Lexicon
A compendium designed to unveil complex branding jargons via a series of clear, comprehensible definitions.
B
Brand Audit
The process of conducting a stock-take on the existing brand, to determine what the brand means in the eyes of key stakeholders. It calls for an honest introspection as well as a precise retrospective. It attempts to reach deep, far and wide, to expose inherent weaknesses but also unravel opportunities. Hence, at this juncture, it calls for an open heart and open mind to learn, understand and discover and only then, to consolidate, strategise and transform.
Brand Naming
Creating a name for a brand, product or service. It is a critical aspect of branding, as a good brand name can help to build strong brand recognition. As such, a brand name should “stick” in your mind; easy to remember and easy to spell. The naming process involves research, brainstorming, and testing, and should be approached with careful consideration and strategic planning.
Brand Creation
A multifaceted process that encompasses the development of a brand’s identity and establishment of reputation in the marketplace. This involves crafting a distinctive name and visual identity that differentiate the brand from its competitors. In addition, the process entails defining the brand’s core values, purpose, and personality. These serve as the brand’s “moral compass”, a guiding force for internal strategies from marketing to human resource and business development. An effectively created brand inspires trust, loyalty, and advocacy among its customers and stakeholders, thereby facilitating business growth and success.
Brand Story
A tool to communicate a company’s origin, brand positioning and purpose into a simple and engaging narrative. It is a recount of significant events, the motivation leading to the brand’s creation, and how it aims to make a difference in the world. By creating a compelling brand story that are emotive and authentic, a brand can move its intended audience and build a loyal following.
Brand Personality
A set of attributes and human traits used to identify a brand. The brand becomes a real person, with human idiosyncrasies. It draws people to the brand. It creates an emotional response. The aim is not to please everybody but to have a distinctive personality that touches the heart and moves the soul.
Brand Revamp
The process of refreshing a brand’s identity and perception in the market. The depth and significance of a brand revamp lie on a wide spectrum; it can range from simply modernising a brand’s look and feel by updating the logo, visuals and typography, to a larger business pivot and overall shift in marketing strategy. Ultimately, most if not all businesses require a brand revamp at some point, should they wish to remain relevant in the ever-changing market.
Brand Identity
The outward appearance and experience of a brand, as perceived by the market and its customers. It encompasses a collection of distinguishing verbal and visual elements: brand name, brand logo, brand tagline, brand voice, brand typography. The overall goal is communicate a distinctive brand message in a memorable way, leaving a lasting impression in the customer’s mind.
Branding Workshop
An interactive session that helps businesses achieve internal alignment. Branding workshops typically involve key stakeholders such as brand founders, employees and external consultants. Through group exercises and discussions, a branding workshop aims to establish clear internal understanding of the brand – from its unique positioning, to the long-term vision and the strategies to undertake in order to fulfil it.
Brand Communications
The myriad of channels and messages that businesses use to hopefully remain top-of-mind to the discerning and selective target audience. This includes advertising, marketing, and promotional activities, such as social media campaigns that utilize the latest cutting-edge techniques and tactics, or content and email marketing which can be powerful tools for connecting with the audience. Depending on budget and strategy, a brand can employ a varied set of communication channels and messaging strategies to not only foster a consistent and unforgettable brand experience for the audience, but to also cultivate trust and loyalty, thereby rising above the intense competition that lurks around every corner.
Brand Performance
Overall ability of a brand to deliver value and meet its goals, as measured by a wide variety of metrics ranging from brand awareness to customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy, as well as financial indicators such as revenue and market share. By regularly evaluating brand performance, the brand can determine if there are increased profitability or greater customer loyalty, and thus a critical edge in the competitive marketplace. At the same time, the brand can identify areas for improvement and optimize its strategies to continue staying ahead of the curve.
Brand Activation
A strategic marketing initiative that aims to ignite consumer engagement and generate brand recognition via an assorted array of promotional activities. Among the many activities involved in brand activation, one may encounter product demonstrations, experiential events, influencer campaigns, pop-up shops, and social media promotions. The result of a successful activation campaign includes heightened brand visibility, fortified brand loyalty, and subsequently amplified business growth.
Brand Positioning
The space a brand owns in the mind of a customer, as well as differentiating from your competitors. It is about creating a shared identity with your customers and aligning with them on a deeper level. And by doing so, it cuts through the noise and builds connections that last. In a saturated market, there lies a great opportunity in articulating a brand position strongly and clearly.
Brand Architecture
A detailed framework that dictates the arrangement and hierarchy of a corporation’s brand assortment. Its primary objective is to establish a clear-cut organization of how the brand operates, encompassing interrelations between multitudes of products, services, sub-brands, and the overarching brand. The various types of brand architecture models include:
Branded House, which presents all sub-brands under the control of a dominant master brand. Example: iPad, iPhone and iMac come under the corporation, Apple.
House of Brands, where there is no overt link between the individual sub-brands and the parent brand. Example: Dove, Ben & Jerry’s and Lipton are housed under Unilever.
Hybrid, where a fusion of individual and corporate brands are employed.
Brand Manual
A document that should be referred to frequently and regularly in order to understand, measure and apply the brand touch-points. It must be made readily available to all stakeholders; simple in language and easy to use. It encapsulates the entire brand essence by transforming it into executables and artifacts to be used in real world applications and environments.
Brand Language
A unique concoction of visual and verbal elements that create a singular identity for a brand. It is like the secret sauce that defines a brand’s holistic impression – from signature graphic elements and treatment of imagery to the colour palette, tone of voice, and messaging used in all brand communications. It is all about how a brand presents itself to the audience: Consistent, harmonious, and conveying a certain je ne sais quoi that evokes powerful emotions. This means every channel of communication must align with the brand’s values and objectives. Effective brand language should be highly distinctive, cementing its impression on the audience.
Brand Attributes
Key human traits that are intrinsic to the brand’s DNA. They inform a brand’s overall personality. A genuine set of brand attributes will resonate with its intended audience, creating a meaningful and lasting connection with them.
Brand Values
Strong beliefs within the brand. They are guiding principles to live by. They are about character and hence are non-negotiable. They are so deeply held that they almost never change. Ultimately, they shape the vision and drive the mission of the brand.
Brand Hierarchy
A synonymous term to brand architecture, it refers to the systematic organization of brands within a larger entity or parent brand, based on their order of importance, nature of offerings, and management strategy. Example: Nestlé is the parent to sub-brands including Kit Kat, Milo, Cheerios and Nescafé.
Brand Strategy
A strategic roadmap for the brand. It documents what the brand is all about; covering all aspects of the brand: brand positioning, brand attributes and brand personality. And it aligns seamlessly with the corporate strategy of vision, mission and core values. It is a plan for clear action; actions on how the brand can grow to become a powerful brand.
Brand Extension
Utilizing an already-existing brand name and equity to release a novel product or service in a diverse category or market. By harnessing the positive connotations and familiarity of the pre-established brand, the probability of success for the new product is raised.
Brand Education
Providing enlightenment and honing competencies to employees, partners, and stakeholders regarding a brand’s essence, purpose, and direction. It is a journey in understanding the brand vision and mission, and learning to embody the core values in every engagement, both internally amongst employees and externally with clients and the public. Brand education is a vital tool to consistently and powerfully communicate the brand’s narrative, establish a uniform brand identity, and cultivate brand equity.
Brand Management
The strategic practice of building, maintaining, and enhancing a brand’s image, credibility, and value over time. It requires analyzing the marketplace, identifying the customers’ wants and desires, and formulating strategies to position the brand effectively. Brand managers are accountable for overseeing all aspects of the brand’s marketing and communication efforts, to ensure brand consistency and coherence, guaranteeing that everything matches the brand’s values, personality, and aspirations.
Brandmark Symbol
Refers to a graphic or visual element that represents a brand or company. It is a unique and distinctive design created to visually identify and differentiate a brand from its competitors. Brandmark symbols are often used in conjunction with the brand name or logo to create a recognizable and memorable visual identity. Unlike a logo, which may include text or typography, a brandmark symbol is typically a standalone graphic that can be easily recognized and associated with a specific brand.
Brand Colour System
The defined set of colors that are specifically chosen and used consistently across all brand materials and communications. A brand color system typically includes a primary color palette, which consists of a small number of colors that represent the core identity of the brand. These colors are carefully selected to align with the brand’s values, personality, and target audience.
Brand Slogan
A brand slogan is typically created to evoke emotions, establish a brand personality, or convey the brand’s value proposition in a succinct and memorable way. It is a concise and catchy statement that aims to leave a lasting impression on the target audience and reinforce the brand’s identity.
Brand Imagery
The visual elements and representations associated with a brand. It encompasses the visual identity, aesthetics, and visual assets that help shape and communicate the brand’s personality, values, and positioning to its target audience. Brand imagery also extends beyond static visuals and can encompass dynamic elements like video, animations, and motion graphics. These dynamic elements contribute to the brand’s visual storytelling and enhance engagement with the audience.
Brand Signature
A unique and distinctive element or combination of elements that serves as a recognizable and consistent representation of a brand. A brand signature can take various forms, including a visual mark, a specific design element, a sound or jingle, a particular scent, or even a specific way of communicating or interacting with customers. It is a signature characteristic or feature that sets a brand apart from its competitors and helps build brand recognition and loyalty.
Brand Nomenclature
“Brand nomenclature” refers to the system or set of names, terms, or labels that a brand uses to identify and differentiate its products, services, or offerings. It involves the naming and categorization of various brand elements, such as product lines, sub-brands, features, or variations within a brand’s portfolio.
C
Clear Space
In design, “clear space” refers to the empty or unoccupied area surrounding a design element, such as a logo, text, or graphic. It is the intentional space left untouched around the element to ensure visual separation and clarity.
Clear space serves several purposes in design:
Visual Separation, by providing space around a design element, clear space helps visually separate it from other elements on the page or within a layout. This separation prevents visual clutter and allows the element to stand out and be easily perceived by viewers.
Readability and Legibility, clear space around text ensures that the content remains readable and legible. It prevents the text from feeling cramped or overcrowded, allowing readers to navigate the content more comfortably.
Focus and Hierarchy, helps directs the viewer’s attention to the most important elements. By giving key elements more space, they can attract greater focus and attention.
E
Endorsed Brand
A branding strategy where an established and well-known brand extends its reputation, credibility, and equity to a new or related product or service. In this approach, the endorsing brand lends its name, logo, and overall brand identity to the endorsed product, leveraging the trust and positive associations built by the endorsing brand to enhance the perceived value and acceptance of the new offering.
F
Fractional Brand Management
Fractional Brand Management (FBM) is the process in which branding agencies manage their clients’ brands using Branding as a Service (BaaS), which is akin to Software as a Service (SaaS) in the software cloud services industry. Clients pay monthly subscription fees to branding agencies for them to manage their brand online and offline. The difference from retainers with web and creative agencies is that branding agencies view things from a strategic angle rather than a task-based angle. This requires constant review with the management on their strategic goals as well as their brand culture. This ensures that the brand communications are aligned to the service or product which is being promoted on channels and platforms. In essence, FBM is a cost-effective way to hire a brand manager, designer and consultant all rolled into a single subscription service.
G
Graphic Style
A distinctive visual approach, aesthetics, and design elements used in the creation of graphics or visual materials associated with a brand, project, or campaign. It encompasses the overall look and feel, design elements, color palettes, typography, and composition that are employed to communicate a specific visual identity and convey a desired message or mood.
I
Icon
A small, simplified graphical representation or symbol that represents an object, concept, or action. Icons are commonly used in various contexts, such as graphic design, user interfaces, signage, and digital platforms, to communicate information quickly and efficiently.
P
Product Branding
The process of creating a distinct and recognizable identity for a specific product within a brand’s portfolio. It involves developing and promoting unique attributes, characteristics, and associations that differentiate the product from competitors and create value in the minds of consumers. Successful product branding not only enhances the visibility and recognition of the product but also contributes to the overall brand equity.
S
Service Branding
The process of creating a distinctive and memorable identity for a service-based offering. It involves developing and promoting unique attributes, characteristics, and associations that differentiate the service and create value in the minds of consumers.
T
Typography
The art and technique of selecting, arranging, and styling typefaces (fonts) to create visually appealing and impactful brand communications. It encompasses the design and use of different typefaces, sizes, weights, spacing, and formatting to convey brand personality, evoke emotions, and enhance the overall brand experience.
V
Voice & Tone
The style, manner, and personality in which a brand communicates its messages to its target audience. It encompasses the choice of words, writing style, and overall linguistic approach used in brand communications across various channels and touchpoints.
Voice, the consistent and distinctive personality, attitude, and values that a brand conveys through its communication. It reflects the brand’s character and helps establish a unique identity. The voice can be authoritative, playful, friendly, professional, or any other attribute that aligns with the brand’s positioning and resonates with the target audience.
Tone, specific expression of the brand’s voice in a particular context or situation. It adapts the brand’s voice to suit the specific message, channel, and audience. The tone can vary from formal to informal, serious to humorous, empathetic to instructional, depending on the intended effect and the nature of the communication.