What is brand identity and how to shape it

Identity is an important characteristic of a brand: without it, a consumer may simply not recognize the brand and not pay attention to the product that is hidden behind it.

Brand identity is how the brand is perceived by the consumer: how it is perceived, with what the brand is associated, what attracts the consumer in it. Such associations show the promises a brand makes and its value to people. It is important that the brand identity is unique, and the associations that the brand itself evokes are positive. The brand should also be perceived by the consumer as something valuable, in other words, what this brand offers should be important for your target audience. This is due to the fact that all your differences really matter if they become valuable to the consumer.

In order to create brand identity, it is first necessary to collect information about consumers: what is important to them, what problems they may have, dreams, what joy. If we find such pain points, we can determine on the basis of what it is better for us to build a brand.

The next stage is a thorough analysis of the product and the company that offers this product: what is important in this product, what problems it helps to solve, what it is worth focusing on, how it will help solve the problems of your consumers.

Next, you need to decide what will help shape the brand, what needs to be emphasized, which associations and ideas are the most important for your brand. After analyzing the needs of the client and the features of the product, it will not be difficult to choose what will become the identity of your brand, its key idea.

To better identify the strengths of a product, consider it at several levels:

The first level is the product by design: what this product was created for. Think about what needs he can satisfy than help the consumer. This level is also called the core of the product, and it represents what the product is bought for: a white blouse is bought to wear it for work, and a bottle of water is used to quench thirst. It is important that these characteristics and the basic needs that this product covers do not change. For example, the product itself is a school backpack for a girl.

The second level is the product in real execution. This includes product packaging, design, some additional features specific to your product - for example, a picture on a backpack with the hero of your favorite cartoon, gift wrapping and a pencil case that comes with the backpack.

The third level is the product with reinforcement - in other words, everything that is attached to the product. In the case of a backpack, this is a guarantee that the manufacturer provides, as well as free delivery that the store offers.

If you take into account all three levels of the product, you will surely be able to build a working brand.