Brand identity online – what it is and why do you need it?

No matter what you do, your company needs a brand identity. This way, you can distinguish yourself from competitors and communicate your values and mission. But what exactly is brand identity? And why do you need it? Does it have anything to do with pricing? That’s what we’re going to talk about in this blog post.

Let’s start with the basics. In order to grasp the role of brand identity, you have to understand what a brand actually is and what role it plays. In fact, the brand is the essence of your company. It should show everything you want to communicate to your customers. That’s why we can say that each brand comes with a set of attributes, benefits, and even the culture behind it. That’s why many people think that Mercedes is a perfect example of German precision and Ferraris embody the Italian spirit.

The brand is also what people think about your company and what associations they have about your brand name and logo design. Frequently, it’s a result of the quality of your products or their features. Again, an example from the motor industry – many customers think that Alfa Romeos are unreliable. Some time ago, many customers believed that these cars were unreliable, and that fact still reflects today’s company’s image even after many years.

If your brand is solid, so will be your business. That’s why you should take care of your brand. And one of the most important elements of every brand is its identity. Let’s talk more about that. Let’s talk about logo importance. 

The brand identity of your company

We could say that brand identity is your brand on the production level. It’s how it looks and feels. There are five essential elements that make up every brand identity:

1. Logo (try a free logo maker)
2. Name and tagline
3. Brand colors (color palette)
4. Font
5. Additional graphic and textual elements (icons, ads, social media profiles, websites, etc.)

Some time ago, there was this experiment where Internet users were asked to identify a brand based on its color palette. Perhaps you’ve seen it:

image source: https://www.ceotodaymagazine.com/2018/01/colour-increases-brand-recognition-by-80-but-how-many-brands-can-you-recognise/

In most cases, users had no problems matching the presented brand colors with a specific brand. Only Harrods gave users some hard time (only 12% guessed it correctly), and so did Tiffany & Co (17%). On the other hand, over 90% of users guessed Google correctly, and McDonald’s – 84%.

This experiment shows why your brand identity is so important. If it’s done correctly, users won’t even have to see your logo or name to think about your brand. But there are more reasons why you should take care of your company’s brand identity.

What do prices have to do with branding?

You have to know that your pricing strategy is also a vital part of your company’s branding. That’s especially important if you are a manufacturer. Depending on your price position, your brand can be perceived as luxurious or affordable:

• Luxurious price position: It’s used by brands recognized as the best/most expensive in a given category. Their products are available only to a small group of the most wealthy consumers.
• Premium price position: Premium products are of high quality, and they are simply better than the market average.
• Mid-price position: It’s used by brands that reach middle-class consumers. The products are functional and of decent quality, but you wouldn’t describe them as prestigious or top-notch.
• Low price position: Used by producers who want to seem affordable and attractive from the pricing point of view.

 Make sure prices accurately describe the image you’re after! If you cooperate with several distributors – a price tracking software, such as Dealavo, can help you with monitoring prices of your products in e-commerce. 

 

WHAT DOES A DECENT BRAND IDENTITY COMMUNICATE?

You have to know that each customer looks at your company and automatically draws conclusions. If they are positive, the chance of closing the deal is increasing rapidly. If they are negative – you’re in dire straits. And it works this way both in the B2B and B2C world.

We could even say that solid branding is a prerequisite to the success of your company. Why? The answer is quite simple. Well-made branding communicates several extremely important messages about your brand. It says that your company:

• Is reliable
• Is consistent
• Pays attention to details
• Has a clear vision of work and development

Surely, these are traits that everyone looks for when deciding on where to place an order or who to sign an agreement with.

Now, let’s answer one more vital question: How can you design your company’s branding? Usually, it’s best to ask a professional branding agency for help. An external agency has no emotional attachment to your company. Therefore, they can take a look at it objectively and take the most important elements and benefits from it. Secondly, branding requires deep marketing and business knowledge. Not every brand is a huge success, and you don’t want to take any chances.

Also, remember that colors, words, and names have different connotations in different countries. Some time ago, there was this high-profile case of Hyundai and their Kona model (yes, product names are also vital elements of your brand). In Portugal, they had to name it Kauai, because, as it turned out, the word Cona in Portuguese was a vulgar slang expression for vagina[1]. That’s why it’s so important to entrust your branding to professionals – to avoid this type of mishap, especially if you operate at an international level.

Keep the story in mind when you use a logo maker, do your branding and designing.

Now, let’s take a look at some examples of great brand identities. Who knows, perhaps you will find inspiration for your brand, too?

BRAND IDENTITY EXAMPLES

Apple

That’s an interesting example of world-famous branding. Today, Apple’s logo stands for quality and simplicity. But did you know that their first logo was completely different? In fact, it was designed by one of the company’s founders. However, because it didn’t fit the tech sector well, it was shortly replaced (after just a year) with the half-eaten apple we know today:

image source: https://www.tailorbrands.com/blog/apple-logo

Notice that since their logo was changed in 1977, there wasn’t much of a revolution in Apple’s brand identity. It’s the same story with Coca-Cola (that’s our third example) – once you get the right identity, you won’t have to change it for years to come.

The pricing strategy that Apple implements is consistent with their distinct branding. You can learn more from our article about price skimming strategy. 

AirBnb

This accommodation platform wanted to design a brand that would reflect their values and mission – to create a world where you can belong anywhere. As a result, they created a logo that reflects this attitude and comprises four elements:

• People
• Places
• Love
• The letter A

You surely know the result. See how they got there:

 

Coca-Cola

We simply couldn’t talk about branding without Coca-Cola. Their logo is almost 120 years old, and there have been just little changes over that period. Probably that’s the best example of solid branding that evokes instant connotations all over the world. This logo and that red color are instantly recognized whether you’re in the United States or Japan.

image source: https://usbrandcolors.com/coca-cola-colors/ 

We hope that this blog post inspired you to look at your brand from a new perspective. Perhaps you’ve even decided to improve your branding. If so, start with your prices! And that’s where we come in. Use Dealavo tools for brands and make sure your pricing policy matches your desired image (remember that prices should reflect your market position and the quality of your products). Drop us a line to find out more! 

[1] https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/motoring/on-the-road/the-car-names-that-you-cant-say-in-some-countries/news-story/c8fbfabb4203b4850d3d65bfa1a38c27#:~:text=the%20biggest%20fails.-,Hyundai%20Kona,slang%20for%20vagina%20in%20Portuguese.

[2] https://www.marketing-interactive.com/visa-refreshes-branding-to-show-it-is-more-than-a-credit-card-company