What does brand evolution look like?
Medium Read
As Apple continues its reign as arguably the most valuable brand on the planet ever, taking their brand loyalty to new heights in an otherwise non-committal age, what should other companies be doing to ensure they build a relevant and robust brand?
An interesting example of a brand who refused to stay still is Nokia, who actually began life in 1865 as a Finnish wood pulp mill and have evolved their offer to ensure their continued relevance across three centuries – though they have experienced challenges to remain relevant in recent years.
Most of our clients need digital transformation because they’ve either fallen behind, or the industry has moved, or they need to think of new ways to diversify and innovate. It’s a catch up, but it doesn’t end. If it ends, you’ll need another one in a few years’ time. It’s more of a continuum of the transformation – this is my number one piece of advice.
Here at Nalla, the brand evolution journey can be loosely broken down into these key stages:
Immersion
Understanding your organisation, your offer and your pain points. We strive to understand where your organisation is now, and what you’re looking to achieve. Although measuring this from the start of your journey can be tricky, we have tools and insights to help you get started.
Most importantly, immersion is a process of working with you to build a profile of your customer, allowing us to understand their needs and what makes them tick.
Strategy
Positioning your brand in a place that will support you in reaching your business goals.
Ensuring your offer is portrayed in a way that will appeal to your audience, talking about the right things effectively and often streamlining how you introduce yourself.
Tone of voice
Making sure that you talk in the right manner for your customer, but equally importantly that you are telling them the right story.
Using the insights into your customer to tailor a message that resonates.
Visual identity
Once we have a deep understanding of you, your audience and how we should speak to them, we embark on the creative stuff – crafting your visual identity.
By gathering insights before we let our designers loose, we have a deep understanding of what will make a successful brand – and we engage you in the process, so that you understand what influences our creative choices.
Brand touchpoints
Identifying and mapping your brand touchpoints allows us to prioritise the roll out of your brand.
Generally, touchpoints are categorised by your main channels of communication – this could be ‘pre-purchase’, ‘during purchase’ and ‘post-purchase’ for a consumer brand, for example.
Implementation
Using the priorities which have been set and mapped into your marketing plan, we can begin to roll your new brand out, starting with the touchpoints that have been identified as the highest priorities.
We can then take a phased approach, which is often far more achievable and cost effective than an ‘all guns blazing’ approach.
…and Review
Crucially, branding is not a linear process – in the same way as academics strive to expand their knowledge over the course of their life, a brand should continue to invest in its development.
Through ongoing cycles of review and refinement, alongside a consistent marketing focus, you can ensure your brand stays relevant as the world – and your customers – evolve around you.
Gathering and using insights and data to measure the effectiveness of your brand, can be the difference between growth and being left behind.
Related content
Inherited a Brand? How to Evolve It Without Losing Equity
How to talk to the next generation without losing everyone else
How to Write an RFP That Actually Gets You Bold Work
The Riskiest Thing Your Brand Can Do Is Play It Safe
