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Knowing Your Brand is Essential
Whether you are a small business owner responsible for multiple levels of the company or hold the entitled proposal manager title, it is important to keep the brand in mind with everything that you produce. When building or addressing your brand, keep the following in mind:
Branding is like stacking stones. In order to build a brand or create brand equity, you must steer/communicate the brand to the consumer. You do this like building a wall of stones because you build a brand by putting out details in a focused way that is created by you, then built, and becomes increasingly positive as the wall rises. The best brands are simple, relevant, narrow, and memorable. You aren’t just throwing stones out there.
Brand standards must be consistent and identified. Brand standards are developed in order to keep a consistent image/identity of the brand in the minds of everyone taking a peek at your company or organization. Important elements include: brand name, full name, common name, type, representation, logo, colors, word mark, variations, implicit/explicit meaning in logo, type, patterns, shapes/die-cuts, and images. Brand standards will allow you to apply simple, identifiable elements to every document you put out there.
Brands have underlying goals and values. It is important to incorporate your organizations key values into everything you write, say, or prepare for clients. The mission or vision statements should be starting points as to how you begin work on projects or focus your brand. These underlie everything else and are essential to the branding process.
Good luck!
