The most important aspect of any business is branding. The brand is your promise to the customer, and as Philip Kotler, the marketing genius, says,’ if you are not a brand, you are not a commodity‘. As a startup, there are a number of issues which will require your immediate attention, but a brand building is as important as any other demand that you will face. The brand is your identity in the commercial market; it single-handedly tells the customers about your product and lures them to try it. The brand will also be the significant difference between your competitor and you. As a new fish in the sea, establishing an identity and a fan base will quickly make you grow enough to take on the big fish.
Being an entrepreneur, with no experience in branding, one may soon find himself lost in the marketing world. Not only that, branding isn’t easy. It requires a lot of time, money and it must be the reflection of your product, in the truest sense. Take a look around- you will find perfect examples of how branding has turned the profit tables for several giants in the world. From the way we drink a cola to the way we network- the branding has been the reason for it all. In this article, we aim to find out how some of the big names earned our trust and recognition by using their brands impressively.
48% of consumers said that the most critical time to gain their loyalty is when they make their first purchase or begin service.
Mobile Focused Facebook Logo
Adapt to the changing technology; no matter how big or small your business is.
In June 2015, the social networking hulk, Facebook, made a small but significant change in its logo. This brave step, a transition from what users associated Facebook with for more than ten years, was indeed a step into the future. The new logo aroused a number of eyebrows, with Armin Vit calling it ‘more generic‘ than the previous one.
But, as Josh Higgins, Creative Director at Facebook says, “now that we are established, we set out to modernize the logo to make it feel more friendly and approachable.”
This step into the future was taken keeping in mind the sheer number of people who used Facebook from their mobile phones. As 1.4 million users log onto Facebook every day, 87% check in from their mobile phones, which is a leap of 79% from 2014.
The mobile driven change has enabled the cellphone users to read the logo more clearly by reducing the fuzziness created because of the back glow light from the phones. This change in logo to better adapt to the palm devices, is one of the most well-thought strategies of Facebook.
Brand Coca- Cola
Brand is the face of a commodity
The beverage king of the world, Coca-Cola, has encompassed all the branding standards. Imagine if tomorrow you see a green can of soda with Coca Cola written over it, will you buy it? Probably no. That’s because you wouldn’t trust a green soda can as it doesn’t match with what you imagine the genuine Coke can be. The colour, the font, the motifs and even the experience, forms the base for the beverage honcho’s branding and advertisements. The red and white can, no matter where we see it, delivers the coke promise of being crisp and refreshing. Even when the company changed the brand tagline “Open Happiness” for “Taste the Feeling“, the company ensured that the colours remain the same.
The smart move by this company to incorporate the branding colours and fonts in all the advertisements and media presence has created an ever recognizable brand.
Brand Amazon
Customer centric approach is the key to success
One of the most recognizable companies of this century, Amazon, serves more regions of the world than any other company. The e-commerce giant had a humble beginning in 1995, only to rule the online market several years later. Jeff Bezos started Amazon out of a garage selling books. From selling books to selling everything, this business has emerged as the strong US $265 billion platform. The success of this company can be attributed to its customer centric approach. As the company has always ensured that customers are the top priority, it has instilled a sense of loyalty and faith among the consumers, making it an ultra successful brand. Despite the vast expansion over the years, one thing has remained unchanged in its strategy- the innovation to enhance the shopping experience of the customer. From the low prices to a wide range of product availability, Amazon ensures that it delivers all.
The brand logo, which is the face of the business, has been carefully selected as well. The yellow arrow between ‘A’ and ‘Z’ indicates that it sells a wide variety of products, ranging from A to Z.
Brand Google
Focus the attention; expand once established
The search engine company has drastically changed the way we receive information on the internet. Before the year 2000, this company solely focused on ‘search’ on the internet. Once a strong competitor of Google, Yahoo! was $140 billion worth dominant ruler of the search engine world. As Yahoo! diversified into the mail, games, groups, etc., the net worth fell to a tiny $30 billion with $25 billion being because of holdings in Alibaba.
But, Google remained a search engine for a long time and is currently valued at $527 billion. In late 2000 when Google launched Adwords, it quietly crawled into different sectors to rule a major chunk of online services. Although being launched as a search engine in competition to Yahoo, the maximum profit for this tech honcho is brought in by the advertising, followed by other services it offers. However, with Alphabet emerging as the most valuable company on the planet, Google can now, once again, continue to narrow its attention on being a favorite search engine.
Brand Nike
Indulge in emotional story telling
The sports manufacturer’s ‘tick mark’ logo is practically synonymous with the brand name. The branding strategy of Nike is simple- emotional branding technique. The advertisements revolve around a story, narrating how a lazy person becomes fit after indulging into a series of exercises.
This emotional storytelling inspires the customers to try the products with a hope to become fitter. Nike branding strategy is excellent because it makes the viewer the hero, as opposite to other brands, where the hero is an outsider. This technique of self-loathing to self-loving has done wonders for this company as it has become a $2.13 billion strong brand.
Brand Uber
Specific colours and themes can make you look more attractive and provide easy recognition
The most recent company to change its logo is Uber. Launched in 2009, the company has come a long way from being a ride for 100 friends in San Francisco to providing transportation in 68 countries of the world. Travis Kalanick, CEO and co- founder of Uber, announced this drastic step on the company’s official page.
Travis’ post mentions the colourful history of Uber and reads, “Uber began life as a black car service for 100 friends in San Francisco—everyone’s private driver. Today, we’re a transportation network spanning 400 cities in 68 countries that delivers food and packages, as well as people, all at the push of a button. And thanks to services like uberX and uberPOOL, we’ve gone from a luxury, to an affordable luxury, to an everyday transportation option for millions of people.”
The new app logo does not have the traditional ‘U’ anymore. Instead, one will find a network of lines with a square at the centre. According to Uber, the square represents a ‘bit’ that will appear on the website and the app. The bit will be essential as it will ease the addition of services and products in the future. Colour scheme is another very fascinating addition by Uber. Every country has been assigned a peculiar set of colours and themes. The driver’s app has been changed to have red as the background.
This futuristic plunge was taken keeping in mind the maturity and the growth that the company has attained. Kalanick describes the new Uber logo as a lot ‘more grounded and elevated,’ and will help users ‘see Uber from afar, and when it’s in small places.’ Uber is currently valued at 62 billion USD and has deseeded more than a century old, GM, from the top position. The immense success of this less than a decade old company has swirled the heads of many brilliant minds at Bay Area and the world, alike.
Brands aren’t created in brainstorms. They’re the reflection of an existing set of truths about your company, your values, your audience and, well, you.
