Establishing Credibility through Branding Principles Pt.2 by Stephen M. Coats

Last year, I suggested some basic branding principles for use in promoting your project or product. You can revisit that discussion on creating a clear name, an eye-catching logo, a meaningful tagline, and a lively color scheme by clicking this link. Now, let’s keep thinking and planning to make your brand identity more credible using more advanced techniques. Branding is an ongoing, iterative process. It is what distinguishes you from others, getting you noticed with your unique stamp. 

THEMED IMAGERY

Assuming you have chosen a clear name, an eye-catching logo, and a meaningful tagline, next you need to coordinate Themed Imagery to reinforce the visual synergy that connects your entire brand into the same unified message. Photos, illustrations, and icons must visually tell the same story as your words. Try to unify across all platforms to prevent muddled confusion. Your visual messaging is a key part of your first impression. For example, the brand name Sabeel Media, has a tagline, “A Wellspring of Media Arts” so its imagery should match the liquid, water, and life-giving spring tones.

CORE ESSENCE

Your brand essence is not what you do, but the specific way you do things– your organization’s tone of voice, soul, unique style, and the manner in which you do what you do. It defines your internal culture and external personality. This can often flow out of your mission and vision statements as you look towards the future change you want to create.  The foundational words you choose to include in your core beliefs and values statements will give you indications of your essence. Your specific paradigm, ethos, and core philosophy are on the line. You should also consider an emotional target or the exact feeling you want to elicit when customers experience your brand. Consider Liquid Death Mountain Water’s brand soul. Their name, slogan "Murder your thirst", graphics, colors, and imagery all make one ‘feel’ something aggressively urgent about not going thirsty, survival, choosing life over death.

UNIQUENESS

Clearly identify what distinguishes you from the crowd. How does your brand do things differently from other similar brands? Isolate the unique method and special ways you use to make or do something. Determine exactly what kind of niche brand you are, alongside your distinct style. People know the norm and they naturally want something different.  Ensure your approach and paradigm are distinct enough to prevent being confused with other organizations or products –avoiding the trap of mistaken identity. For example: there is more than one organization called Sabeel Media. Looking at these two logos side by side, can you tell which one is “a wellspring of media arts”? If not, then they should consider a logo redesign!

TRANSPARENCY

Openness about your program or product creates less suspicion among your audience and stakeholders. True credibility requires being clear and entirely honest about how you operate. Your associations, where your funding comes from, the source of your religious texts are all crucial if you want to have an ongoing relationship with your audience.  As best you can, publicly share your professional connections, links, partnerships, and financial supporters. This sounds scary for those working in ‘secure’ locations trying to protect those they work with. But it will pay off in the long run. Be as public as you can with as much as you can. Customers also don’t expect you to tell it all.  Seek to find a good security balance, carefully navigating the natural tension between transparency and necessary security protocols. It’s not easy. But study this and seek ways to use this to your brand’s advantage. Balanced transparency will increase your followers.

VALUE vs QUALITY

Doesn’t everyone want a good deal? They want to save money, get a good product at a nice price. It just feels right! Customers always weigh whether your brand represents the "real deal" or a subpar second option. You have to consider this.  In our non-profit world, value may not be reflected in how much someone pays for the program/product since much of our products are free to the user, but special value can still come across in the exceptional quality provided for free, further increasing audience connection.  Aim for an audience reaction where they say, "Wow, that was very good and I didn’t pay anything." That reaction drives them to share your brand with others by word of mouth, one of the oldest and most effective distribution techniques!

Think of how consumers pay more for a name-brand product over a generic option because of brand name only. Why? They perceive the name brand has a higher quality, better taste, is safer, and is more trusted.  Others will want to choose to get a cheaper price and a good deal by paying less for what they perceive is the same exact product.  For example: Nestle ice cream bars compared to the store brand…

TRUST

Finally, credibility relies entirely on your reputation. Audiences constantly evaluate whether you are an insider who truly understands them, or an outsider. State your program/product goals clearly and up front. Your brand promise will establish if you are coming through on your end of the ‘bargain’ with your customer. Never use tricky or deceptive language that could shatter the user trust bond. Nobody likes the “bait’-and-switch” it just feels gross. People are generally suspicious, wondering, “are you for me or against me?” If customers trust you they will be loyal and come back again and again.  People spend time with those they have a relationship with. Try to build an audience relationship-component into your brand. Make it sort of like a family, with a ‘come and join us’ or ‘be a part of something special’ invitation. 

If you want to take your brand strategy further, please reach out to me at stephen_coats@sil.org. I would be happy to set up a consultation with you and try to move you forward in a positive way!

Stephen M. Coats has a passion for stories, culture, and the media arts!  He worked in the Film/Television industry in Hollywood for five years, working in a variety of production and story development roles.  Stephen earned a BA in Communications with an emphasis on Radio/TV/Film from Biola University in1994. His taste for intercultural communities and communication continued for 17 years in culturally diverse Dearborn, Michigan, USA, where he and his wife raised their three kids and founded Sabeel Media. With 36 years of media experience, he now serves as a Media Consultant with SIL Global.