Best tips for branding

Corporate branding is so much more than a cute logo. When done well, corporate branding encapsulates the whole personality of the corporation and indelibly imprints that image into the minds of the general public. Corporate branding is a process - a step-by-step discovery of what is possible in a world of all possible branding concepts....

Good branding identifies the customer. Great branding ultimately causes the customer to identify with the brand. When you ask, "What is branding," the quick answer is giving your product or service a moniker, a logo and a slogan that identifies it in the commercial world. But the much broader answer is, how can you communicate...

Many people like to reduce brand strategy to a clever logo. I take a broader view. A good brand strategy includes answers to these questions: Is the brand readily available to the buyer now? Does it offer value to the buyer for a specific use? Is it unique?

The vision of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization (C-E-O) is "to change the world through allowing and supporting college students to achieve their entrepreneurial dreams." With over 240 chapters at colleges in more than 43 states, the C-E-O has become the go-to organization for the next generation of brand builders.

Good package design begins as an act of discovery, not a creative art form. The word "packaging" has several different meanings in commerce. It can apply to products or to services. The physical package that provides containment, protection, and merchandising for products is the type of packaging discussed here.

Packaging design must be practical. In the early days at Barefoot Wine, we sold several shipping containers of 1.5 magnums of Sauvignon Blanc to our buyers in Japan. After the pipeline stopped, we found out that the big bottles would not fit in the small Japanese refrigerators!

Brand marketing can be done through everything from pricing and distribution to customer-loyalty programs and endorsements. Here are just a few ways to consider: Brand marketing through various channels. Brand marketing can be done through: the Internet, TV, word-of-mouth, radio, print, signage and/or worthy-cause marketing. Advertising through print and broadcast media is the traditional way....

There are many companies that will create a brand image for you. They'll develop a logo, a slogan, and perhaps packaging for your product or service. They might even obtain third-party endorsements. All of these are developed before the launch, but a successful brand image is based on reputation.

Brand management is comprehensive vigilance, adjusted to market conditions and distribution realities. Crisis control is no doubt a major part of brand management. Odwalla is an excellent example of good brand management. Because Odwalla wanted to provide juices that retained their natural flavors and nutrition, it didn't pasteurize them.

When it comes to search engine optimization, not all sites are created equal. Ecommerce sites require a different structure than informational blogs. Community message boards require different strategies than a simple landing page for a business. Before placing the first building blocks of your new digital home, sit down and set a list of objectives....

Cosmetic packaging is not only a shipping necessity; it is a vital aspect of marketing. Good cosmetic packaging causes excitement and anticipation in the consumer. With great cosmetic packaging, not only does your end-user identify with your product, your product moves efficiently throughout the distribution system.

Companies - especially new companies--underestimate channel distribution management. Channel distribution management includes everything from merchandising and delivery, to policies and procedures, oversight and field reports. It's a huge area of concern. The bottom line is: Your customer can't buy it if it isn't there. The channels are not designed to build brands - they're designed...

An official product positioning definition is: a consumer's view of a product or service compared to its competition. Here are some critical considerations to achieve product positioning beyond pricing, appearance, quality and endorsements: Product perception. Even though you have a great logo, name, and slogan, you still must position your product properly, starting with how...