Defining Your Brand
A brand is the first sentence of your business's story. For some, writing that first sentence comes easy, and for some not so much. When we think of a brand, we immediately think of the logo, the colors, and other aesthetic parts of it. That's absolutely part of a brand's anatomy, but there's so much more.
Just recently a client, a comedian, expressed that they weren't sure what their brand was, or what it should be. I firmly believe that I, the marketer, shouldn't tell the client what their brand is. I can help shape it and smooth out the rough edges, but I will not spell it out for a client, or push on them what I think they are. The advice that I gave them is what I'd like to share with all of you.
Draw an upside-down pyramid, and then draw two lines through it so that you have three blank spaces. Each space in this pyramid makes up your brand, each having specific parts.
Primary Focus: At the top of the pyramid, make this space where you write out who, or what you are first and foremost. This could be your profession, industry, or just one word or a short phrase that sums you up perfectly.
Secondary: The center of your pyramid, ties together your primary focus with the smaller things below. This should include your values, your beliefs, your mission...the causes that you root for, etc. Together with your primary focus, you should start to see the framework of your brand.
Tertiary: These are the niceties that aren't big enough to fit in the top or middle, but still play an important role in defining your brand. Since this is the smallest space, place things in here that wouldn't significantly change the makeup of your brand. This includes colors, fonts, taglines, etc.
With all of these combined, you have a neat little package that you can use in reference to when you start building your business. Without any of these pieces, the pyramid would be incomplete. Think of this diagram as an arrow pointing you in the right direction.
What do you think? If you're curious about how to build your own branding pyramid, I am more than happy to help.
