Consider:

1. The number of bacon slices on your last BLT.
2. Your beau’s efforts on Valentine’s Day.
3. The amount of sleep you logged last night.
4. Your business’s logo.

What do these four items have in common, you ask? Each is, sadly, not enough.

While we’d love to throw more bacon at you, we can really only help with the last item on the list. Stick with us, and we’ll go over the different elements of your brand. We’ll also explain why your logo, while important, is only one piece of the puzzle.

What Is Your Brand?

As we said, your logo is only one part of your brand. A strong brand has many moving parts—each of which has a vital role in the creation of your marketing strategy. All in all, your strategy should consider your company’s history, mission, values, and target audience. That way, you can create a big-picture identity that stands out to consumers.

Your logo alone cannot convey every detail that a consumer should know about your brand—hence the need for a wider marketing strategy. With a solid strategy in place, your business will form a strong foundation on which to create current and future marketing materials. Plus, you’ll avoid confusing your customers with content that is all over the place.

Creating a brand is an essential, and fun, part of making a business successful. You can read more about how to set up your brand guidelines here.

How Did Branding Even Become, Like, a Thing?

Terms like “brand strategy,” “brand identity,” and “brand guidelines,” get thrown around quite a bit in the marketing world. But where did the concept of branding even come from? We’re glad you asked!

The Early Days

Branding has a long and storied history, dating back to the 1800s. Early brands were simple, often consisting only of the name of the product or company. They were used to identify and differentiate products in a crowded marketplace.

Believe it or not, there was once a time when mass marketing was non-existent. That’s because, in the early days of branding, companies could only reach a limited number of consumers and only through direct contact. As a result, brands focused on one specific market so they could connect with those customers and convince them to continue buying products and/or paying for services.

The Age of Modernism

Then, the 20th Century happened. Mass marketing hit the mainstream and changed how businesses operate. Now that companies could reach a larger audience, they could advertise to virtually anyone. This was both a blessing and a curse . . . because, as it turns out, you really can’t please everyone.

That’s why, in the 60s and 70s, companies learned how to up their branding game. Instead of marketing to anyone, they learned how to market to anyone who was interested. There’s a big difference. By filling needs and creating emotional connections with consumers, businesses were able to sell more effectively—even when their products weren’t always, quote-unquote, necessary.

Now

Throughout the 80s and 90s, more adaptations were made as global marketing and digital marketing became more accessible. The 2000s brought about brand activism and the 2010s saw the rise of brand transparency—both of which remain important to consumers to this day.

As we stride through another decade, one thing remains constant: branding has always been and will continue to be subject to evolution. As technology and consumer behaviors change, so must our businesses . . . at least, if we want to stay relevant.