BREAKING: Flux Branding Contributes to SmartCups Victory in 2023, Clinching $250,000 Grand Prize
Kudos to Chris Kanik of SmartCups on clinching the grand prize of $250,000 investment from Gordon Ramsay in the 2023 edition of Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars! We’re ecstatic that we could play a role in refining your brand’s essence. Check out the video to see the brand strategy crafted by us that aided SmartCups in securing the coveted top spot.
When Hollywood comes knocking, Flux opens the door.
When Flux Branding was approached by a television producer last year, we were informed only that our expertise was sought for a new competitive reality show hosted by a prominent figure. Intrigued and eager to learn more, we engaged in several conversations and were eventually thrilled to discover that the show was Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars, and even more excitingly, Flux was handpicked by Ramsay for a pivotal role in the season finale.
Flux Branding with finalist Chris, the founder of Smart Cups, on Gordon Ramsey’s Food Stars.
The Challenge.
The series follows the journey of emerging food entrepreneurs, all competing for a life-changing $250,000 investment from Ramsay. Each episode involves a series of challenges, with contestants voting off the least successful until only one remains, combining elements of Top Chef, The Apprentice, and Shark Tank.
Our mission on the show was clear yet challenging: refine the brand messaging for one of the finalists, SmartCups, a food technology startup specializing in 3D printing dry ingredients. Ramsay saw potential in the contestant’s business but believed it needed a more accessible and intelligent narrative for consumers. Flux Branding appears to help this contestant go from confused to clarity.
Flux conducted an Ignite Session to uncover the essential brand promises that resonated the most. Following this, we developed an evolved Brand Platform that repositioned the brand for an exciting relaunch. Armed with this strategy, a pop-up storefront was created to showcase the brand as the final test to determine the winner.
Jamie & Olivia have their Network TV debut!
The culmination of our journey was a moment of immense pride and joy for the entire team at Flux Branding. After weeks of intense competition, nail-biting challenges, and tireless efforts to redefine and refine the brand messaging of SmartCups, the moment of truth arrived. SmartCups was announced as the winner! It wasn’t just a victory for innovative food tech, but a toast to the power of crystal-clear storytelling. It was a moment where technology met tradition, and a cup of innovation was raised to the timeless power of a well-crafted narrative. Cheers to SmartCups and to the alchemy of branding and innovation.
Clarifying your message.
Having a clear and compelling story behind your company is not only crucial for your customers but also for your investors. The value of potent messaging cannot be underestimated. Remember, successful branding isn’t just about being seen—it’s about being understood.
Perhaps you’re just exploring how to rebrand your business, or maybe you’re at the point where you’d like to bring in help from an expert branding agency in Los Angeles.
If you’re ready to embark on a project with the rebranding team at Flux, get in touch today.
AI seems to be everywhere these days. With the wide scale availability of numerous AI-generated imaging and text softwares, we’ve reached the tipping point. What was once the purview of programmers and scientists can now be used by anyone, anywhere. Artificial intelligence has been a presence in our lives for some time– but it is now quickly becoming incorporated onto the surface of how we live and work. The collaboration between human and machine is ever more apparent and undeniable. And this is what makes Refik Anadol’s “Living Paintings” such a timely and fascinating exhibition.
“Living Paintings” is Refik Anadol’s first major solo exhibition in Los Angeles, on view at Jeffrey Deitch until April 29, 2023. Truly hypnotic, Anadol’s AI-generated paintings transform data– images of national parks, ocean currents, electrical impulses of the brain– into abstract digital works that seem to leap from the confines of the LED framed screens that hold them. Colors and textures roil together, reminiscent of the natural world and also wholly distinct from it, like a landscape from a dream. It is both familiar and new, an unsettling combination that mimics the experience of conversing with a chatbot that’s so human you almost forget it’s not.
The exhibition forces us to consider the collaboration between human and machine, but also brings up interesting questions about different ways of seeing and knowing. What does it mean to see data like this? How does putting numbers or electrical impulses into these visualizations change their meaning? Don’t miss the large scale video in the room to the left of the gallery entrance– a 30 minute loop, its immersive scale, dazzling colors, and intricate animation feel like entering a new dimension.
Anadol’s body of work addresses the challenges, and the possibilities, that ubiquitous computing has imposed on humanity, and what it means to be a human in the age of AI. He explores how the perception and experience of time and space are radically changing now that machines dominate our everyday lives. Anadol is intrigued by the ways in which the digital age and machine intelligence allow for a new aesthetic technique to create enriched immersive environments that offer a dynamic perception of space.
Refik Anadol (b. 1985, Istanbul, Turkey) is an internationally renowned media artist, director, and pioneer in the aesthetics of machine intelligence. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California, where he owns and operates Refik Anadol Studio and RAS LAB, the Studio’s research practice centered around discovering and developing trailblazing approaches to data narratives. Anadol is also teaching at UCLA’s Department of Design Media Arts from which he obtained his Master of Fine Arts.
Would you describe Google as smart? SpaceX as bold and fearless? Hershey’s as an old friend?
Chances are, the brands you like have distinct, human-like traits. When you think of them, it’s like thinking of someone you know and like– they’re funny, reliable, comforting, exciting, or a whole host of other things. When you engage with them, you’re not just buying something. You feel like you’re connecting to a much bigger feeling.
Companies aren’t people. But successful brands make us feel like they are.
Powerful brands know who they are and speak it loud and clear, elevating transactions to meaningful connections. Successful brands have personality.
Knowing and expressing your brand personality means you’ll communicate beyond words. Connect directly to your customers’ hearts and minds.
This month, as we launch our new Brand Personality Quiz, we’re talking about the importance of personality in branding. What does it mean? How can you tap into it? Read on to find out.
Brand personality refers to a set of human traits and characteristics that are attributed to a brand. Just like people, brands use particular personality traits that help us understand who they are and what they’re all about. A brand personality is a way of defining the written and visual tone of a brand in human terms, and helps to create a human-like identity for the brand.
Your brand personality is something you sense innately about your own brand, simply based on the experience you give your customers and the kinds of services you offer. For example, a bank usually won’t be fun and silly, but will have a personality that feels trustworthy, safe, and formal. If your company is customer-centric and friendly, your personality might be more cheerful, upbeat, and casual.
All brands have a personality– but not all of them communicate it effectively across the many facets of their brand experience.
Why You Need a Brand Personality
Brands that have a well-defined personality create a deeper connection with their customers because they communicate a unique and recognizable identity that customers can relate to and feel emotionally connected to. A brand’s personality reflects its values, attitudes, and beliefs, and it humanizes the brand, making it more relatable and appealing to customers.
When customers feel that they share similar values and beliefs with a brand, they are more likely to form a bond with that brand, making their relationship more meaningful and long-lasting. A strong brand personality can also create an emotional connection by appealing to customers’ desires and emotions, whether it’s through creating a sense of security and stability, or by inspiring customers to pursue their dreams and reach their full potential.
But a brand personality isn’t just for your customers. It’s also for your competitors, your employees, and your stakeholders. Having a strong brand personality is important for a number of reasons:
Differentiation: A well-defined brand personality helps to differentiate a brand from its competitors and sets it apart in the market. This makes it easier for customers to identify and remember the brand, and can help to create a competitive advantage.
Emotional connection: A brand personality helps to establish an emotional connection with customers by creating a human-like personality for the brand. This emotional connection can lead to increased loyalty and a stronger bond between the brand and its customers. They aren’t just buying– they’re connecting.
Consistency: A strong brand personality provides consistency in the brand’s messaging and communication, making it easier for customers to recognize and remember the brand across all touchpoints. It also makes it easier for your marketing, branding, and social media teams to all stay on the same page, speaking with the same voice no matter where your brand shows up.
Credibility: A well-defined brand personality can help to build trust and credibility with customers by demonstrating the brand’s commitment to its values and identity. When you are authentically yourself, your customers take notice.
Marketing: A strong brand personality creates the foundation for creative campaigns that effectively target and engage with specific customer segments. And it’s not just that brands with personality engage more effectively with their audiences, it’s also that having a well-defined personality could save you tons of money in your marketing budget. When your personality is clear, your team knows who you are and how you show up, taking much of the guesswork out of creative campaign creation and streamlining the process. You won’t be getting the question, “Would our brand say that?”
How To Develop Your Brand Personality
Developing a strong brand personality requires a thoughtful and strategic approach. To express your brand personality, your brand adopts specific traits in visual, written, and experiential communication. But before you do, you need a deep and authentic understanding of what you do and why you do it. To uncover your brand personality, you’ll need to take several steps:
Conduct market research: Start by understanding your target audience, what they want and need, and what they look for in a brand. This information will help you identify the traits and characteristics that your target audience values and that can be incorporated into your brand personality. Ensure you also have a clear understanding of your competitors– you don’t want a personality that sounds exactly like everyone else.
Define your brand values: Clearly define the values that your brand stands for. What is your mission? What are you committed to? Why do you do what you do? Your brand values will shape the personality of your brand and help to guide your decisions.
Determine your brand voice: Decide on the tone and language that your brand will use in its communication. This voice should be consistent across all touchpoints, including your website, social media, advertising, and customer service. If you’re committed to brightening people’s lives, perhaps your voice is funny and cheerful. If you’re committed to protecting people from harm, perhaps your voice is serious and knowledgeable. Whatever you choose, it’s important that it comes from a deep understanding of your personality.
Create a visual identity: Develop a visual identity that reflects your brand personality. This can include things such as a logo, color palette, and typography. Your visual identity should be consistent with your brand personality and values– a brand that’s happy and easy probably wouldn’t use dark, moody colors. The brain processes images before words, so the visual tone of your personality is just as important as the voice.
Integrate your brand personality into everything you do: Your brand personality should be integrated into everything you do, from your products and services to your customer service and marketing efforts. This helps to reinforce your brand personality and ensure consistency in your messaging and communication. Let your personality inform your campaigns, not the other way around.
These aren’t easy steps– each one takes time, resources, and strategic thinking. But the revenue you’ll generate with a strong brand personality more than pays back the effort. If you’re not sure where to start, our Brand Personality Quiz is a great place to begin– you’ll find out your personality in just six questions, and get concrete tools for bringing it to the world.
The Brand Personality Quiz
We think personality is so important, we’ve created an assessment to help more brands get in touch with their personality. After working with hundreds of brands across industries, we’ve found that there are four major brand personality types. Each type can effectively tap into particular personality traits to inspire action and loyalty. Below is a graphic representation of how the personality types and their traits work together, with example brands.
The axes of the wheel represent two critical dimensions of every brand: the offering and the experience. How you answer the questions in the Brand Personality Quiz place your brand on the X and Y axes, determining your brand personality type.
Horizontal Axis = OFFERING
The offering is your product or service. Is your offering historic and recognizable, or is it totally new in the market?
Heritage Offering: Established and familiar products and services (example: Rolex watches) Innovative Offering: Products and services that disrupt the market or have never been seen before (example: iPhone)
Vertical Axis = EXPERIENCE
The brand experience is what happens when someone engages with your offerings and services. Is the experience you offer to customers familiar and expected, or new and/or constantly changing?
New Experiences: Customers are drawn to your brand because it helps them discover new things about themselves and the world (example: Google) Known Experiences: Customers are drawn to your brand because it is comforting, nostalgic, or trusted (example: Campbell’s Soup)
The 4 Quadrants = PERSONALITY TYPES
Where a brand falls on the axes places it into one of four quadrants, each representing a particular brand personality type. There are four main types of brand personalities: Dreamer, Protector, Explorer, and Lover. Each of these personalities appeals to different emotions and desires, allowing brands to connect with their target audience in a unique and meaningful way.
Dreamer brands are creative and innovative, always looking for new and exciting ways to do things. They create a sense of transformation and change, appealing to customers who are looking for new experiences and a sense of novelty. Apple is an example of a dreamer brand, with its bold marketing campaigns and innovative products that introduce us to completely new realities.
Protector brands provide stability and comfort, offering trusted and familiar products and services to established markets. They create a sense of nostalgia and security, appealing to customers who value reliability and tradition. Johnson & Johnson is an example of a protector brand, known for its high-quality products that help people care for their families and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Explorer brands are disruptors, taking familiar products and services and doing them better. They create a sense of excitement and adventure, appealing to customers who are looking for something new and innovative. Tesla is an example of an explorer brand, known for its electric vehicles that are changing the way people think about transportation.
Lover brands are warm and nurturing, helping customers to discover new things about themselves and the world. They create a sense of belonging, happiness, and possibility, appealing to customers who are looking for a sense of community and a connection to something greater. Coca-Cola is an example of a lover brand, known for its cheerful marketing campaigns that bring people together and spread happiness.
The quiz is an easy way to understand your brand personality type in just six questions. You’ll get immediate results, and a customized report that will give you concrete strategies for communicating your personality to the world.
Customized report with insights into your specific brand personality type.
Personality is Everything
Personality is the key to infusing your brand with humanity. The result is a much deeper affinity that goes beyond a particular offering or price point. That’s the magic behind branding: a clear personality elevates a transaction to a connection, making it much more meaningful, inspiring action and forging loyalty.
When brands show their personalities, they make clear statements about who they are and what they believe. But if the story doesn’t feel real, the spell is broken. Brands must be authentic in order for us to believe.
Uncovering your authentic personality and speaking it clearly can be a challenge. It’s what branding specialists do– bring out your brand personality and communicate it to the world.
Our brand personality quiz pinpoints your core brand personality, then gives you specific traits you can use to craft campaigns that resonate. Get the tools that will help you connect on a level deeper than words– speak directly to your customers’ hearts.
This month we’re featuring a brand we created for EATwtr, a new bottled water company that’s committed to doing good for the world. With a percentage of proceeds going to mental health and suicide prevention organizations and fully recyclable packaging, EATwtr envisions a better use for single-use water bottles. In our package design process, we looked at other beverage companies on the market designed to stand out on the shelves. Check out our favorites.
LIQUID DEATH
One of the first bottled water companies to prove that bottled water can compete alongside alcoholic beverages, Liquid Death is a masterclass in how taking risks with your brand can really pay off. Their whole brand is based on opposites. Usually we think of water as boring and plain– but what if it’s death metal themed? Based on the idea that they’re murdering thirst and plastic, they’re also playing on how boring corporate marketing is– people don’t want to hear the same line they’ve heard a million times before. We want to be surprised. It’s unexpected, memorable, and full of personality.
PATH
With a range of still, alkaline, and sparkling, PATH Water’s products come in refillable and 100% recyclable packaging. The bottle’s design is upbeat and full of summer-inspired whimsy, ideal for a brand giving consumers the perfect vessel for hydration on a hot summer’s day.
BETTERDAYS
This line of “cactus water”– a healthy beverage made from the juice of prickly pears, combines an editorial aesthetic with sustainable packaging. It looks like a modern magazine page on a can, and we love the surprising combination of the CPG and fashion.
BREZ
Brez is a sparkling CBD and mushroom drink that combines trends in fashion and wellness for a unique and ethereal design. We love the holographic can and the custom decorative font paired with a clean, san serif secondary type.
EATwtr
With a clean and simple design, we wanted the silver of the bottle to really shine against a matte black label and modern block typeface. You can find EATwtr at Eat Fantastic, a chain of fast casual restaurants across the South Bay. Check out the entire EATwtr brand.
Will you be drinking any of these cool beverages this summer? It’s getting hotter– stay hydrated and stay inspired.
Flux is excited to announce we are now a Frontify agency partner. Frontify is an exciting platform for brand asset management, allowing us to build Brand Guidelines and centralize brand assets in a whole new way for our clients.
After building hundreds of brands, we know how challenging it can be for clients to keep track of the many parts that make up an identity. Where is the logo in black and white? What version of the brand platform was final? Can we get a .png of this? With Frontify, these questions disappear. Everything lives together in a beautiful, easy to use platform. It’s trusted by major brands like Lufthansa, Bang & Olufsen, Volkswagen, and more.
What is Brand Asset Management?
First, it’s important to understand what we mean by brand asset management. Brand asset management protects a brand by ensuring that all brand assets are used consistently and in the correct way. This includes everything from using the correct color palette to ensuring that the brand’s messaging is consistent across all channels. Consistency is key to building brand recognition and trust, and brand asset management helps to maintain that consistency over time.
Digital asset management (DAM) is a subset of brand asset management that specifically focuses on the management of digital assets, such as images, videos, audio files, and other types of media. In the context of brand management, DAM involves the organization, storage, and distribution of digital assets to ensure that they are used consistently and effectively across all channels. In this day and age, pretty much every asset is digital– so how your brand manages digital assets to key to how clear your brand can communicate across touchpoints.
What is Frontify?
Digitizing assets has been an incredible step forward for the brand world, but it’s also made organization of those assets absolutely critical. Frontify allows brands to centralize all brand assets– identity, positioning, media, and more– into one system that’s flexible and adaptable to each client’s needs. With Frontify, brands can build their brand guidelines and manage, share, and download the assets, all in one place.
Frontify has four major components:
Digitizing assets has been an incredible step forward for the brand world, but it’s also made organization of those assets absolutely critical. Frontify allows brands to centralize all brand assets– identity, positioning, media, and more– into one system that’s flexible and adaptable to each client’s needs. With Frontify, brands can build their brand guidelines and manage, share, and download the assets, all in one place.
1. Brand Guidelines:
This is a best practices document that explains the core of the brand. It’s shared with internal teams and external partners to ensure consistent brand presentation. It includes brand positioning, visual identity, and more. At Flux, we create Brand Guidelines for all of our clients. Before Frontify, the only way to do this was in a PDF – a static document that was highly limited in sharing and updating ability. Frontify allows us to build customized, beautiful brand guidelines documents that are live and shareable, making updating and collaborating a breeze.
2. Digital Asset Management:
Frontify integrates DAM and Brand Guidelines into one platform, so as your guidelines evolve, so do your digital assets. There’s no need to go back and forth, trying to remember what the latest version of the campaign image is. With advanced sharing settings, it’s easy to customize who can access assets for download or viewing. You can also embed assets directly onto the web from Frontify, ensuring that if they ever need to be updated, they’ll update automatically across your online presence
3. Creative Collaboration:
Frontify is also a shared project platform, allowing teams to collaborate on asset creation in real time. With workflow management, it’s easy to work across teams or with external partners to share, give feedback, and approve asset creation.
4. Digital & Print Templates:
You can create templates for digital, print, and video to be housed directly in your Frontify platform, streamlining the creation of repetitive assets and ensuring that all visuals follow the same style. This is especially useful for working with external teams who may not be as well versed in your brand as internal designers, allowing them to seamlessly build assets that are always in line with your brand.
How Flux Can Help You Build Your Frontify
As an agency partner, we are using Frontify to build Brand Guidelines for our clients. Frontify is replacing our traditional approach of using Google Slides and PDFs to distribute brand guidelines to our clients, supporting them in better digital asset management practices from the start. We are well versed in the possibilities and customization available within the platform, and focus on building beautiful, branded guidelines which include strategically organized assets for future use and growth.
We’re incredibly excited to be using Frontify for our clients, and believe it’s a major advancement in brand management. Check out brands using Frontify on their website, and get in touch with us if you’re interested in using Frontify for your brand. Flux can build your identity from the ground up, culminating in a brand manual built on the Frontify platform, or we can help you integrate your existing brand assets into Frontify to streamline organization in the future. Wherever you’re at with your brand, Frontify is an amazing tool that will allow your brand to scale like never before.
Bringing your company into the future is important work – so don’t let fear hold you back from it. If you want some guidance along the way, our branding agency in Los Angeles is here to help.
It’s the end of the year. We’re giving gifts, decorating, and spending time with family and friends. Holiday parties. New Year’s celebrations. It’s a festive time no matter what religion you observe. And it’s also an important moment for those of us who follow the cult of design– the announcement of Pantone’s color of the year.
The Pantone color of the year is chosen by the Pantone Color Institute, created to shed light on the connection between color and the larger cultural moment. A color is selected each year to reflect the zeitgeist, drawing on everything from industry trends, pop culture, current events, future forecasting and more.
Pantone’s color of the year for 2023 is Viva Magenta 18-750. Pantone describes it as “a shade rooted in nature descending from the red family and expressive of a new signal of strength.” Other descriptors include optimistic, joyous, brave, and fearless. It “vibrates with vim and vigor.” It’s “an unconventional shade for an unconventional time.”
Magenta is quite an interesting shade. It technically doesn’t exist, as there’s no wavelength of light that corresponds to that color. But that may be the very reason why Pantone chose it– it’s a hybrid and a shapeshifter, straddling warm and cool, red and purple, natural and digital.
Announcing their selection with the statement, “Welcome to the Magentaverse,” it’s clear that Pantone is reflecting on the connection between the physical and virtual worlds. Derived from the cochineal, the insect from which carmine red is created, magenta is just as at home in the natural world as it is in the tech space. Compared to last year’s color of the year, the bright periwinkle hue Veri Peri that was invented just for the color of the year, Viva Magenta feels more soulful, organic, and bold.
It’s an interesting hue with a fascinating reasoning behind it. Does Viva Magenta speak to you? We’d love to know what you think. Send us a note and tell us about it.
Branding is a company-wide effort that takes time, energy, and resources. It’s not easy. It’s not cheap. So what is the actual value of branding? Is it worth it?
The answer is a resounding YES.
There are so many benefits of branding. But you might still be asking yourself where branding shows up in your revenue reports, and how you can measure the actual value of branding efforts.
While marketing focuses on specific, targeted campaigns, branding is an evolution. In marketing, there are set points to measure your return on investment, but with branding, it’s not as clear-cut. The value of branding builds exponentially over time.
But what does that mean?
And if you can’t measure it based on income and expense, how do you know if the value of branding is actually worth it?
There are two primary reports for measuring a business: profit and loss vs. balance sheet.
The P&L statement compares income and expenses and makes a simple subtraction of the two to determine profit.
The balance sheet compares assets and liabilities and uses equity to force them to balance.
Marketing is on your profit and loss statement.
Branding is on your balance sheet.
Branding and marketing have different end goals. Marketing is about developing a return on investment within a set period of time. Branding is about building value over the long term.
Marketing shows up in your profit and loss. You can compare directly what a marketing effort costs and how much business was generated, and see if you made a profit.
But the value of branding is more abstract. It’s located on your balance sheet. Unlike a simple income versus expense calculation of marketing, your brand is an asset, which means it can grow and change, as well as be bought and sold.
The same is true for the timeline of returns: marketing is short-term, and the value of branding is long-term. Marketing creates sales in the moment, but branding builds longevity and loyalty.
Just because branding doesn’t lend itself to a direct income vs. expense comparison like marketing, that doesn’t negate the importance of branding. The benefits of strong branding resonate both internally and externally across consumers and employees.
Measuring the value of branding on your organization requires a different perspective, a focus on long-term value rather than short-term gains.
What is brand equity?
Brand value is also referred to as brand equity: the accumulated value of a company’s brand assets, both financially and strategically.
In practice, brand equity is the overall market strength of a brand.
What is your brand worth in the marketplace? High-value brands are memorable and authentic, and inspire loyalty in their customers. Brand value is a huge asset – it’s how you keep customers coming back in an ever-changing marketplace, even when you have a myriad of competitors.
When your brand is valuable, consumers trust you.
Think of a brand like Coca-Cola. The value of the Coca-Cola brand is most likely equal to, if not exceeding, the value of all the physical assets of the company (like warehouses, factories, offices, personnel, etc).
Imagine if Coca-Cola sold its brand. The company that bought them would have an instant foothold in the market. And that’s not because Coke is delicious, it’s because people know the brand.
It goes to show that the power– the value– of the company isn’t just in its production capacity. It’s in the strength of their mindshare.
The value of branding isn’t all abstract. The impact of a valuable brand can be seen in concrete, measurable ways. A strong brand makes your sales and marketing teams, as well as your internal hiring practices, much more effective – directly increasing revenue.
Powerful branding supercharges your sales team
Consumers use a bold brand as shorthand, so your sales team doesn’t have to introduce everything about you in every sale.
By developing a well-recognized identity that communicates an authentic concept, people feel a connection to the special offering you provide. That connection forges loyalty, which rises above features and benefits.
Branding makes it easier for your sales team to close deals and get new business because their targets already know what the company is about and are connected to it through the brand.
Branding boosts your marketing efficacy
Marketing is a short-term investment and can reap great returns. But you will end up wasting time and money on disparate marketing campaigns without a solid brand identity and equity to base them on.
When your brand is strong, your marketing efforts are more focused and therefore more effective.
With a solid brand, marketing and branding work in a symbiotic relationship, each reinforcing the other.
Your branding efforts create a loyal consumer base, while your marketing efforts strengthen your brand identity by getting your message out to the right people.
There are internal benefits to building a strong brand
Your brand develops a sense of spirit among the people who stand behind them.
Spirited organizations are highly effective because the hearts and souls of the employees, investors, and contractors are committed to their success.
Here is the true value of your branding efforts, broken down in detail:
1. Brand equity is on the balance sheet
Executives tend to look for ROI on branding initiatives as a way to determine budget levels. But equity isn’t found on your P&L; it’s on the Balance Sheet.
Brand value is an asset, so consider the budget as an investment. The ROI will be long-term, contributing to the valuation of the organization.
2. Brand value is often greater than book value
In many cases, the value of a great brand can eclipse the value of a company’s tangible assets.
Brands like Coke and Google drive valuations far higher than the sum of their facilities and inventory. Taking an investor’s approach to branding opens up the opportunity for high rates of return.
3. Branding drives more than revenue
Branding does increase revenues by making your sales, marketing, and hiring more effective. But it’s also more than the sum of its parts– a strong brand can drive up the entire value of your organization.
Branding is a long-term, capitalized investment that delivers benefits over time.
4. Brand value is largely emotional
The degree to which your customers form an emotional connection with your company has huge ramifications for your longevity in the marketplace and ability to capture mindshare.
It is through branding that customers form an emotional bond with your company, elevating the interaction from a simple transaction to something much more meaningful. That’s what gets them to return, choosing you over a competitor.
This translates to strong brand loyalty even when your offerings change.
5. Branding is a strategic investment
Branding is an essential element of your strategic plan, requiring an integrated consideration from leadership. Attempting to assemble piecemeal funding from the marketing department alone is like leveraging investing for retirement with loose change.
With a solid understanding of the value of branding, it’s clear why you need to allot funding and energy to such a critical initiative. Branding is an all-encompassing process that reverberates internally and externally through your company over time.
The results for companies with strong brand equity speak for themselves. If you’re dedicated to building long-term value in your company, it’s important to keep an eye on your brand.
If you’re ready to build value in your company through branding, we’re ready to help. As a top branding agency in Los Angeles, we’ve helped hundreds of companies across industries sharpen their position and clarify their place in the market.
Branding aligns your team and connects your customers. And the value of that cannot be overstated.
Launched in 2006, it’s a time to celebrate the power of design in our everyday lives. Held in conjunction with the National Design Awards, it’s an exciting time to shine a spotlight on some of the world’s most exciting designers and design thinkers.
The National Design Awards is a Cooper Hewitt initiative launched in 2000 as an official project of the White House Millennium Council. The awards and its associated public programs seek to increase national awareness of the impact of design in our everyday life.
Reflecting the ever-growing scope of design, the National Design Awards program currently includes nine award categories:Design Visionary, Climate Action, Emerging Designer, Architecture / Interior Design, Communication Design, Digital Design, Fashion Design, Landscape Architecture, and Product Design.
In addition to the annual awards ceremony, Cooper Hewitt integrates National Design Award winners in a series of educational programs happening throughout the year and during National Design Week.
Check out all of the incredible winners at the awards site. From building affordable and beautiful housing, to recycling vintage textiles in men’s fashion, to visualizing big data at a human scale, the featured work is truly extraordinary. Many of the recipients are using inventive materials and incorporating digital technologies in their work.
While they’re all unique, they share the common ground of using design as a way to approach some of our world’s greatest challenges. Design affects the way we live and understand our time. Congratulations to these design mavericks who are endlessly inspiring.
Below is a small sample of the amazing work these Designers produce.
Nader Tehrani, Tanderrum Pedestrian Bridge, a new pedestrian bridge (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2016). Collaborator: John Wardle Architects. Photo: Kristoffer Paulsen
Giorgia Lupi, Mindworks: The Science of Thinking, data visualization and experience design for the world’s first working lab dedicated to behavioral science, hosted by the University of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois, 2020). Project Partners: Abbott Miller (Pentagram), Luke Hayman (Pentagram), K&S Partners. Photo: Tom Rossiter
CW&T, Penny Pelican, a penny farthing style cargo bike for hauling around goods and small children (Brooklyn, New York, 2018). Photo: CW&T
