Supporting Notes: History of Branding

Branding dates back to the start of mass productions. Before this time, products were made on a small scale, and sold locally. Marketing was born in response to a challenge faced in the 19th century when companies like Quakers Oats and Heinz were trying to ease public’s doubts about mass productions of products. These companies figured out that through designing brand identities, complete with human elements, they could put shoppers minds at ease and develop a deeper sense of trust from consumers. The essence of branding is about creating trust, and connection with your customers so they want to buy your product over thousands of others. Why What you are trying to do with branding and marketing is connect with your customer. Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business, large of small. An effective brand strategy gives you a competitive edge.Branding is defined as a name, symbols or design that differentiates a product from other products – but it’s so much more than that. Your brand is your story, it’s your foundation, it’s the feeling a customer gets from your product. It’s the personality and the cornerstone of your business. Simply put, it’s your promise to your customers. It can tell your customers what you can expect from your products and services, and it separates your offering from your competitors. Your brand comes from “who” you are, “who” you want to be and “who” people perceive you to be. But you can’t tell your companies life story each time you want to sell a product. There are tools we can use to help us tell the story in a very short space of time – Colour. Colour is one of the most powerful tools we can use in branding. Not only can it send out messages, it also has the ability to conjure emotions. Evidence suggests that consumers are more likely to choose a brand over how it makes them feel, rather than what they think about it. Emotion is the driving force of behaviour. If we can create feelings about a product, then our target audience is more likely to choose us. Brands and colour are linked because colour effects an instantaneous method for conveying meaning and message without words. In branding it is important to know what you are trying to say with your brand, as well as who you are trying to reach. Your brand, name and colours all have to convey the message you want to send out. This is one of the biggest mistakes companies make when deciding on branding. Particular colours usually correlate to where it falls on the spectrum – warmer colours such as red/yellow are bold, uplifting, and energetic. The cooler side of the spectrum – blue/green, are considered calmer, and are more reserved. This is important to remember because emotion is one of the most powerful tools to connect with customers.Points to remember-

1. Must align with brand identity and promise 2. It must set you apart but also must work well within your industry 3. Must be integrated seamless throughout brand.

Supporting Notes: Colour Theory

The utilization of colour can be a very powerful tool in branding. That said, very few brands have effectively been able to gain a competitive advantage through the use of colour. On a basic level, colour has the ability to evoke emotions. On a deeper level, colour is arguably the most powerful stimulus for the brain.Coupled with personal experiences, the reaction to a particular colour usually correlates to where it falls on the spectrum; warmer colours such as red/yellow are bold, uplifting and energetic. The cooler side of the spectrum, blue/green, exude calmness and feel more reserved. This is important because emotion is one of the most powerful tools to connect with customers. Three points to remember when colour is being used

It must align with brand identity/promise It must set you apart as well as work within your industry Must be integrated seamlessly across the brand

Red: Often associated with passion and love as well as anger and danger Blue: Evokes feelings of calmness and spirituality as well as security and trust Yellow: Associated with laughter, hope and sunshineGreen: Symbolised health, new beginnings and worth

Blue

All banks use blue for their dominant colour, even other financial institutes’ use blue. More than a coincidence that these money related companies all chose blue for their brand identity. What do they know that we don’t?Short answer is that they know how to combine colour theory and business. When building a brand, just like building a house, you need to understand how to use all the tools at your disposal.

Why branding colour matters

What do you think when you hear the word love? Most likely conjures a stronger emotional response compared to when you hear a phrase like bike rack. Emotions are powerful and (whether we like it or not) drive our decision making. As a brand you want to cultivate a strong emotional connection with your customers. The problem is, you can’t tell your company’s entire life story in a logo. But branding provides a short cut straight to your client’s heart.Just like words elicit different emotions, colours create different human responses as well. Even more interestingly, the same colour tends to provoke similar responses in different people.

Evolutionary

Blood red, puts people on alert for dangerBrowns of dirt and rotten food tend to be unappetising, but not always, chocolate.

How customers feel about a brand

How customers feel about a brand has more effect than what they think about a brand. Pair that with the fact we know certain colours evoke certain emotions: your brand colours have the ability to impact your sale performance more than any other promotional effort.

Repetition of the same colour can strengthen brand awareness

You must choose your brand colours carefully as they’ll have a direct influence on your brand identity. Pink might be your favourite colour, but might be the worst for your business goals. So before choosing brand colours, must know brand personality, and what type of customers you want to attract.

Red has done wonders for coke who want to portray an energetic, youthful brand, but the same colours wouldn’t work for a mattress company, who want to evoke a brand personality that is calm and relaxing, denoting a good night sleep.

What do you want to communicate?

Choosing your brand colours can be easy, if you know what you want to communicate. One of your earliest steps in building a brand is determining what your brand personality is. Essentially you want to think of your business as a person. Who are they? What is important to them?Once you’ve established what your brand personality goals are, the next step is understanding what emotions are associated with each colour.

Brands and colour are linked because colour effects an instantaneous method of conveying meaning and messages without words.

Definition of branding – name, sign, symbol or design or a combination of them, intended to identify a company’s products or services. In other words a brand communicates the ideas of a company or product. This is what forms the connection with the customer.

Tool to use Colour can be a very powerful tool to use when trying to draw customers to your product. Used well, it will tell your potential customers what kind of brand you

are, and what kind of product or service you are trying to sell them, and whether you’re the kind of brand they identify with. Used not so well, and it has the potential to put your customers off your product.

Supporting Notes: Blue

Blue represents trust, integrity and communication. Use the wrong tone of blue and it’s the colour that makes a brand appear cold, aloof and unapproachable. Positive: Trust, integrity and efficiency. It’s the colour that conveys communication and logic. It also represents calm, reflection and serenity. This is because blue relates to the mind, affecting us mentally. Negative: Can come across as cold and uncaring. Known as the least appetising colour, a fact attributed to the lack of blue food. Blue is associated with reliability and loyalty hence why many law enforcements uniforms are blueBlue interacts with our minds in a calming way, and this subconscious effect is utilised in the marketing world. For example, many people have a fear of flying, to help combat these negative feelings towards flights, airlines have incorporated the colour blue into their brand identity, designed to suggest serenity, stability, cleanliness, safety and peace.

IBM uses dark blue tones to assert their authority as reliable, trustworthy and dependable. It also conveys that they are conservative and traditional

A lot of social media sites have chosen the colour blue to represent communication. They have all chosen different tones to represent

different elements of blue. For example, twitter has chosen a lighter blue to represent the “fun” side of social media, with the yellow undertones.

As a dependable and constant colour, blue is associated with precision and intelligence, making it a good choice for technology companies. If these companies were to use red instead, that sense of precision and intelligence would be overcome with a sense of urgency.

Supporting Notes: Green

The colour green has a wide range of visual and mental association. A fact attributed to its use in many phrases and expression – “Grass is greener”, “going green” and “getting the green light”.Green takes up a large portion of the spectrum of colours visible to the human eye – Each shade of green can have very different association than the other. Dark forest green can become very manly, traditional and calm. While lime green has a high level of energy. All these greens are perceived as tranquil and refreshing and have one thing in common: green has an overall positive message. Green is the colour that represents universal peace and that of mother earth and the environment. Making green a very popular colour with brands with those values. Green is considered peaceful and stable due to its natural balance of cool warm colours. It gives a visual sense of balance that gives the colour green a soothing and relaxing influence. Green is known to help elevate depression, nervousness and anxiety. It promotes a sense of renewal, sense of control and harmony – for this reason people wait in a “green” room. The secret to green is use in moderation. Brands who uses green

Uses neon green which pops – communicating the fresh and modern music they release

Communicates calmness and sophistication, intended to promote stability and consistency in their products and

intends on being a relaxing place to spend time. They also use green on their walls to encourage people to spend more time within the coffee shop

The body shop are an ethical, organic beauty brand. Their use of green represents their natural, eco-friendly brand. Using a dark green gives their brand a traditional feel, which aligns with their values

Supporting Notes: Red

Brands use the colour red if the personality they are trying to convey is outgoing, lively and energetic. Positive elements: Warmth, excitement, stimulation, energy, strength, power, and physical courage. Negative: Aggressions, defiant, and confrontational – it can be overwhelming and tiring. Red is an attention grabbing colour, but use it carefully because it can contradict itself. Culturally red portrays a variety of different associations – in China, red is a sign of good luck. In South Africa, red is the colour of mourning. Love and danger “Red Holidays” like Christmas and valentines associated with warmth, love and giving. Outside of the holiday context it can be associated with alarm, hazard, blood and danger. Know your audience when using red, and make sure your message is clear.

Unlike blue, which is an appetite suppressant, red is an appetite stimulant. It is thought that it does this by increasing your heart rate. And especially when used with yellow. Fast food – McDonalds, Burger King, KFC. The idea behind this colour usage is that it is attention grabbing and associated with speed and quickness.

Coca-Cola – all about stamina, power and energy boost their drink provides. Making red the perfect colour

Supporting Notes: Yellow

Yellow is the brightest colour of the visible spectrum and most noticeable of all the colours by the human eye. The human eye processes yellow first, so this would explain why it’s so eye catching. Much like how red has been proven to increase heart rate and increase appetite, yellow has similar effects in the food area. Together red and yellow are the most popular colours for fast food because they evoke the tastes buds and appetite. Outside the fast food industry, restaurants don’t tend to use these colours. Positive: Yellow is the colour most associated with happiness and optimism, as well as creativity because of its strong associations with the sun, which represents warmth, light and happiness. It’s also associated with imagination, energy, glory and respect. Negative: Some shades of yellow are associated with cowardice. It has been found that babies cry more in bright yellow rooms, tempers are more likely to flare around yellow. This could be because yellow is the most stressful colour on the eye because of the high amount of light reflected off it. Every colour has it’s positive and negatives, but yellows gap seems to be the greatest. Yellow pages/ post-itsYellow stimulates mental activity – when we record and read back something in a pastel shade of yellow paper, we have more chance of remembering it.Brands that use yellowYellow can quickly overpower if over used, but used in the right place (with the right complementing colour), it can be an effective tool in marketing to greater sales.

With its red border, shell’s well known corporate identity makes a bold statement. Its eye catching and in a way, distracting. Associated to prestige and corporate reputation.

Maybe one of the most recognisable and memorable, the “golden Arches” are a symbol of golden standard.

Associated with optimism and quickness. Subway’s use of yellow communicates in a fresh way, with its incorporation of green. The yellow solidifies their positions as a respectable, healthy alternative in the fast food industry.

Supporting Notes: White

White is often associated with purity or cleanliness. White can imply innocence, goodness, a fresh start or safety. Unlike many other colours, white is rarely associated with negative feelings. In design, the use of white can be a little tricky because it’s impossible to use as a stand-alone colour. A white logo will always need a coloured background or compliment to be properly visible. If choosing white, using a black background can be perceived as fashionable, dignified, tasteful and elegant.White signifies enlightened persona. It could also signify the brand seeks excellence, represents new beginnings or delivers peace and comfort. By using white in your business logo, you can communicate goodness, cleanliness, clarity, innocence, a sense of optimism, equality, energy and idealism. Although white is not particularly known for eliciting negative emotions, when used in excess it can create or imply a sense of coolness, sterility and emptiness. Due to its reference to safety, organisation, simplicity and cleanliness – white is popular choice for technological products, appliances, medical products or offices, as well as other, health related items. As your white logo will also need a complimentary colour, keep in mind other brand characteristics when making those decisions.

Mini/Tesla

These two brands have heavy focus on technology, safety and simplicity. Both also consider themselves to be a solutions to the world’s oil crisis and a symbol of optimism.

The North Face

The north face is named after “the coldest and most unforgiving side of the mountain”. The outdoors and snow are major influences on the choice of white. But this well-known supplier of high quality gear also value technology and innovation, protecting the outdoors, places we explore, and improving their product performances.

Crocs

A shoe company that favour innovation and simplicity in design. The company believes in honesty, ethics and according to their values: “Make a choice to have an open mind every day. We embrace and celebrate the uniqueness in everyone, inviting the world to come as you are”. White is a superb choice to demonstrate their strong sense of optimism.

Supporting Notes: Black

The colour black in branding Black can be surprisingly mysterious. The colour black can be crafty and carry with it hidden meanings or messages: It can suggest aggressiveness, power and discipline. It can also be associated with sophistication, temptation, affluence, high-end luxury brands and success. By using black in a business logo, you can convey authority, strength, formality and power. Black logos can also reflect negativity, conservatism and shrewdness. When used in packaging, black can create a powerful and impressive effect, even making products seem more stylish and luxurious.Brands using black logos – Black makes for a striking and potent logo. Often uncomplicated in design, black logos demonstrates independence, simplicity, seriousness and dignity.High end luxury brands

Black is popular for many high-end luxury brands, A symbol of elegance and affluence, black logos work well with companies like Gucci, Prada and ChannelInformation and technology brands

Black suggests power, authority seriousness and presents itself as very modern and polished. Often the choice for well-established technology and information giants. Strong brands like Apple, Sony, Motorola, BBC.Athletic brands

Black is often associated with strength, discipline, seriousness, protection and