Brand identity is the core of every company. Brand identity is, essentially, how the world views you. It is your brand image, personality, and values that makes your brand what it is and sets it apart from others. Brand identity is the amalgamation of all of the elements above that your company creates to portray the right image of itself to your consumers. It is a consistent representation of your brand which requires time and effort to forge. So what makes a strong brand identity? How do you develop a brand identity that people can instantly associate? Let’s take a look at some of these examples of brands with great brand identity
Starbucks
One of the most defining traits of a strong brand identity is the consumers’ ability to recognize the brand immediately. Starbucks is one of the biggest international brands with a logo that can be recognized anywhere. Even without the words ‘Starbucks Coffee’, it is an image that is synonymous to the ethical, eco-friendly and high quality coffee franchise. Starbucks’ mission is “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time”. Starbucks is consistent in their brand identity, including their logo, merchandise, food and drinks, as well as the look and feel of their stores. The brand pays attention towards the tiniest of details, operating at a consistent standard to provide the same experience for its consumers in every store.
Other than brand appearance, Starbucks has also built its brand identity through its philosophy of being a socially responsible and ethical company. They pride themselves on their ethical practices, such as ethical sourcing of raw materials, forest conservation programs and recycling systems. These are just the 2 key elements that makes up their strong brand identity. Other than brand collaterals and brand philosophies, there are many things that can be used to forge a brand identity that will be the core pillar of your corporate reputation. One of which is a brand video that helps you to market your brand. Brand videos can be in the form of an explainer video as well, many brands have opted to use animation to relay their brand message and position themselves in the market. Now let’s discuss how animation videos can be used to build your brand identity!
So how do animation videos help to build your brand identity?
Personify your brand
Animation videos allow you to easily have creative control over the exact content being produced. This means that you can conceptualize and create your own unique video that is catered specifically to your target audience. Unlike life-action videos, there are no limitations when it comes to animation. It is a clean piece of slate where you can create targeted content that is more effective in communicating your brand identity to your audience. For example, you can conceptualize characters in the video that your target audience can identify with. If they can relate to your video, this will increase their trust and connection to your brand, enhancing your brand identity. By making your brand relatable, your brand identity becomes clearer and more memorable to your target audience. Take a look at how Mcdonald’s used animation to communicate its brand identity to its viewers.
Following the report on the fall of global sales, Mcdonald’s came up with an animated video to reinforce their concept and slogan ‘I’m lovin’ it’. The video features popular pop culture references animated into characters such as spongebob, Batman and the joker. Referencing these characters excites the viewers and catches their attention, and it also simultaneously helps to reinforce Mcdonald’s brand identity as a fun eatery for everyone.
Help your target audience associate colours with your brand
Colours, colours, colours. It is a simple detail that often gets overlooked, yet it is extremely crucial in forming brand identity. Look at Coca Cola. Their brand identity; including logo, merchandise, and ads are all in the colour red. The font of their logo is so iconic, you can immediately recognize that it is Coca Cola even from a distance away.
Likewise for branding videos. For animation videos, it is easier to change the colours to suit your brand colours. Colour palettes are easily adjustable and it can be aligned to your branding guide. With these specific colours, you can strengthen your brand identity as your consumers and potential consumers will be able to associate them with your company, aiding brand recall after they have seen the video.
Express your brand personality
Animation videos allow you to easily have creative control over the exact content being produced. For example, you get to decide if you want your animation chalkboard style, motion graphics, 3D animation or 2D animation. You also have creative control over other aspects such as colour schemes, choice of music, character persona and style of narration. All these enable great flexibility in expressing your brand image, which will greatly aid in brand identity. For example, chalkboard animation style makes your brand look very creative and innovative. The style of the animation also gives the impression that your brand is personable and approachable. As for motion graphics, it gives your brand a sleek and sophisticated edge that can distinguish you from your competitors. Animation is a fantastic visual communication tool for your brand identity because of its variety of flexible art styles.
Great way of storytelling
We all love stories. They are not only visually appealing, they are emotionally engaging as well. Remember when you couldn’t get yourself to stop binge watching that tv series on Netflix? Stories are important if your audience to connect to your brand on a deeper level. Through stories, your audience will be able to relate to your brand, strengthening your brand identity one frame at a time. The great part about animation is that it is easy to tell a story with it. Through beautiful animated visuals, you can show your audience that you understand their struggles, you identify with their pain points, and how you’re going to help them on their journey to reach their goals. Through storytelling, you can build or reinforce your brand identity to your audience.
cred: http://markrhugraphics.blogspot.sg/2014/03/storyboard.html
Enjoyed this article? Read more about the corporation marketing benefits of animation videos here.
Sources:
https://martinroll.com/resources/articles/strategy/secret-starbucks-brand-success/
https://www.lucidpress.com/blog/the-7-key-elements-of-brand-identity-design
https://99designs.com.sg/blog/tips/brand-identity/
https://explainify.com/blog/animated-marketing-videos-brand-positioning/
