When you think about branding, you might picture a top-tier logo, custom stationary, and stunning social media templates. While these are some of the most exciting parts of creating a brand, they may only fall flat with a weak foundation. At Big Red Jelly, we believe the most influential brands start with careful research, strategy, and messaging.
These steps might appear duller than visual design, but they are the key to devising an effective brand. Let’s review the first three steps that Big Red Jelly uses to ensure you get brands started on the right foot and evaluate why they’re effective.
Research
At BRJ, the brand process kicks off with what we call “Brand Discovery.” This step introduces the business, who they are, what they do, and what they want to achieve. A firm understanding of a brand’s identity provides the foundation for the development process.
During this stage, researching competitors is a must. The goal of competitor research is not to copy an already successful brand—that results in knockoffs—but to look for what sets a company apart. Search for a unique need to be satisfied and find a niche to attract.
You can break down how to connect with your audience when you’ve identified it. Research the colors, voice, and language that would appeal to them. With these basics, you can begin exploring the best approach to this process.
Strategy
As with any project, planning for the future makes all the difference. That’s why our next step is defining clear goals for the brand.
In this stage, we determine the company’s “position” or approach to the market. Figuring this out allows us to adopt the right aesthetic and voice. It can be helpful to think of everything less as a “business” and more as a group of people in this step. What’s the founder’s story? What is the team like? The answers to these questions will infuse a brand with personality.
The step of the strategy page is determining brand goals. Analyzing a business’s strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results produces an inspiring, actionable vision and a way to measure growth. With this framework, brand building can take form.
Messaging
Once the business’s appearance is clear, we can produce and tone to explain it to the target audience. In messaging phase, we write taglines, mission statements, and business purposes. Everything discovered so far is now elegantly captured with the perfect wording and appearance to entice audiences.
After this point, visuals and assets are easier to produce, resulting as extensions of a brand’s core message rather than decoration.
This is only a part of Big Red Jelly’s proven brand process! The structure allows us to create engaging, quality content for our clients. If you want to learn more about how Big Red Jelly develops effective brands, you can check it out here!
Written by Avie Eichelberger
