Simply put Brand Identity is the identity of your company. It portrays what your company is and what it offers the customer. It sounds very simple but there are many things associated with it that can be very complex. It is the projection of your company to the customers – what people will think, feel or do when they hear or see your business reference.
The brand identity sparks all from the core value of your business. It becomes the guiding factor of every decisions you make and everything you do in or outside of your company – including design, aesthetics, product, employee, charity.
Think of it like an good actor in his character in a movie. You need the following characteristics to be a good actor and also build a good brand identity.
Charisma
This is one of those real surface qualities that you would expect. Performing on stage, or on camera, requires a certain amount of expressive energy. Similarly you will need the high-octanes of energy and the ability to translate that energy into digital and print media and public appearances to build an impact.
Hard Work & Commitment
Acting is such a self-starter business and is going to require so much self-motivation, as well as endless amounts of your personal time in order to be successful. Similarly in business with every job you get, you’re going to have to generously research for your competition, market, as well as put in hours and hours of development time.
Confidence
It’s a common personality trait of an actor especially in the early stages of auditioning, as well as warding off criticism and rejection when times get tough. Similarly for business you will be required to expose many facets of yourself (emotional, mental, and even sometimes physical) in front of people, so being confident in yourself and being able to surge into those vulnerable places without shriveling into a ball of anxiety is a huge component of creating a strong and positive brand.
Intelligence
Most of the actors are college dropouts, that never even went to college, and a chunk of them never even finished high school. How come they are so smart when you hear their interview? Firstly, their job requires them to do a ridiculous amount of reading and research on a wide-variety of topics. So they’re well read and well schooled on important issues happening in the world because it often relates to the work they’re doing. Similarly in your business you need to be develop this the type of intelligence that you could define as emotional intelligence, self-awareness, or a real adept understanding and insight into human behaviour and what drives people.
Highly Imaginative
In acting sometimes you have to completely plant yourself in alternate realities that encompass absolutely nothing from the world you know. This is where their imagination takes over. Similarly in business you need to constantly harness ways to be imaginative, come up with ideas that doesn’t exist but believe in them as they are real.
Understanding of Human Behaviour
The best actors have an exceptional understanding of human behaviour – what people want and need, universally, on the deepest level. This is what every single role they tackle will require from them — the ability to dig deep into the psyche behind their character and figure out their motives, which will determine their behaviour. Similarly in setting up a Brand identity yo need love to observe people and watch what they do, and then try to figure out why they do the things they do. Understanding human behavior is one of the key features of developing your relatable and positive brand identity.
Introspective
One of the most important relationships an actor will ever have is the one they have with their self. It’s essential that actors are constantly learning about themselves and trying to understand more about who they are as a person. They will also go to great lengths to improve who they are as a person and get more in touch with their authentic self. Creating a brand identity is a similar ongoing journey where you keep looking deep inside your company and seek ways to improve it.
It’s not that you have to possess every single one of these qualities to build a good brand, but it just seems that in the formation of the strategy, often you’ll see, at least some, of these qualities. So get in touch with the real mission of your company, reach deep into your emotions, and continue to discover more about the goals and drive of your company in the process.
