When it comes to your brand strategy, your brand identity is a vital aspect. Every company has a unique brand identity and is defined by the characteristics that influence a brand’s personality, appearance and the way they behave. 

As a crucial step in your overall marketing strategy, your brand identity is a way to bring your brand to life and humanise it to help engage and better connect with your target audience. Often confused with a brand image, your brand identity is very different. 

A brand image is how your audience actually perceives you, whereas your brand identity comes from the brand itself and is determined by how you want your target audience to perceive your brand. 

Benefits of a Brand Identity

Having a strong and clearly defined brand identity can deliver many benefits, including: 

• Gaining a competitive edge: By setting yourself apart from competitors and creating a brand identity that resonates with your target audience and connects with them on an emotional level. 

• Humanises your brand: Put a face and a personality to your business with a unique identity rather than just being another faceless company.  

• Build brand recognition: By being consistent with your brand identity across all marketing communications it can help create better brand recognition.

• Creates credibility and trust: When a brand becomes more than just a faceless business, it can help build credibility and trust and make your brand an authority in your industry. Apple is a great example of a company who have achieved this. 

Key Aspects of a Brand’s Identity 

When developing your brand identity it is important to consider all the key aspects that build a brand identity and ensure they are consistent with the brand image you want to project. The key aspects of a brand’s identity are: 

• The Brand Story: What are your brand’s origins? Tell the story of how your brand came to exist and the journey you have been on. 

• The Brand Name: This is often the first thing potential customers will see so make it memorable and easy to spell and say. 

• The Brand Personality: Create a persona for your brand that defines its traits, behaviours, likes and dislikes. 

• The Brand Tone of Voice: Just like a person, your brand should communicate in a certain style and be consistent with that style across all communications whether they are written or verbal. 

• The Brands Products and Services: Your products and services embody your brand identity, so consider this when you are creating them to ensure they are aligned with your overall brand identity.

• The Brand Visual Identity: This relates to how your brand looks and includes the colour palette, logo, typography, image style and product and packaging design. 

• The Brand Sensory Identity: An often overlooked aspect of a brand identity, the sensory identity is the touch and sounds that are associated with your brand. A good example of this is the sound when you open Netflix.  

Using SWOT Analysis to Build Brand Identity

Now you understand the aspects that build a brand identity, you can apply SWOT analysis to help better understand your brand and shape your brand identity. While you may be familiar with SWOT analysis from the business planning perspective, it can be a useful tool when it comes to your branding strategy too. 

Consider your brand's strengths, the positive characteristics that make you stand out against your competition and also your weaknesses that could be a disadvantage to your business. 

Also, look at the changes and trends in your industry and how your brand could use these as opportunities to either develop new products or services or improve existing ones. Finally, you will want to consider the threats, these are the elements that could cause problems for your brand. 

Using SWOT analysis to help define your brand identity can help you craft an identity that truly represents your values, your story and your mission. It can help you better understand your brand and will help shape your brand image.  

Ready to begin your brand identity journey? Get in touch to see how we can help.