LEVEL I

MASTERING CONCEPTS 

BRANDING

What is branding?

Branding is the art of connecting with people through intentional images, colors, words and emotions.

What is the purpose of branding?

Branding is responsible for making sure the mission, culture and standards are upheld in every possible interaction a person has with the brand.

Why do we brand?

To ensure the quality of our services, products and interactions are the same no matter who we speak to, where we are or what we are selling.  

What does branding do for us?

It determines the culture of our organization in the following ways:

• Sets a standard for employee behavior and expectations

• Prioritizes a greater purpose or mission for our work

• Motivates loyalty from customers, employees, business partners and employees

It generates relationships in the following ways:

• Attracts compatible employees, team mates, business partners and clients / customers 

• Incentivizes audiences who align with our culture to interact with our organization

• Develops empathy for and from our audiences

It targets audiences in the following ways:

• Values

• Traits

• Fears

• Desires

• Purpose

It makes content creation and creative projects faster in the following ways:

• Pre-selecting colors, fonts and layouts for designers

• Creating a “personality” template for consistent writing styles

It protects content on and off-line in the following ways:

• Serving as proof of conceptual design and/or origin

• Developing reputation and credibility with specific format that can’t be duplicated 

It preserves financial, organization and creative legacy in the following ways:

• Cultivating mass demand from audiences over a long period of time

• Making intention, mission and purpose incorruptible for future generations

• Demanding specific actions, behaviors and monetary spending for impact

What does branding do for others?

It helps others know us better in the following ways:

• Communicating our values, mission and purpose

• Creating a relatable, human experience

Who does branding for us?

The person who has the vision is responsible for creating the brand. 

This is the Founder or CEO.

After the Founder or CEO generates all of the elements of a brand (see below), it’s time to hire other people to bring the brand to life with words, colors, images and more.

Positions responsible for bringing our brand to life after it’s created:   

• Designers

• Writers

• Editors

• Advertisers

Once our logo is created and our branding content is established, we can hire a teammate to manage the brand going forward:

• Brand manager

• Director

How long does branding last?

Forever. 

Branding is used to manage creative projects throughout the lifetime of the organization such as:

• Sales presentations & messages

• Marketing collateral

• Images & videos

• Apparel & promo products

• C-Level presentations

• Event presences

• Commercials

• Podcasts & blogs

• All online and offline content marketing

• Advertisements

What are brand elements?

• Voice = the way the brand sounds when speaking audibly or inaudibly to audiences

• Colors = the representation of emotions felt by audiences when they interact with the brand

• Feelings = the emotions the brand is projecting when interacting with audiences

• Personality = human traits embodied by the brand  

• Logo = visual representation of the brand purpose, feelings, voice and target audience anchored in a symbol 

• Tagline / Slogan = a brief, concise description of the brand purpose or mission

• Purpose or Mission = the transformational experience the brand delivers

• Trademarks = legalizes ownership of any elements above to prohibit infringement or duplication from any competitor

END OF BRANDING

Congratulations, you’ve reached the end of Level 1 Branding!

Let’s move on to Marketing. —>

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