Throughout the years the practices of branding and marketing have evolved at a rapid rate. In every different era, there have been a plethora of pioneers who with their innovation and creativity took branding agencies to a different level.
One such level change happened during the 1990s, as the digital age dawned upon us. With the evolution of marketing and branding, it became increasingly important to define a brand experience.
Companies then began to put more emphasis on giving their brand a personality and marketing it more than just their products.
Building core values can really serve as the foundation for your future success, from the tone of voice to your business journey.
Defining your brand personality and the customer experience can be a helpful exercise for the entire organization. But in what way?
Nevertheless, as technology and the digital age evolve, so do the expectations of society about work. Instead of just selling products, businesses & even employees are expected to have values and make a positive impact on society.
When it comes to marketing or branding strategy, it’s common to wonder: “How can I create a brand that my audience connects with?”
One of the most important steps in developing a cohesive brand strategy is to determine what your message will be. It is important to communicate your brand’s values and targets in clear, concise terms so that your reputation is preserved, new customers are attracted, and your existing audience feels connected.
Strong brand messaging strategies include brand pillars as an integral component. Your goal should be to create content that’s aligned with customers’ interests and entices them to buy your products.
However, it is not as easy as it seems, so this is why you need to be meticulous about your brand’s goals when you are developing a brand strategy. In this regard, the five brand pillars play a key role.
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What is the importance of brand pillars?
Brand pillars are the core values, important strengths, and unique characteristics that shape your brand’s identity. Brand pillars define how your brand is perceived by the world.
A brand consists of five types of pillars: purpose, brand experience, identity, perception, and positioning. A creative branding agency can help your organization establish a positive reputation by combining these pillars to create an overall brand image.
Brand pillars can essentially be anything that is important to your customers — like innovation, services that are value for money, or on-time delivery. Strategically alluding to the brand pillars will help you set your business apart from the competitors.
If you convey your brand skillfully, your customers will be able to list your brand pillars when questioned about why they prefer your brand over others. Thus, your brand strategy mustn’t be without the five brand pillars.
Now that we know the importance of brand pillars, let’s learn in detail about the five brand pillars you can use to shape your brand.
What are the five major brand pillars?
1.Purpose
Your purpose refers to the story and the mission of your business. To develop a strong purpose pillar, consider sharing the history of the founders with the consumers.
Answer questions like “What drove you to start the business?” and “What do you hope to achieve?”
You might give the audience a peek into details regarding your company’s expansion and long-term objectives. Depending on how the general public reacts to the company’s stated mission, you may be able to identify the types of consumers the brand appeals to.
Besides that, having complete clarity of your purpose will also help you attract and choose like-minded employees and associates.
To sum it all up, your company’s mission can also be expressed as its culture.
For illustration, at Litmus, our culture is around growth-driven individuals who have a knack for creativity and an incessant hunger for learning. It’s one of our primary brand pillars.
2. Perception
In layman’s terms, the perception pillar indicates how your customers and employees perceive your business.
Perception often encompasses the way your brand communicates both internally and externally, particularly with your target audience.
For instance, if your company is perceived to have an amicable work environment it’s more likely to attract people who are dedicated to the company. This might result in improved job satisfaction, which in turn will result in a fruitful tenure.
If your business is relatively new, you should consider how existing customers perceive your brand and/or list some qualities you want them to connect with your brand.
Customers may better understand your brand and develop a positive sentiment towards it once you’ve established a purpose pillar.
For example, a seasoned branding agency might want to be viewed as an industry leader trusted by all.
3. Identity
This brand pillar discusses your identity as a brand. A brand is something that you are, not something that you possess. It all comes down to your company’s personality.
The purpose of defining this brand pillar is to provide you with a framework for being human and interacting with your audience.
The company’s values may also be part of the brand identity, persuading people to buy goods or services.
The identity pillar refers to a brand’s distinguishing characteristics, which may include anything significant to a company or its clients, such as high-quality goods or prompt delivery.
Brand identity may also include the company’s values, which can influence potential customers to purchase products or services.
For example, BMW has an identity brand pillar of being “classy” or “mature.” This means that their customers associate the brand and its products with “class.”
4. Positioning
Your brand’s positioning plays a crucial role in the success of your business.
The position pillar examines your brand’s market position and how it affects the methods by which you communicate with your audience.
Consider the audience you wish to reach, how they compare to or differ from the customers you are already attracting, and your competitors in the market while thinking about the positioning pillar.
After defining your audience’s impression of you, you can now take into account their values while positioning your brand against the competitors.
In order to reach your desired audience and deliver a brand or product that’ll be more relatable to them than your competitors’, your current position should have an impact on how you express your brand values and promises.
For instance, Amazon is renowned for offering a seamless and pinpoint delivery. Consumers that prioritize quickness may favour them more as a result since they know they can locate what they want in one location and get it the following day, which may not be possible when shopping with individual brands.
5. Brand Experience
The final pillar that’ll support the promotion of your product and services is the experience your brand provides.
When consumers like a brand, they will purchase its products and services without a second thought. Nowadays, when given the choice to pick between two brands customers are more inclined toward brands they feel connected with.
In order to do this, you must improve both the consumer experience and their perception of your brand as a whole.
You may build a brand identity that distinguishes you from your competitors by starting with all the other brand pillars as a foundation. Businesses that fail most likely didn’t think through the alignment of their brand pillars.
People won’t feel forced to buy from you if you have a strong approach but no clear purpose or identity. Alternatively, if your actions don’t match your vision statement then you won’t succeed either.
For you to make your brand a household name you must incorporate these brand pillars into your strategy and adhere to them diligently.
Conclusion
For any business to reign supreme over the market and the hearts of the consumers, it’s crucial to utilize the five brand pillars most appropriately.
If you’re still unsure of how to do that, don’t worry. Where there’s a will there’s a way. You can always get a seasoned branding agency to help you provide effective branding solutions and help your brand grow.
