It’s not easy to build a brand from scratch. Many elements truly help form a brand that will stand out for the years to come. It can be easy to get caught up focusing on the visual aspects from logos to colour palettes and copywriting. However, a solid brand must be built with a solid foundation. That means you must not rush into the design phase but rather solidify these fundamental pillars.

So what are these fundamental pillars? And how do you truly build a solid brand from scratch? The following 8 pillars are highly essential for creating a well-grounded brand.

If you have already created your own brand but are facing difficulty, check out what’s interfering with the success of your brand.

Keep reading till the end for a free Brand Basics guide from our experts here at Creative Partner. We got your brand basics covered.

Establish Your Brand’s Purpose

A brand is nothing without having a purpose. Before trying to build a brand from scratch, you need to know why your brand is being created. You must know what purpose it serves towards helping your audience in some way. Every brand is based on delivering a product and service. A strong brand focuses on the element of serving the greater good because it drives a stronger connection with your audience. Your audience is already exposed to thousands of brands on a daily basis. However, they tend to remember the ones who are invested in solving a problem in their lives.

Your audience needs to know that you’re not just here to gain revenue. They need to know you serve a purpose in their lives. This could be as simple as making something in their daily routine is easier. All that matters is that your purpose is about helping your audience solve a problem. That is what will make them revisit your brand.  

Define Your Mission

This pillar is highly important because it incorporates your purpose. Your purpose is focused on “why” your brand exists. Therefore, your mission encompasses “how” you are going to achieve your purpose. In short, your mission is how you plan to serve your audience and deliver on your promises.

Building a strong mission means knowing how you will impact your audience towards serving your purpose. Therefore, you must identify what your brand needs to commit to achieve these goals. If the purpose of your brand is to solve a problem for your audience, then your mission encompasses what you will need to commit to in order to do that. Your mission then has a focus on what you promise to do.

To build a brand from scratch involves having a mission statement which communicates your mission to your audience. This statement focuses on allowing your brand to serve its purpose.

Create a Vision

It can be easy to confuse your “mission” with your brand’s “vision.” A vision is where you would like your business to be in the future. This can even include what you anticipate as being the number of customers and locations you will have. Most importantly, your vision should consider how your audience will perceive your brand in the future. This means considering how it will have affected their lives in some way.

A strong brand vision is based on knowing where your brand will be going in the future. You need to believe in the impact it will have. Not having one defeats the purpose to build a brand from scratch in the first place. Your vision should challenge the boundaries of where your business will go. It should also challenge how your team members will follow your future brand. Writing a brand vision statement can help you create a vision that you and your team truly believe in.

Outline Your Values

Your mission establishes what you will commit towards achieving your purpose. However, your values encompass what commitments you will make in your behaviour during your day-to-day activities. It should go without saying that your values must line up with your purpose, mission and vision.

The most essential aspect of establishing brand values is to communicate these core values often. You should ensure that everybody on your team is following them. However, actions speak louder than words. Your business should be committed to these values by following them in any of its actions. Otherwise, your values become more of a marketing play rather than a commitment. Brands who stand out in the market commit towards following their purpose and values. This demonstrates they are trustworthy by staying true to their word. Being trustworthy then establishes a strong connection with your audience and thereby, a stronger brand that resonates with people.

Decide Your Brand’s Positioning

Positioning involves knowing what differentiates your business from the crowd because that is how your audience will truly remember you. Once you establish an understanding of your audience including their problems, it’s easier to identify what your brand uniquely offers.

Being aware of how you are different from your competitors is essential when you build a brand from scratch. This gives your business an edge and ensures your product/service is memorable. Even if your business is offering similar products as your competitors, there is always a way to differentiate your brand. This will truly make your audience feel that your brand is worthy of attention.

Form a Core Message

The core message of your brand is the keystone of your brand positioning and differentiating your brand from others. Your core message should focus on what your audience will always remember your brand for: how you are different. After all, audiences tend to only remember brands for the one thing that makes them stand out from the pack.

Your core message should also come across in any type of medium. This does not mean you need to repeat a literal phrase each and every time. Instead, your core message should communicate that it can be modified in any medium or setting. Your actions should also illustrate these core messages as well. Your tagline should also be based on encompassing your core message while being up to two sentences. After all, your core message is what you want your brand to be remembered for. That’s why it should be easy to recall by being short, concise and impactful.

Create Your Brand’s Personality

A brand personality is important to establish because it also helps form your core message. Moreover, your brand personality should reflect the nature of your audience including their demographic and what they gravitate towards. Your brand should have a personality that will attract your audience in the first place. Your audience will not be aware of your mission, vision and values if they are not attracted to your brand.

Follow the Do’s of Language & Tone

A huge part of your brand’s personality includes its language and tone. This is highly important in today’s day and age with social media platforms. It is crucial that the language and tone of your brand appeals to your target demographic. This involves speaking their language, which will allow your brand to establish a stronger connection with them. Making that connection is what will make your brand be memorable in the minds of your key demographic.  

See the image below for some essential do’s and don’ts for your brand’s language & tone.

Conclusion

Building a brand from scratch a journey towards understanding the nature of your business and how you can serve others. Overlooking these fundamental pillars of branding will make it more difficult to establish a brand that will resonate years to come. Building your brand with a solid foundation will establish a connection with your audience. This is what will ultimately drive your business growth in the long run.

Building a brand involves many fundamental pillars and this article only covers some of the basics. Check out this free brand guide offered by our experts at Creative Partner to help you create a brand that will stand the test of time.