Brand discovery to brand development, then work your way to messaging and marketing last. Too many rush through the initial discovery and development of a brand. They go right to marketing and it sets up an unstable foundation that does not allow for the best results with the least amount of time and the most reduced cost.
Many of these marketing and ad agencies seen the phases of brand discovery to brand development as something you do on the fly. And it is not impossible. Some choose the skimping on the discovery, development as well as skimping on brand messaging. Still, it tends to come back like a wave when it is not done correctly and will make the ongoing growth and maintenance cost even more.
Brand discovery to brand development
Think of it like the blueprints and the design of your brand, not to only include your logo. This is the phase where you lay out what it is you want, what you do not want, what you see in the moment as well as down the line tomorrow, next month, next year and even further out.
And it is hard to do it alone. All too often, we are too close to our own brands. having that strategist ask the questions to set the blueprint out for you to see and to help define the ideas that may be a bit scattered can greatly help design the foundation to build everything off of.
From the 30,000 foot view down to the tone and the messaging that will be used, this step makes other steps more affordable and take less time.
The legal element comes into play from the brand discovery to brand development as well. The time to practice the vetting in the name, the trademarks, and looking around the country and the world for businesses with the same names, messaging or similarities are also part of the discovery.
It is not just discovering and laying the foundation of your own brand. It is a deep dive and deep dig into finding out what else is out there beyond just a simple Google Search. Then past the name, it goes in to the similarities in messaging, even if it is another product.
Add to that the intention vs perception and the overarching external vibe and reactions. Some will say you test this in the marketing phase, but why not lay out a more solid foundation first. In turn, it allows for smaller adjustments to be made while keeping the integrity and continuity of the brand alive.
