Working With A Creative Agency To Describe Your Brand
Developing a brand is a collaborative process. You know what you want your business be about, but a creative agency is going to have to take this and turn it into something clear, creative, and concise. If you're having trouble describing what your brand should be, follow these tips.
Create a Word Cloud
A word cloud is a collection of concepts that you believe are core to your brand. Think about your brand's mission, goals, and statement. Think about the things that are most important to you, as well as the things that you want your customers to associate your brand with.
Put Together an Image Packet
Take a look at some online magazines, stock photo sites, and entertainment sites. Save any images that you think resonate with your brand. They don't have to be associated with your industry. They may just work on an aesthetic level or feel like they have the right tone. Pack all the images up and send them to your creative agency to give them a better idea of what you're looking for.
When looking at images, focus on things like colors and styles. Be specific when sending them to your agency—tell them specifically that you like the colors in a specific image or the way the text is written in another.
Take a Look at the Competition
Within your industry, read the ad copy for some of their websites, brochures, and ads. Highlight anything in them that you find particularly poignant. Your creative agency can use this as a jumping-off point to find out which direction you want to take with your brand's identity and tone.
Write a Brand Journey
As you consider which images and text go best with your brand, you may want to consider your brand itself. Take some time to write down the journey that you've been on with your brand. What inspired you to start the business? What were the formative moments of the business? Did you go through any difficult times? Did you have any major successes? These milestones are pivotal to your brand identity and will give your agency more to work with.
Sometimes making a brand is just trial and error. Many of the most popular brands today have gone through many iterations of branding, colors, and logos. Your creative agency should be able to work with you until you find something that resonates with your identity.