One of the key drivers behind a successful brand is brand equity—the value that your brand holds in the minds of consumers.
To build brand equity, you need to establish a strong brand identity that resonates with your target audience.
And guess what? Brand elements are your secret weapon in this journey!
From logos and taglines to colors and packaging, these elements contribute to the overall brand experience and help build brand equity.
However, these are not the only brand elements you need to know about. There are also 7 non-tangible elements that help you build a strong brand identity for your business.
So, let’s dive in and explore how you can leverage brand elements to create brand equity.
What are brand elements?
Brand elements are the visual, verbal, and sensory components that make up a brand’s identity and help it stand out from other brands.
These elements are the building blocks that create a brand’s unique image and make it easy for people to recognize and remember the brand.
12 must-have brand elements
There are two types of brand elements that work together to create strong brand equity:
- Tangible
- Non-tangible
Tangible brand elements include those which we can look at or read.
Intangible brand elements are those that form a part of the brand’s DNA, behavior, and approach.
Here are the 12 brand elements you need to build strong brand equity.
Tangible
- Logo and visual identity
- Brand name and tagline
- Brand colors and typography
- Brand voice and tone
- Packaging and product design
Intangible
- Brand purpose
- Brand positioning
- Brand values
- Brand promise
- Brand experience
- Brand pillars
- Brand content
1. Logo and visual identity
First things first, let’s talk about your logo—the visual ambassador of your brand. A well-designed logo instantly captures your audience’s attention and communicates your brand’s identity and values. It should be memorable, unique, and easy to recognize.
Think of iconic logos like Nike’s swoosh or McDonald’s golden arches. These logos have become synonymous with their respective brands and evoke immediate recognition and trust.
Alongside your logo, you also need to create a powerful, consistent brand image that reflects your brand story.
Consider hiring a designer to create these important visual and core brand elements.
Related:
2. Brand name and tagline
Your brand name is like a first impression—it needs to be catchy and memorable. Choose a name that aligns with your brand’s values, positioning, and target audience.
Think about brands like Apple and Google—simple yet impactful names that have become household names.
You could also consider adding a compelling tagline with your logo that can further enhance your brand’s impact.
A well-crafted tagline captures your unique value proposition and leaves a lasting impression on your customers. Take inspiration from Nike’s iconic tagline, “Just Do It,” which perfectly captures the brand’s ethos of determination and achievement.
3. Brand colors and typography
The choice of colors and typography is another crucial aspect of brand elements. Colors evoke emotions and can convey the brand’s personality and values. For example, the color blue is often associated with trust and reliability, which is why many financial institutions use it in their branding.
Typography, including fonts and styles, also contributes to the brand’s visual identity and can convey its tone and character. Select fonts and styles that reflect your brand’s character, whether it’s modern and edgy or traditional and elegant.
4. Brand voice and tone
Your brand’s voice and tone are crucial for engaging your audience and building a connection.
Think of it as the personality behind your brand. Define your brand’s voice—it can be friendly, professional, playful, or anything that aligns with your brand’s values.
5. Packaging and product design
Packaging and product design are tangible elements of product branding that contribute to the overall brand experience.
If you are a product-based business, your packaging is the first physical interaction customers have with your product.
It’s an opportunity to make a lasting impression and convey your brand’s values and quality. Invest in thoughtful packaging that aligns with your brand’s aesthetics and tells your brand story.
Additionally, product design plays a crucial role in representing your brand. Ensure your products reflect your brand’s aesthetics and functionality.
A well-designed product not only enhances the user experience but also becomes a symbol of your brand’s innovation and quality.
6. Brand purpose
A strong brand begins with a clear purpose.
Your brand’s purpose is the underlying reason why your business exists beyond making profits.
When you define and communicate your purpose effectively, it helps build a strong emotional connection with your target audience. A purpose-driven brand can inspire customer loyalty, advocacy, ultimately contribute to building brand equity, and even sales!
7. Brand positioning
Positioning is how you differentiate your brand from competitors and position it in the minds of consumers.
It involves identifying a unique space for your brand in the market and clearly communicating what makes your brand special.
Effective positioning helps consumers understand why they should choose your brand over others.
Pro tip:
Positioning is not enough by itself. You should align your positioning strategywith your brand’s elements, such as messaging, visuals, and brand personality, you can create a distinct and memorable brand that stands out and builds equity.
8. Brand values
Values are the guiding principles and beliefs that your brand upholds. They define your brand’s character and help shape its behavior.
When your brand’s values align with those of your target audience, it establishes a strong connection and builds trust and loyalty.
Remember to consistently express your values through your brand’s elements, including your messaging, visuals, and actions.
9. Brand promise
A brand promise is a commitment you make to your customers about what they can expect from your brand. It is a one or two-line statement that represents the value and benefits you deliver.
If you want to build brand equity, you have to consistently deliver on your brand promise and exceed customer expectations. Only then you build trust, credibility, and a strong foundation for brand equity.
Read how to create your brand promise in my full post on the marketing messaging framework.
10. Brand experience
The brand experience encompasses every interaction a customer has with your brand.
It includes everything from the first touchpoint to the post-purchase follow-up. Creating a memorable brand experience is crucial for building brand equity.
Your brand’s elements, such as your website, packaging, customer service, and visual identity, should work together to create a cohesive and engaging experience for customers.
11. Brand pillars
Brand pillars typically consist of a few brand attributes that are central to your brand’s essence.
For example, if you’re a skincare brand focused on natural ingredients and sustainability, your brand pillars may include attributes such as “Eco-consciousness,” “High-quality ingredients,” and “Effective results.”
You should always reinforce these pillars in every aspect of your brand messaging.
12. Brand content
Brand content refers to the various types of content you create and share to engage and connect with your audience. This includes blog posts, social media content, videos, and more.
If you want to engage with your audience, content is a MUST!
You need to regularly create it to establish your brand as a trusted authority and build a loyal following. Engaging brand content helps strengthen brand equity by keeping your brand top of mind and building a community of loyal customers.
Pro Tip:To ensure consistency and effectiveness, you should create brand guidelines and guides like a brand platform and brand kit.
These documents should provide clear instructions on how to use and apply brand elements across different mediums and platforms.
What is brand equity?
Brand equity refers to the value and perception that a brand holds in the minds of its audience.
It includes how the brand’s audience recognizes and remembers it, how they think and feel about the brand, and how loyal they are to the brand, sometimes even to the extent of being ready to pay a premium for it.
Benefits of strong brand equity
When a brand has strong equity, it is already a level above its competition. These are some of the advantages it enjoys:
1. Customer loyalty
Customers are more likely to buy or invest in brands they feel more strongly about, trust, and like.
2. Premium pricing
When brands have strong equity, they can ask for higher prices from their loyal customers, knowing that their audience won’t easily switch to the competition.
3. Continuous growth
Not only are consumers willing to purchase from brands they value, but they are also likely to buy new products launched by the brand. Or even by from the brand when they’re traveling.
All these mean more income for the brand, and more business growth.
4. Negotiating power
Brands with strong equity and thus more income potential may have the upper hand when it comes to making and negotiating deals with their existing partners or prospects.
5. Recruitment power
Brands that have strong equity and thus a good following, are more trusted by people in general, and can thus attract high-quality talent.
How do branding elements build brand equity?
Now that we have explored the different brand elements, let’s talk about why brand elements are essential for building brand equity—the value your brand holds in the minds of your customers.
1. Recognition and differentiation
Effective brand elements help create a unique brand identity that stands out in a crowded marketplace.
A memorable logo, consistent visual identity, and distinctive brand name enable consumers to recognize and differentiate the brand from competitors.
2. Emotional connection
Brand elements have the power to evoke emotions and create a strong emotional connection with consumers.
When brand elements align with the brand’s values and resonate with the target audience, they can evoke positive feelings and build trust and loyalty. For example, a brand with a warm and friendly brand voice, combined with a vibrant and inviting visual identity, can create a sense of familiarity and comfort among consumers.
3. Brand recall and association
Consistency in brand elements is crucial for brand recall and association. When your audience consistently encounter the same logo, colors, and messaging across various touchpoints, it reinforces their memory and recognition of the brand.
Brand recall refers to the ability of consumers to retrieve the brand from memory when prompted.
By creating strong associations between the brand elements and positive experiences or emotions, brand recall becomes more effective, leading to increased brand awareness and customer loyalty.
How to evaluate the effectiveness of brand elements
Measuring the effectiveness of brand elements is essential to understand how they contribute to brand equity. listen to your customers by gathering feedback through surveys and market research.
Pay attention to consumer perception and sentiments expressed on social media.
Continuously gather feedback, make adjustments, and fine-tune your brand elements to strengthen your brand’s impact.
Difference between brand equity and brand awareness
Brand awareness is the extent to which the brand's audience knows that it exists, whereas brand equity is how much they love it, how strongly they feel about it. #brandequity #smallbusinessbranding Click To TweetThis is how it works:
Step 1: A brand is launched
Step 2: The target audience starts to become aware of it – brand awareness
Step 3: They check out the brand, know more, and have some experience with it. Maybe they make some purchases
Step 4: The audience decides whether they will do repeat purchases and/ or follow the brand. If they build an affinity with the brand and decide to be loyal to it, then the brand has been able to build strong equity in the minds of its audience.
So brand awareness has to exist first, and brand equity is built later, over a period of time.
Conclusion on how to use brand elements to build brand equity
Brand elements are the building blocks of strong brand identity and play a crucial role in creating brand equity.
How do you approach building up your brand elements? Share your comments!
