with everything, but you do have to keep up with what matters to your audience. 

Tip 3:

Come prepared. 

Ad hoc branding is difficult to execute. Churning out content that is impactful and draws your audience's attention is a constant endeavor; having resources that help make the job easier is vital to success. Templates are essential components to making sure the work of producing content is easier. Whether it’s templates for social media posts or email marketing, having a layout for how your content should look and sound helps you stay consistently within your overall brand messaging, and you save a lot of time contemplating what to create.