by PGN Agency | Feb 14, 2018 | Branding |
In an increasingly visual world, visual branding has never been more important. A large portion of business marketing is now reliant on the visual branding of the business. Social media is well aware of the importance of visual marketing, just think about all the advertisements you see while on Facebook. However, not all visual branding is created equal. To truly optimize your business marketing through visual branding there are a few important things to keep in mind. The Voice Visual branding is the visual “voice” of your business. Every business has a voice, and once you identify it, it needs cultivation in order to grow. Your visual branding should exist in more than your written content and the feel of your website. Use that voice in your visuals as well; they need to continue what you are trying to say while attracting your ideal potential customers. For example, outdoor adventure companies are looking for visuals that depict outdoor scenes or nature color pallets. Consistency across written and visual branding packs a powerful marketing punch. Know Your Customer Knowing your customer is a vital part of visual branding. Visual branding is all about attracting potential customers through images that will appeal to them. For this reason, knowing your ideal customer is critical. You don’t want to attract an audience that has no interest in using your product or services. Marketing with the wrong visuals on the wrong sites will not attract your ideal customer. If your company is looking for Baby Boomers, Instagram is not the place to be focusing your visual marketing energy. Facebook is a much...
by PGN Agency | Feb 8, 2018 | Branding |
There is a place where bad logos go to die: The awnings of your downtrodden neighborhood strip mall. Think about it. If there’s a mall with a few failed businesses in it somewhere near you, chances are that the signs, windows, and awnings have one thing in common – lousy logos. You know what we’re talking about: The clashing color schemes; the awkward line drawings; the hopelessly bland or oddly skewed typography that all add up to signify utter haplessness. (Want to see some examples? Check out http://logodesignerblog.com/bad-ugly-worst-logo-designs/ – if you dare). Consider the fact that for the countless thousands of potential customers who’d passed by that sign or window during the company’s short lifespan, that logo was their first – and often their last – impression of that business. It didn’t matter that the food was delicious, the prices reasonable, the selection of products exceptional, or the service outstanding. Potential customers who judged on the basis of first impressions never found out; they voted with their feet and wallets, and went elsewhere. Did they make their buying decision based on a bad logo alone? Of course not; chances are, they probably didn’t consciously notice that it even existed. Their subconscious response, though, is another matter. As human beings, we are prone to “confirmation bias,” and are more prone to assimilating information and impressions that reinforce what we already believe; this tendency is particularly strong with regard to our purchasing behavior. Even the slightest negative initial impression about a product, place or person will lead most of us to be more sensitive to negative information than positive. A first...
by PGN Agency | Jan 26, 2018 | Branding |
Let’s talk about your company’s brand. Your brand, you’ve been told, is a cornerstone of your business – likely, the business you’ve poured most of your money, energy, heart and soul into in order to make it survive and succeed. Naturally, you’re protective of both; you want to nurture them, shape them, and guide them to further strength and success. But there’s a little problem with that: Only one of them belongs to you, and only one of them is really under your control. Your company is yours – no doubt about it. You hold the keys, you give the orders, you pay the bills. But whether you like it or not, your brand largely belongs to someone else. Your Brand’s Biggest Stakeholders The reason why can be understood through Luke Sullivan’s succinct summation in his book Hey Whipple, Squeeze This: “A brand is the sum total of all the emotions, thoughts, images, history, possibilities, and gossip that exist in the marketplace about a certain company.” You may have presented most of the images and started some of the conversation, but who comes up with all of those thoughts, emotions and gossip? Whose behavior establishes the history, and opens up the possibilities? For the most part, it’s not you, your salespeople, or your marketing department – it’s your customers. Unsettling as that thought may be, it’s not usually a problem so long as your customers’ perception of your brand and your perception remain in alignment. Sometimes, though, that alignment slips – slightly and imperceptibly at first, then abruptly and disastrously. Think here of things like the Edsel, New Coke,...
by PGN Agency | Nov 22, 2017 | Branding |
Branding your business properly is a true challenge. Accurately representing your brand is even more of a challenge. You must find the correct balance between branding that speaks for itself and marketing that gets your business noticed. To learn how to accurately represent your brand, continue reading. Stay Consistent As a small business, you need to prove yourself to your customer base. Even Fortune 500 companies had to do this in the beginning as well. A marketing strategy to take from them is how consistent they are. Think of Coca-Cola, their branding has always stayed relatively the same with their flavor, logo, and bottle shape. Starbucks may add festive themes to their cups for marketing purposes, but the logo has never changed. This branding and marketing strategy gives customers confidence in your business and the standard of quality you will provide for them. Start a Blog This might sound strange for a business, but it is a wonderful marketing strategy.Starting a blog is an easy way to enhance branding visibility while improving the chances that the right consumer base finds your company. You can blog about your company’s culture, relevant news about your business, and other things that relate to your company. This marketing technique helps with branding issues as well as saturation in your industry. It will also establish customer relationships since they fully know you and your company. Your customer base will be able to feel like they are speaking to a friend and learn what you are truly about. Start a YouTube Channel As a business running in the technological modern world, you need to think outside...
by PGN Agency | Mar 23, 2017 | Advertising, Branding, Marketing |
More often than not, product packaging is a secondary consideration to the product itself. Companies devote countless hours to perfectly designing a product, making sure it offers the absolute best value for the money. After that, packaging can seem more like a necessary evil rather than anything important. However, savvy marketers know that your packaging is more than a cardboard box or a mode of delivery. It’s a powerful tool to amplify your brand and build a connection with your audience. Your product packaging possesses one very unique asset: it provides you with an opportunity to give your customers a guaranteed sensory experience of both seeing and feeling. Once someone buys your product, they have a tactile experience with the packaging — whether they’re thinking about it or not. In fact, their first impression will come from the packaging rather than the product! Before anyone sees your product, they’re looking at the box with your logo and brand name on it. With that in mind, let’s explore some ways in which your product packaging can benefit you: It can distinguish you from the competition. The best thing a brand can have going for it is to stand out from the pack. Being different draws attention to your business and fosters brand loyalty. And regardless of your product, your packaging can be used to differentiate your business. Bags for burritos and soda cups are no exception. It can elevate the value of your product. Packaging has a dramatic effect on consumers’ perception of value. In 2000, the vice president of Domino’s reported that consumers’ in blind taste tests thought their...
by PGN Agency | Mar 21, 2017 | Advertising, Branding, Digital Marketing, Marketing, Web Design |
Last week, we talked about web design and its importance to your business. In this post, we’re going to dive into that topic a little further: how does website design influence your brand? Web design is important for a variety of reasons. It affects how your website works, how it looks, and how it feels to users. As such, the appeal of aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly web design is easy to see. But once we get into brand territory, it can be harder to identify why your website design matters to your brand. Let’s break it down into two key ideas: aesthetics and usability. The aesthetic of your website can strengthen or weaken your brand. Your website will always be one of many mediums through which audiences are exposed to your brand. For the strength of your brand, it’s critical that visitors to your site experience branding consistent with that on your product packaging, flyers, mailers, and e-blasts. If your tone, logo, color scheme or general aesthetic is different than on these other mediums, you risk inconsistency which leaves the visitor with only a vague notion of who you are as a company. If your web design is consistent with your other marketing efforts, this reinforces your brand identity and leaves visitors with a lasting impression. Beyond visuals, the usability of your site will also affect how people think of your brand. You know that feeling you get when you click on a dead link, or can’t seem to find the information you need on a site? How about when a site loads really slowly and doesn’t do anything...
