Go Vocal for Local

Brand identity is what the world sees, the outside expression of the brand. It’s your brand’s personality. As Prime Minister Modi recently urged the nation to be vocal about the local in his recent speech, the terms such as “Vocal for local” and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ have become trending topics across all media platforms. Mr. L.D. Sharma, an advertising expert & Managing director of Mayhigh films says “It’s an opportune time for thousands of local brands to showcase their products and services and urge their countrymen to buy locally. As a result, it calls for an immediate need of advertising and branding to attract the attention of local buyers.” He suggested several Mantras for local brands to stand out among their competitors and build a strong brand identity-

1) Know your brand strategy

Brand strategy is a detailed plan that shows what are your business objectives and how you will achieve it. Brand identity (visual appearance of a brand) is the tool to achieve it.

• Brand Reason (purpose, vision, mission, values)
• Brand Messaging (brand communication, persona, tagline, value to its TG, USP)
• Brand Identity (logo, color, typography, etc.)

 2) Study Your Current Brand Identity

These things should be noted while creating a brand identity

• Where is your brand currently placed?
• How the brand identity be created from zero or transformed to have synergies with your business goals.

It is important to know how your brand is perceived, both internally and externally. Do an audit survey to analyse into all aspects of your brand. Get the insights of

• Brand Employees
• Stakeholders
• Customers
• Partners and agencies

 3) Know Your Competition

Creating a brand identity is mainly about differentiation: brand visibility, meaningful, and unique. It is crucial to study the competitive landscape to compare where your brand stands in perception and presentation. For eg. if the competition uses a particular color palette, avoid going that road and use some other refreshing colors to make a statement.

 5) Put words into Visuals

Pen down a creative brief that lists the relevant information and ensure you create a visual identity that aligns with your brand. Brainstorm words that best describe your brand, visualise them, and bring it to life.

 Hire the best advertising agency to solve this purpose. Go for Corporate film, explainer videos, product videos or TV commercials for branding and trust building purpose.

 6) Develop your brand design

This is fun but also the most challenging part

• Typography. It means the font type you choose for your branding materials.
• Color scheme: People tend to associate certain colors with a particular emotion; using branding colors and logo colors strategically can impact on how your brand is perceived by your audience. Eg. Red is the colour of power, passion, so perfect fit for a strong, powerful feeling in your branding.
• Form/Shape: This is very effective in connecting with your audience. For e.g. Round shape enthuses feelings of community, unity, and love.

7)  Designing your brand identity

Bring your brand identity to life using the above elements.

•  Logo. It should communicate who you are, your values; visually appealing, classic, and impactful
• Photography. Have clear guidelines about the types of images and visual treatments you want to adhere to as photographs of the product you are selling creates a crucial impact.
• Website. It is the window to your offerings and should reflect your brand identity.
• Product packaging. If your product is tangible, then product packaging is important to attract the right customers. Attractive packaging makes your product shine.
•  Additional Elements. Interactive elements, Animations, Video, Web design

 In a nutshell, creating a successful brand identity takes a lot of work and team effort so, make sure your brand identity is:

• Unique: It stands out among the competition.
•  Impactful: It makes a visual impact. (For eg Nike: The swoosh logo is so recognisable that it doesn’t need the brand name.)
• Upgradeable: It can grow and evolve with the brand.
•  Integrated: Coherent with brand identity.
• Comprehensible: It’s clear and understandable for designers to create