Branding – why being unique, consistent and recognisable is important

Your branding is the one thing you want everyone to instantly recognise as belonging to your company – and only to your company. It affects everything your business does – from talking to your customers to designing your business cards. Branding not only means creating a suitable logo and a letterhead it also includes brand colours and a tone of voice for internal and external communication. So, when it comes to your branding there is a lot to consider.

Your brand’s story and identity define its purpose and guides your choice for visual parts such as logo, colour palette, imagery, and font. The brand story usually not only includes your brand's values but also a tone of voice and emotions you want your customers to connect with your brand. Branding should be consistent and easy to remember, and you must also give your brand a personality in order to decide how it “speaks” to customers and what values it represents internally and externally. The combination of visual assets, personality and consistency will create a distinctive appearance that helps your brand to make its ways into customers’ minds and hearts.

Aiming for a local or a global presence?

Global brands and products make consumers feel connected to the wider world. It seems desirable for marketers and business owners to create attractive brands that constantly grow awareness and revenue and eventually become a globally known brand. But this often implies cultural and legal challenges. Further, your brand's identity could get lost on the journey across the ditch. Thinking about the long-term strategy and goals for your brand is therefore important in the very beginning.

This might help with your decision: when it comes to choosing a product, more than half of New Zealanders prefer NZ made brands and products. Multi-nationals often struggle to localise global products. Waiting for approvals and resources from global Head Quarters decreases their flexibility to quickly adapt to local culture, changing consumer behaviour and needs. Kiwis see the simple things in life as appealing and aspirational, keeping it local makes your company and brand more desirable.

What makes a successful and iconic New Zealand brand?

New Zealand’s preference for locally owned and produced brands doesn’t mean it’s an easy win for local companies, there is no automatic pass for Kiwi brands. Trying alternative brands is more than “giving it a go”, it’s a celebration of simple these days. At the same time, consumers can be very critical of marketing efforts. Brands need to show how they care by taking a stand and not only position their brand as ethical on a piece of paper. Empty campaigns are disconnecting, and brands will stand no chance in their critical eyes. 

New Zealanders want brands that are best practice in what they do in order to get their attention. Our beautiful country is no longer just a nice place to live or visit, it is also perceived as a concept with a unique culture and distinctive ability for creative problem-solving. Brands and advertising that symbolise and cherish New Zealand’s values are likely to be viewed as meaningful and will be more successful. While global players have better access to resources, local companies act more agile in decision-making from innovation concepts to launch. New Zealand’s ability of problem-solving paired with their market knowledge will give local companies the great advantage to innovate in areas of emerging needs to get ahead of the competition.

Claudia x

Sources:

https://www.nielsen.com/nz/en/insights/article/2016/made-in-nz-preferences-for-global-and-local-brands/