What’s personal branding all about? Is it important? What does it mean? Where do I start? Do I really need a strong identity or even a logo for my freelancing business? Is it really necessary to make ME stand out from the competition?

Expert, Al Welsh, has had years of experience within some of London’s top advertising agencies and kicks the debate off by starting from basics…

Your Brand - your organisation’s most valuable asset!

Apart from the product or service itself that you’re offering, getting the branding right is perhaps the most important thing you’ll be doing. Your brand may well end up being your organisation’s most valuable asset. The other massively important aspect is your particular target market and what makes them tick?

You need to start by thinking very carefully about what makes your brand distinct from the competition. It may be that you’re filling a gap in the market, in which case you’re the first, it’s obviously a massive advantage. Or that you offer superior customer service. Whatever it is, your branding should echo your core strengths and values and be distinct from your competitors.

A memorable name and logo is required

You’ll need a great name that’s memorable, a relevant and original logo that can work in any situation, a distinctive corporate identity and insightful, fresh, compelling advertising. All these aspects are touch points for your brand.

In today’s crowded and highly competitive world a distinctive brand is an absolute must. As we get on with our lives we’re bombarded with thousands of messages on a daily basis. A person can only retain five a day. Apart from being rushed off their feet people are really having to tighten their belts, things are tough so good solid branding is vital.

Originally brands were simple labels of ownership. But today it’s what they do for people that matters most, how they reflect and engage them, how they define their aspirations and enable them to do more. In the very early days of marketing adverts simply featured a product, its benefits and some branding. But things are much more complex and competitive today. There’s little discernible difference between one product or service and another. So originality in branding and advertising communication is often the only real difference. It’s a mistake to copy another successful brand as all you’re doing is remaining invisible and reinforcing their brand.

In advertising there are two main categories, brand adverts and product specific adverts. But what people remember most is the brand’s personality and the feeling they get from the communication. People buy into brands, they say something about themselves. In some ways the brand can be almost more important than the product itself.

photo credit: powerbooktrancepowerbooktrance