THE DEFINITION OF BRAND DNA
Brand DNA is confusing to a lot of business owners. Brand DNA, in its simplest form, means the essence of the brand. Brand DNA is your brand identity, but should not be confused with the simplicity of a logo or brand colors. Read on to learn more.
To be clear, creating a logo and brand colors is not your full Brand DNA, it’s just two components of a rather complex picture. Your logo and brand colors are what identifies your company at a visual glance. They are important, but there is much more to brand development and a brand strategy, so let’s go a little deeper.
Brand DNA is exactly what it sounds like: the beginning, the roots, of your company. Where it came from, why it started, what’s different.
WHY BRAND DNA IS VITAL TO EVERY COMPANY
When you start a business, you usually have a clear vision of what you’re doing and why. Solving a problem is often one of the main reasons your passion is ignited.
The big question here is, does anyone else know?
Whether you’re the person that started the company or you’re working with or for someone else, knowing the roots of the company is critical to understand the path that the brand needs to take.
These principles set the tone for your brand, marketing and content strategy.
BRAND DNA IS THE FOUNDATION OF YOUR COMPANY
For example, if you’re hiring a copywriter, photographer or graphic artist, the first thing they are going to want to know is, who are you? What is the foundation of the company?
How can they create content, in any form, if they don’t understand what it is that you do?
When your Brand DNA is firmly in place, anyone who looks at your company knows where you came from, where you are, and where you’re going. You won’t need to explain anything.
They will see the values and emotions that surround your brand so your customers, employees, and ambassadors are living and breathing that brand.
What you feel inside is conveyed to the world.
FORGETTING YOUR COMPANY ROOTS
Some companies lose sight of why they started in the first place and that ultimately becomes their downfall. Consider corporate behemoths like Kodak, Xerox, AOL and Sears.
All four of these companies should still be powerhouses today by adapting to the landscape, but they stumbled, then fell. It seems as if they forgot why the company existed in the first place.
Kodak was here to serve Photographers, but when the Digital Age started, they didn’t take it seriously. Is it possible that they really forgot who they served?
Sears created the national mail order business, yet they are a blip for internet sales. How did that even happen? Seemingly they didn’t take e-commerce seriously, but they could have used it to their advantage.
Imagine if both companies revisited their Brand DNA principles. I suspect that if they did, they would have moved forward and adapted their businesses to digital technology and still be thriving today.
ONCE YOUR BRAND DNA IS CREATED
The good news is, once your Brand DNA is dialed, you have something to revisit when sales are lackluster, the economy changes or there is another global event.
Brand DNA will help you invigorate sales and ignite your company ethos.
When you create content for anything – your website, social media, email and direct mail campaigns, events – anything – you need to stay true to your Brand DNA.
BRAND DNA SUCCESS STORY – TIFFANY & CO.
I used the “little blue box” image for this blog because I know that you know what company has that color gift box. Talk about powerful branding!
Tiffany & Co. has done such an incredible job with branding and that color box. Their little blue box is known worldwide. As a Heritage Brand, they could have become irrelevant like so many others, but they have always remained true to their Brand DNA.
They understand their client base so well that they even started making leather goods and other accessories with that Tiffany blue because they know it’s synonymous with the brand.
EMOTIONAL RESPONSE TO BRAND DNA
When people see that little blue box, it’s recognizable and it triggers something emotionally.
Everyone knows that the blue box represents “someone loves me”.
That little blue box gets you excited, and makes you feel good, appreciated and remembered.
Isn’t that incredible? Just from the color of the box. It hasn’t even been opened yet and you have had all of those emotions! That is great branding.
But remember, it’s what is in the box that makes the color so great. They have managed to continue selling great products since the 1800’s.
WHEN TO USE BRAND DNA
Whether you’re launching, pivoting, doing a brand refresh, or rebranding, you need to create, refresh or revisit your Brand DNA.
As a Freelance Content Creator, I think Brand DNA is so powerful that after working with hundreds of clients and asking the same questions again and again, I created the “13 Principles of Brand DNA™”.
Your answers to these13 questions are critical for business success.
Once I am hired for any project, the first thing I do is send my clients my Brand DNA worksheet so I can see where they are, where they’re headed and what needs work.
CREATE YOUR BRAND DNA NOW
To get started, start with answers to some of my Brand DNA questions here:
What is your….
· Mission Statement
· Tagline
· Differentiators
· Brand Colors
· Logo
· Business Name
Get out a pen and begin your homework!
Look for my next blog post about the value of being a Thought Leader in your industry, and, spoiler alert, my new book is coming out in 2022!
Until next time,
Keverne Denahan
Luxury Copywriter & Brand Expert
Copyright © Keverne Denahan 2021