Branding

John,

I'll give you some insights from a designer's perspective (I do graphic, branding, web and user experience just to name some). Why is mentioning those disciplines important? They all factor into typography choices and ideas.

First you must think about your format (or media). Fonts that look great on paper do not always translate well to online consumption.

Unless a font is selected for artwork (poster, flyer, or a logo) you want to minimize the strain you are putting on your audience (e.g. would you want to read an entire book printed in cursive or calligraphy? No, the strain would hurt your eyes).

There are literally 1000's of fonts you could choose from, however, you should always keep your audience and the amount of words in mind.

Popular fonts online are Roboto (Android), Ubuntu, Helvetica Neue and San Francisco (iOS) as well as classic Helvetica and Arial.

In my opinion fonts that should always be avoided are (Comic Sans, Papyrus and Stencil). These fonts are typically overused, hard to read and just plain obnoxious.

Good fonts for printed material are Verdana, Univers, Gill Sans and Courier New. These are easier to read printed out than many other fonts.

Again, adapt for your needs, but do try to avoid mixing more than 2 to 3 typefaces (in all applications).

Hi Liz

Great question and many times we ask this of businesses to get them thinking about what they are trying to achieve. House of brands (usually where the customer targets are different) or branded house (usually where customer could buy multiple products in similar product category - Apple) and it depends on your long term business goals.  

Question you could normally start with are what your plans for diversification, who are your customers now, who are you ideal customers?

Then work out the benefits of you products over the competition so you can identify this quickly. Currently your websites are a catalogue for resellers, so the next level of questions

1.       -are you are targeting business to resell or

2.       are you selling to retail customer, who will then go looking for your product.

It is possible to do both but this must be clear from the front page and the website must lead then down the correct path easily. This is a combination of design, imagery and messaging.

Getting back to your branding question it is all about what customers are you targeting, then you can decide best way to execute. Thanks Scott

It is like asking how much does it cost to buy a car, well that depends are you buying a Kia, Honda, Lexus,  Cadillac or Rolls Royce?  They are all cars that can get you from point A to point B but the ride will be different.  You can crowdsource a logo online or send out a Zoomerang survey link to conduct market research on the cheap for example.  That does not mean it is a good logo or relevant research though.  We have built successful brands in the low 5 figures up to well into the 6 figures so  it is not a question of how much you spend in my experience.  Find the right team to bring your brand's story to life and if all you can afford is a Kia then the team needs to be scrappy and resourceful to leverage social media and find the right words and pictures to tell your story.  That is also great advice if you have a bigger budget too.  Great brands connect with their target on an emotional level and they become champions and ambassadors for the brand.  Finding those compelling messages and insights takes experience and smarts more than money.  Good luck!

The best way to handle bad media coverage is to issue a statement that justifies it explains the negative coverage. There are PR consultants that specialise in crisis PR.

Once you have put your statement out there, you can pitch positive story angles about your business or brand.

I specialise in PR for start ups with limited budget. If the start up has even a small amount of potential to receive negative publicity, I would recommend being proactive and getting statements for media ready to go in case the worst happens.

Wishing you all the best!

Candice

Good morning Paula from rural Australia,

Steve Osborne is absolutely right.

No one can control what goes viral. It's just something that happens. There's an intangible component that the public finds appealing. And it's time sensitive. What appeals today. May not appeal tomorrow.

Why do you want something to go viral?

If something you put out there does go viral, can you cope with the demand you might create? There's nothing worse for your business than not being able to fulfil! Those customers will never come back to you. And may spread negative word of mouth.

In business, you can't be all things to all people. It's much smarter to focus on your niche. And the customers in it. And by not trying to be clever. But by trying to give value to them. You have a much better chance of attracting the customers who want to do business with you.

Best wishes,

~Carol Jones, Ironing Diva❤

Purveyor of The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover And Other Goodies

350,000 customers. In 29 countries.

Brand positioning is one of the more difficult services that a branding agency can offer, simply because it is the art of putting your ideas into a more coherent brand message. It's the art (and science) of showing the world where your brand fits among a sea of others. You know---what makes YOU different. 

The thing about brand positioning is that it's not just one or two items. Your positioning turns into a brand statement, has an impact on your copywriting, as well as the overall tone of your brand's aesthetics. This means that brand positioning is rarely ever involved as a "solo" act. 

With that said, brand identity packages are going to be a pretty hardcore part of your marketing. Here's what you need to know about each tier:

• Individuals and small branding firms will charge $5,000 to $20,000 for a professionally-placed brand positioning package. 
• Medium to high-end branding agencies can cost anywhere from $30,000 to upwards of $60,000 for a brand positioning package as well as brand identity advising. 

• A brand statement
• A statement of goals and benefits to clients
• Brand tone 
• Potential logo adjustments
• Multiple consultations
• Marketing advising (in some cases)
• Iterations and adjustments as needed

Totally agree with all aspects of Danielle's answer! So I won't repeat it, just add to it! :) 

Fact is - not many understand Personal Branding at its core because I always get the feedback 'I don't want to brag about myself', 'I don't want to blow my own horn about how good I am.'

Here is the thing: Personal Branding is NOT about you. It is about positioning yourself as the Go-to-Person when it comes to yoru area of expertise. It is about showing others how you can help them by sharing your approach and learning with the,. It is about re-assuring them that you are the best person for solving the problem they are facing.

We are moving into a service based industry where it all comes down to how well you can resonate with the service provider as otherwise you just compete with price which is obviously not sustainable. It is about having a clear understanding of what makes you different and show how your work benefits your audience. For that you need to obvioulsy be crustal clear yourself what you actually want to stand for and what makes you YOU-nique.

Moving into a digitally connected world where everyone becomes slowly but surely virtual, it is key to become real! What does means? You need to build a strong presence and reputation - online & offline to support your Positioning.

Public Speaking is key to not only gain credibility but also expand your network tenfolds in a much shorter time as to when you just attend events. It is also about the 'Social Proof' of it - so having photos from your speaking engagements and showing behind the scenes footage as well as achievements from and with your work are key to build trust and a relationship. And this is what personal branding is all about - building a relationship where there is none which is the base for further mutual beneficial engagement :)