With the Super Bowl coming up this weekend, you may be inspired to reconsider or better establish your company brand. After all, football season means stadiums packed to the brim with team colors—everything from official team apparel right down to each player’s mouth guard is colored to signify allegiance to the team.
Plus, with advertising priced at an incredible $4 million for 30 seconds of ad time, you’d better believe the best brands are going to be out and about strutting their stuff!
When you brand or rebrand your business, you’re either breathing life into a new business or you’re breathing new life into your current business. Maybe you’re starting from scratch, or maybe you’re ready for a change. Either way, sometimes it’s hard to know where to even begin. Keep in mind, brand improvements are an ongoing process—so if you think it’s time for a change, you’re probably right, so it’s time to get ready!
Before You Brand
Before you get down and dirty, ready to update, establish or perfect your brand, you should work through the following exercises for best results (if you haven’t already):
- Define or redefine your company goals for the year.
- Complete your market research. Think about WHO will most benefit from your products and/or services and define your target audience. Has this target audience changed over the last year?
- Define or redefine your positioning. Ask yourself: What makes my company unique? Why would my target audience choose my company over others?
- Do your research to be sure your new business name is available and not already a registered trademark. Good to go? Secure your new domain name and social media accounts.
Ready? Go! Brand Basics…
At bare minimum, here’s what needs to happen to get your new branding off the ground. You’ll need:
- New Logo
- Brand Colors
- Brand Slogan
- Elevator Pitch
Your new brand should:
- Be Unique
- Be Memorable
- Tell Your Story
If you’ve completed all the Before You Brand items, you’ll be ready to brainstorm some ideas to get these brand basics put together. It’s also time to hire a branding expert like Spot-On Branding to boost your brand and your business to the next level. A branding professional will provide the outside perspective you need to clarify your brand and be sure it’s recreated to really reach that target market. If you’re serious about your business, your brand is nothing to skimp on!
The Great Brand LAUNCH!
So…now what? To successfully launch a new brand or to re-launch your new brand, you need to have a launch strategy. How will you communicate your new brand to your clients? If you’re rebranding, you must establish the steps required to phase out your old brand without alienating your current business and brand loyalists.
Here’s a handy checklist of items you may need to update with your new branding:
ONLINE:
On the Internet
- Business Directories
- Online/Web Directories
- Partner Listings
- Online Accounts
- Advertising
- Press Release
Website
- Content
- Images
- Consistent Look and Feel
- On-page SEO: Titles, Keywords, Meta Descriptions
- Cross-Browser Checks
- Redirect Old Website to New
- New Favicon
- RSS Link
- Install Analytics
- Opt-In Form for eNewsletter
- New Blog Theme
- Professional Photography: new facility, executives, staff, etc.
Social Media
- Accounts (Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, YouTube, Google+, Instagram, etc.)
- New Graphics/Images with Consistent Look and Feel
- New Contact Info/URL/etc
- Notify Friends and Followers
- Professional Photography for Profile Photos
eNewsletter
- Content
- Images
- Consistent Look and Feel
- New Social Media Links
- Notify Friends and Followers
INTERNAL/DOCUMENTS:
- Legal Name Change
- IRS
- Secretary of State
- Trademark
- Updated Voicemail
- Invoice Templates
- Sales Order Template
- Estimates Template
- Digital Letterhead
- New Bank Account/PayPal Account
- New Pricing
- Email
- New Email Addresses for you and your staff
- New Email Signatures
- Email Template
- Launch Email Notifying Customers
- Email Deployment Account
- Internal Manuals (HR, etc)
PRINT COLLATERAL:
- Business Cards
- Stationery
- Address Labels
- Brochures/Flyers
- New Packaging for Products and Services
- Sell Sheets
- Direct Mail Pieces
- Thank You Cards
- Advertising
- Branded Goods (T-Shirts, Pens, Bags)
- Signage
- Front Door Sign
- Building Signage
- Internal Signs
TRADE SHOW/EVENT MATERIALS:
- Trade Show Booth
- Trade Show Signage/Posters
- Advertising
- Name Tags
If You’re a Speaker:
- Speaker Sheet
- PowerPoint Template/Slides
- Handouts
- Props
- Teleseminars/Webinars
- Podcasts/Interviews
If You’re an Author:
- Book
- Report
- CD/DVD
- Workbook
- Box Set
- Teleseminars/Webinars
- Podcasts/Interviews
After updating all of the above items with your new brand, it’s time to pick a date and prepare to make a big deal about your new brand! (You don’t want all your hard work go unnoticed, right?)
There are plenty of things you can do to generate new brand buzz:
- Throw a Launch Party
- Make a Donation to an organization with proceeds from your first month of sales
- Create a Social Media Contest
- Host a Workshop
- …and more!
A branding professional can help you launch your new brand strategically to create enthusiasm within your target audience. You may have a long list of items to update, so it’s important to have everything covered and all your ducks in a row.
If this year is YOUR year to create and launch your new brand, contact the pros at Spot-On Branding today to get started!
Would you like to add anything? If so, comment below.
(Photo Source: zingzoo)