Branding Inspiration #1 - The Real Zeal

What's the fuss about brand building? Do we need these external elements like logos and stuff?

The answer is yes may be we do.

I sat through an inspiring talk by this a gentleman called

http://www.pluggd.in/anand-babu-periasamy-gluster-cofounder-297/

And I'm not a techie , I am not into hacking, I had no clue how he sold his company to Red Hat and probably made a lotta money - well he's definitely successful. 

I looked through his presentation and sat through his talk thinking did he sit down and create a brand? Did he spend sleepless nights fussing over logos?

Maybe he did - but think about this - your customer doesn't see all this when he sees you and your brand is a reflection of you. 

You are your brand's real zeal. You are the real zeal. 

When I sat through his story, he could be selling lemonade to me and calling it "yuckywater" and I would want to buy it. 

Why?

Passion - he made techie stuff sound interesting to me, he had my attention, he connected. He said the product he was creating felt like creating a "religion" how cool is that?

Can you do that?

I'm sure it will work. 

Now this doesn't mean you give insipiring talks to your customers, it just means that if you are able to get your brand to reflect your zeal, your customer's gonna see that and he's going to get hooked on to it. 

Am I beginning to sound like a consultant?

Well just do this - be passionate about your brand, try to create a religion in stead of doing mundane stuff. What all do you need - you need something - a cause, an idol, a God - who is so greater than the commoners that he/ she / it needs to be worshipped, you're so in love with that God that you feel like sharing it with everyone and you feel everyone needs a piece of it to experience heaven. 

Hope you're getting all this. 

Step by step how to create your logo

The creative agency route - the key requirement here is - commitment & willingness to participate in a relationship

1. Set a budget - so you look for an agency you can afford 
2. Prepare a detailed brief : http://www.logocritiques.com/resources/the_creative_brief_questions_to_ask_before_designing_a_logo/
3. Hire an agency 
4. Work with them - don't expect them to create magic if you aren't playing the part of a good audience 

Crowd source route - the key requirement here is - knowing what you want 

Try places like http://99designs.com/  where you can get multiple freelance design professionals to pitch a logo to you based on the directions you provide them. 

There is a designer at every price point and you are likely to get some awesome results without the commitment levels required in the traditional creative agency route. 

Its called crowd source because you get a creative crowd to create your logo and you source it from them at a price that you're comfortable paying.

The DIY route - they key requirement here is - self confidence, clarity & positivity

1. Treat yourself as a creative agency - expect an outcome from your efforts
2. Fill out the brief and keep it at eye level / hands reach at all times
3. Work with a software and with tools you're comfortable with - this could be pen & paper. Try a blank white paper and create your image. Import it to photoshop or paint and make the background transparent. Voila ! Just go for it - don't let negative thoughts bog you down. 
4. Get inspired - look through your fav brands logos
5. Take the plunge!

Happy logo creation - do write to us for direction, guidance etc 

Much ado about a-doodle : Your Logo

What is a logo?  ( apart from being an owned brand element)
A logo is a condensed, "sharper - stronger - smarter" version of your brand promise. It visually communicates what your brand is all about.
It tells your target customer - what you see is what you get.
You can't create a memorable brand if you can't make your customers "see" what you mean. On a separate note if you're wondering about the visually impaired - the kind of logo that usually connects your brand with your audience is typically the kind of logo that is most "talked" about / most shared by the viewer.
It forms a permanent connection, a hyper link to your brand in your target customer's mind.

Snap Shot - Name your own product !

Brand Elementary - Naming your product

Clearly, this is an important step in brand building. At this stage your product could have passed the prototype stage and entered the test stage - you want to introduce it to your test market or you've cleared the stage by calling it " it " and now you want to launch it to a broader audience - you need to give it a name.
Snap out of the paralysis of "Name-a-lysis" and just get down to it, here are some easy steps

1. Study your product class - e.g. if your product is an energy drink - study all products that can be called an energy drink - what kind of names have worked? how are they similar or different?
2. Get to know the kind of  people you expect will buy your products - youngsters wouldn't want " Energium 20" - masculine men wouldn't want to hang out with "pinkfest" -
3. Study names of products almost like your product - what are they called? What has worked?
4. Ask yourself - what is different about my product, how would I like it to be perceived?
5. Discuss and " co - think (tm) "
6. Test the name for trade markability, uniqueness, consumer affinity, memorability, recall-ability and fitment to desired perception

All clear? That's your product name, now its a brand. Check the graphic for some suggested routes....

Snap Shot - Brand a person

Brand a person

You are a / an - athlete, life coach, professor, independent financial consultant - you get it.
If what you do = who you are = what your brand is then you can use the following steps

1. Google yourself - do you see books authored by you, your professional profile on your own website and on other professional networks like linkedin, blogs written by you, comments on blogs and forums where your clients express themselves, videos of seminars conducted by you, positive news / word of mouse about you? Work on this. Its essential to talk about yourself.
2. Be yourself - you need a unique identity, you must offer some unique value which your clients cannot get from any other professional. Introspect, create, celebrate and articulate your uniqueness
3. Get noticed - by clients, peers and the market in which you operate
4. Influence - keep widening your circle of influence by participating and putting yourself out there - this could mean attending industry events, actually meeting people with your ideas and your thoughts 
5. Be nice  -  its nice to be important but its more important to be nice / handsome is as handsome does