Renovate, redesign, reclaim!
Today, a complete branding campaign ranges between $11K and $70K.
For some brands that’s like peanuts, but for some brands it’s a fortune.
When you are starting your branding journey, especially as a solopreneur or as an SME, you are excited to become big and successful, but the real problem is not in spending an allocated budget on branding but in receiving the desired outcome. That’s why most brands fail miserably in making an impact and bleed financially.
The more you scratch and dig, the core idea remains the same: branding isn’t about making it pretty but making it work. This simple funda is what’s missing from most of the branding strategies that are presented and cultivated by teams.
Partnering with a creative brand consultant can help companies with tailored solutions and renovating their structure and brand voice with innovative and gamified experiences. A creative brand consultant not only plays the role of a partner but also a mentor.
We always say, Getting it right isn’t easy!
There’s a reason we say it: because we understand how markets work and how brutal it is out there to make a mark. There is a reason why most products often get stuck in a marketing loop and never get out.
Studies show that companies arguably get 25% of the marketing budget wasted; that's one-fourth of the entire budget. It involves everything from poor data quality, inefficient processes, lack of collaboration, misallocation of budgets, and poorly targeted marketing campaigns.
This is where a creative brand consultant comes to your rescue. A right consultant flips your brand and offers clear, brutal, and substantial clarity. They strategically unpack your brand identity, removing the decorative and introducing the decisive.
Removing the Fog
“Delulu is not the solulu.”
Stop living by a Gen Z phrase.
Most brands live in delusion and confuse their failing strategies as enthusiastic experiments and take bad execution and generic thoughts for brainstormed visions.
Soon, they find themselves drowning in a self-created trap of marketing gimmicks. A creative brand consultant removes the fog and brings you out of the delusion. They dump down all the wasteful ideas, unconcentrated plans, and untargeted campaigns that you have orchestrated in front of you and make you realize the mistakes.
Sounds embarrassing, right?
It's necessary, before they rebuild, they need you to realize how and where you went wrong.
Everything that’s not working is removed, and soon you get to see the real picture, which helps you identify the flaws.
The Real Work
“All change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous in the end.” - Robin Sharma
Now, we are not big fans of life quotes, but this line fits perfectly when defining brand strategy operations. Once the fog is cleared, the brand consultant begins to weave their magic. They sit with you with a no-bullshit attitude and initiate the conversation that you should have had way before. They talk, they listen, they discuss, and, most importantly, they understand.
They begin with removing the clutter and introducing the brand message in the most bold, assertive, and sharp way. A brand consultant extracts the product’s key distinguishing features and uses them to employ real brand positioning.
It's evidently clear that companies were fed the wrong data and insights that were the key ingredients in elevating their ego. Creative brand consultants crush it to revive an effective brand strategy that resonates with the brand personality and voice with consistent content management across channels on different platforms.
They develop a framework where brands align the elements of what they say, what they show, and what they sell.
Layers of brand identity
Diagnose, decode, deliver!
That’s what a true brand consultant will do.
When we talk about brand identity, it contains a series of minute details and attributes that together form a meaningful and sensible brand identity. A brand consultant holds the responsibility to diagnose each of these elements and present a well-decoded formula that ascertains change and increased brand recall, recognition, and higher ROI.
All these attributes are layers from core strategy to visual language, from behavioral markers to brand messaging. A creative brand consultant identifies the areas of improvement and works closely with founders for every change to deliver the desired outcomes. Make no mistake about the results that time. It won’t occur overnight. Practice patience.
Embracing the change
We all know Airbnb, but let’s peek inside its journey of becoming the brand it is today.
Yes, Airbnb was struggling with the challenges of differentiating and solidifying its growth. It was much more than that but was bleeding profusely in the market trying to connect with its audience.
Finally, the brand connected with a creative brand consultant and went through a complete makeover. The consultant identified that Airbnb is not just about offering accommodation and rooms. It goes beyond that to deliver experiences and establish a sense of belonging with its target audience.
The brand went through a dramatic change from its logo to other visual assets that were capable of evoking feelings of community, warmth, and inclusivity. What happened next is just pure branding beauty. In just 12 months
- The global bookings went through the roof, reporting a surge of 80%.
- The platform experienced a 50% uptick in host signups.
- And of course a 45% hike in user engagement metrics such as interactions and reviews.
That’s the power of branding strategy you need to unlock. You can listen to the entire story on Apple Podcasts—Airbnb with Jowey Roden. A Change of Brand
Without trying to sell, all these can be your growth figures too. But it demands trust, patience, and, above all, aligning with a creative brand consultant that brings your brand to life.
Blueprint for the future
No one is leaving you hanging in the middle.
Creative brand consultants do not work with founders and solopreneurs just to disappear after offering a solution; they are meant to create a roadmap for them. This roadmap has a series of actionable measures that help SMEs and business owners make the right move at the right time. It also contains brand positioning exercises for the founders to practice and unlock the true connection that their products create with potential customers.
Brand consultants plan a whole strategy document for you that enables you to keep your product segregated from the marketing gimmicks with the ability to stand out and away from all the marketing hustle and bustle that your competitors are following.
End Note
Brand consultants are not superheroes; they are as human as you want your brands to be. They only possess the knowledge, skill, and expertise with a slightly better clarity of what will work and what will bleed. Your job is to connect with them and explain your issue in the simplest way possible. Do not exaggerate about your brand campaigns and past data. You need their help, but they will only be able to offer real, valid and fruitful advice when you open up to them. Do not create barriers, break them.
Take a deep breath; you've got this.
