Undoubtedly, the right typeface can convey a brand’s personality, evoke emotions, and influence consumer behaviour.
This article explores the art and science behind choosing the perfect typography for your brand, highlighting its importance and providing actionable insights to help you make informed decisions.
The Power of Typography in Branding
Typography is more than just selecting a font; it’s about creating a visual voice for your brand. When done right, typography becomes a powerful tool that enhances brand recognition and strengthens brand identity. Here’s how typography impacts branding:
Conveys Brand Personality: Typography can communicate the essence of your brand. For instance, a luxury brand might use elegant, serif fonts to exude sophistication, while a tech startup might opt for sleek, sans-serif fonts to convey modernity and innovation.
Creates Emotional Connection: The style of your typography can evoke specific emotions in your audience. Rounded, soft fonts might create a sense of warmth and friendliness, while bold, angular fonts might evoke a sense of strength and confidence.
Enhances Readability and User Experience: Good typography is not just about aesthetics; it’s also about function. The right typeface ensures that your content is easily readable across different devices, enhancing the overall user experience.
Differentiates Your Brand: In a crowded market, unique typography can set your brand apart. Custom fonts or carefully chosen typefaces can make your brand instantly recognizable, even without a logo or other visual elements.
Key Elements of Typography in Branding
When selecting typography for branding, several key elements must be considered to ensure that the typeface aligns with your brand’s identity and goals.
Font Family: The font family you choose—whether serif, sans-serif, script, or decorative—should align with your brand’s personality. Serif fonts, with their traditional and formal appearance, might be suitable for legal firms or luxury brands, while sans-serif fonts, known for their clean and modern look, might be ideal for tech companies or startups.
Font Weight and Style: Different weights (light, regular, bold) and styles (italic, condensed) can add versatility to your typography. Using a combination of weights and styles within the same font family can create a visual hierarchy, guiding the reader’s attention to the most important information.
Kerning and Tracking: Kerning (the space between individual letters) and tracking (the overall spacing between characters in a block of text) play a crucial role in typography. Adjusting these elements can improve readability and ensure that your text looks well-balanced and cohesive.
Line Height and Line Length: Line height (the vertical space between lines of text) and line length (the horizontal width of a block of text) are essential for readability. Proper adjustments to these can make your text more accessible and easier to read, especially on digital platforms.
Colour and Contrast: The colour of your typography should complement your brand’s colour scheme while ensuring readability. High contrast between text and background is essential for accessibility, making sure that your message is clear and easy to read for all users.
Examples of Effective Typography in Branding
Let’s take a look at some brands that have mastered the art of typography:
Coca-Cola: The Coca-Cola logo is one of the most recognizable in the world, thanks in part to its custom script font. The flowing, cursive typeface exudes a sense of tradition and nostalgia, perfectly aligning with the brand’s identity.
Apple: Apple uses the San Francisco typeface, a sleek, sans-serif font that reflects the brand’s minimalist and innovative ethos. The clean lines and modern look of the typography complement Apple’s products and overall design philosophy.
New York Times: The New York Times uses a classic serif font that conveys authority and tradition. This choice of typography reinforces the brand’s identity as a reliable and established source of news.
Netflix: Netflix uses a custom sans-serif font called Netflix Sans. The bold, modern typeface reflects the brand’s innovative approach to entertainment and is easily readable across various devices and screen sizes.
Best Practices for Choosing Typography in Branding
Here are some best practices to consider when selecting typography for your brand:
Understand Your Brand’s Personality: Clearly define your brand’s personality before choosing a typeface. Is your brand playful or serious? Modern or traditional? Your typography should reflect these characteristics.
Prioritize Readability: While it’s tempting to choose a unique or elaborate font, readability should always come first. Your audience needs to easily read and understand your message, regardless of the device they are using.
Be Consistent: Consistency is key in branding. Use the same typefaces across all your brand’s touchpoints—website, social media, packaging, etc.—to create a cohesive and recognizable brand identity.
Consider Scalability: Your typography should look good at all sizes, whether it’s on a business card or a billboard. Choose a typeface that scales well and remains legible across different applications.
Test Before Finalizing: Always test your typography choices in various contexts and on different devices before finalizing them. This ensures that your typeface works well in all scenarios and maintains the desired impact.
Typography is a fundamental part of branding that goes beyond mere aesthetics. It’s a powerful tool that shapes how your brand is perceived, helps convey your brand’s personality, and enhances user experience. By carefully selecting and implementing typography, you can create a strong, memorable brand identity that resonates with your audience. Use the insights and best practices outlined in this article to make better decisions and create a visual identity that truly represents your or your client’s brand.
Don’t hesitate to find fitting typefaces for your next design and branding projects on WE AND THE COLOR. The section includes a wide range of styles.
4 tips for crafting and committing to your new brand identity
Over the past few years, sonic branding has evolved from a niche, nice-to-have marketing asset to a must-have for any complete brand ecosystem.
Forward-thinking companies realise they must use sound and music to stand out both in traditional media and on audio-first platforms like TikTok, Spotify and other social media and streamers.
However, knowing your company needs sonic branding and learning how to create an effective sonic identity are very different things. In my time as a producer, I’ve seen brands achieve varying levels of success—and there are four main reasons a sonic identity might be doomed to fail. These are obstacles that will never go away, but fortunately, by knowing where the dangers are, you can aim to avoid them while becoming one of the select few brands with a truly iconic sound strategy.
Music is subjective
Music is extremely abstract and difficult to talk about. I sometimes witness teams trying to make it more tangible by pushing for specific musical elements: “We need an ascending melody because that feels happy and positive.”
Maybe, but there are just as many successful examples of “happy” descending melodies in music. By only pushing for ascending melodies, your sonic identity may risk sounding like the rest—not providing the differentiation you desire.
Instead of relying on what we think is appealing, seek more objective measures that tell us what is effective. For example, we know through research that the most subconsciously appealing sound is baby laughter.
While not every sonic logo needs to hit the same mark, it’s helpful to get real data around where your sonic assets are landing on KPIs like recall and emotional appeal. Not only will this confirm whether you’re truly appealing to your audience, but it will also help get buy-in from stakeholders involved in the process.
Commitment is hard
Creating a sonic identity is like getting married—ideally, you are signing up to be with your identity for life. The best predictor of sonic success is sustained, frequent use. You must commit to using it across touchpoints as often as you can.
Though, as Chris Rock once put it, “commitment will give you a headache.” It’s difficult to find “the one” sonic identity and stick with it; newer, shinier sounds will always beckon you away from your brand. However, you must resist your wandering ears by understanding that the benefits of commitment far outweigh the difficulties.
For example, the psychological phenomenon known as the mere-exposure effect teaches us that people like things merely because they are familiar with them. This is doubly true for music, like when a once-annoying earworm creeps into your head enough times to become your favourite song. Commit to your sonic identity, and your audience will learn to love it too.
The landscape is changing
Gone are the days in which you could rely on a sonic logo at the end of a commercial to fully reach your audience. Linear television is evolving, and culture is being shaped by social media. In 5-10 years, we’ll be adapting to yet another iteration of the media landscape.
Yet some brands are still falling into the trap of creating sonic identities with only broadcast TV and terrestrial radio in mind. These may currently be important touch points for your brand, but they may not be soon. The important thing is to design your sonic identity with enough flexibility in mind that it can expand around, adapt to and perpetuate on new and evolving platforms.
Brands contain multitudes
It is difficult enough to translate your brand purpose and personality into music that perfectly represents your brand. It is even more difficult to get buy-in from various departments that need to approve or implement your sonic identity. C-suite execs, brand managers and partner agencies will likely all have different needs for it. You might hear: “It needs to be flexible like McDonald’s,” “It needs to be instantly familiar like Intel” and of course, “It needs to have fewer notes to fit into video.”
There’s nothing wrong with any of these notes individually, but there is no way to satisfy all of these disparate desires in one sound without creating something that sounds indistinct and unmemorable.
Instead of trying to hang your hat on a single sound that does everything, you must create a sonic identity system—one that encompasses a creative concept, long- and short-form sound, music curation guidelines and a strategy for rollout and use. You can then address your team’s many needs without having to water down the work.
Creating a sonic identity is hard work, but when done correctly, it’s an incredibly effective tool for attaining brand recognition, brand love and higher KPIs. If you rely on objective measures, commit to your new identity, plan for flexibility and create an entire system, you are well on your way to creating an enduring sonic identity.
Here’s the simple truth that far too many executives ignore: You’re always branding.
Whether you’re putting thought behind what you create online or only posting here and there when inspiration strikes, everything you do is putting a brick onto the foundation of your brand. So why not be intentional about it?
Making A Case For An Executive Brand
Many executives feel that they shouldn’t build a brand around themselves and instead focus on what they can do to help boost the company or organization they work for. But this misses how the consumers are viewing business today:
• 82% of people trust companies more when senior executives are active on social media
• 77% are more likely to purchase from businesses with digitally-engaged CEOs
In other words, if you aren’t trying to lead through your executive brand, you’re potentially holding your business back.
And if you’re in the market to move to a new opportunity, you can bet that stakeholders and board members will be looking to see how you’re representing yourself online when choosing their next leader.
3 A’s For Crafting Your Executive Brand
So how can you start getting strategic with your executive brand? The recipe is unique to each leader and often requires you to consider your past experience, future aspirations and current audience.
1. Your Accomplishments: What have you accomplished up to this point that gives you a particular edge in your industry?
2. Your Aspirations: Where do you see yourself in the future? What kind of leader do you want to become?
3. Your Audience: Who are the key stakeholders you need to engage with? Are they potential employers, investors or customers?
These three pillars can help you craft authentic messaging around your executive brand that resonates with those you wish to influence. They can also act as a filter that allows only the opportunities you want to pursue to reach you.
Focus On These 3 Executive Branding Steps
Now that you have the philosophical down, it’s time to get creative. Here are the three areas you should lean into as you craft your executive brand.
1. Crafting A Compelling Résumé
Your résumé is often the first formal introduction to your executive brand. It’s not just a list of jobs; it’s a strategic document that tells your leadership story.
1. Executive Summary: Craft a powerful opening statement that encapsulates your brand. Highlight your unique value proposition (yes, you have one!) and set the tone for the rest of the résumé.
2. Achievement-Focused Content: Instead of listing job duties, showcase specific outcomes from those duties that demonstrate your leadership impact. Use metrics to add credibility to each.
3. Leadership Competencies: You’re the expert, so showcase it! Highlight key executive skills you’ve excelled in, like strategic planning, change management and team development.
4. Industry Expertise: Demonstrate your deep understanding of your sector. Include any relevant thought leadership activities, speaking engagements or publications—and don’t be afraid to mention that you’re available for more.
Remember, your résumé should be a living document, evolving as your career progresses and your brand develops. Think of it as a garden you’re tending to, not a concrete slab (or a tombstone!).
2. Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn is your digital handshake. It’s where your executive brand comes to life in the professional world—and even if you don’t think it matters, those with the keys to future opportunities do! (Ten million C-suite execs are active on LinkedIn!)
1. Professional Photo And Banner: Use a high-quality, professional headshot and a banner image that reflects your industry or personal brand.
2. Compelling Headline: Go beyond your job title. Use this space to succinctly communicate your value proposition.
3. Engaging ‘About’ Section: Tell your professional story. What drives you? What unique perspective do you bring to your industry?
4. Featured Section: Showcase your thought leadership through articles, presentations or media appearances.
5. Activity And Engagement: Regularly share insights, comment on industry trends and engage with your network. Remember, consistency is key to building your online presence.
6. Recommendations: Cultivate meaningful recommendations that speak to your leadership qualities and impact. Don’t be afraid to reach out and collect these—they’re like buried diamonds.
3. Developing Your Leadership Narrative
Your leadership narrative is the thread that ties all elements of your executive brand together. It’s the story that makes you memorable and relatable—connecting your impact in the industry and the passion and purpose behind your work.
Here’s how you can start building it:
1. Identify Your ‘Why’: What motivates you as a leader? What values drive your decisions? What’s your ultimate purpose for getting up each day?
2. Define Your Leadership Style: Are you a transformational leader? A servant leader? Articulate what makes your approach unique and sprinkle in examples of it in action.
3. Highlight Pivotal Moments: What experiences shaped your leadership journey? These could be challenges overcome, lessons learned or key decisions made.
4. Future Vision: Where do you see yourself and your industry heading? Sharing your vision positions you as a forward-thinking leader.
5. Authenticity Is Key: While crafting your narrative, ensure it remains true to who you are. Authenticity resonates and builds trust.
Are You Actively Writing Your Story?
Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you. Start today by implementing these strategies so doors can open, connections can deepen and your influence can expand.
Your unique voice and vision have the power to inspire change and drive success—and the business world is ready for your story. Are you ready to tell it?
The personally addressed letters on pink paper included gems like: “Yesterday we saw each other again. We met on the street, and I noticed how you glanced interestedly in my direction. I only need to be with you for a couple of minutes, and even if it doesn’t work out, I promise you won’t forget our little experience together.”
Fiat’s plan was to send a follow-up letter around six days later, revealing the “admirer” to be the new Fiat Cinquecento. Before that could happen, however, the women began to feel scared, imagining a stalker tracking their every move. Some locked themselves in their apartments, while others would only leave home in the presence of male company. Married women who received the letters also said the campaign caused jealousy issues in their relationships.
Ultimately, Fiat ended up getting sued, had to pay fines and followed up the ad campaign with apology letters.
The Lesson:
This is one of those campaigns that makes you scratch your head and wonder how it passed multiple levels of approval. “We thought is was a fun campaign aimed at the independent, modern working woman,” a Fiat spokesman said at the time.
But did they consult any independent, modern working women for the campaign? Likely not, because Fiat would have quickly learned that anonymous letters from someone secretly watching you is creepy, not flattering or exciting. It signals a massive miss for Fiat in understanding its target audience.
2. Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign
In 2017, Dove released a three-second “Real Beauty” ad, where a black woman turns into a white woman after using the brand’s body lotion.
The ad sparked a ton of controversy online. Many called the spot racist, and it spurred hashtags like #DoneWithDove and #DoveMustFall. Others, however, argued the ad was not racist, and instead was an attempt to be diverse and show off different models.
Dove later pulled the ad from Facebook and released an apology on Twitter. “An image we recently posted on Facebook missed the mark in representing women of colour thoughtfully. We deeply regret the offence it caused,” the company wrote.
The Lesson:
“Dove has had numerous ads over the years that cannot be mistaken for anything other than racist,” said Mara Einstein, professor at Queens College, City University of New York.
“Similar to the ad where the Black woman turns white, there was a print ad that suggested that being Black was the ‘before’ and being white was the ‘after.’ Hard to interpret that any other way.”
To avoid making racist, misogynistic or simply juvenile advertising mistakes, explained Einstein, marketers have to take the time to vet their content. “This doesn’t have to be overly expensive or time consuming and it will save them from agita in the long run.”
As for demonstrating values, she added, it’s time for companies to stop with purpose and deal with impact. “If what you are doing isn’t helping the planet or your people — employees, customers, community — then take a seat.”
3. Lifelock’s CEO Gives Out His Social Security Number
Have you ever heard of LifeLock? You might have seen the commercial where the company’s CEO, Todd Davis, gives out his social security number on TV, claiming the company’s product is so air-tight that he has nothing to worry about.
You might remember that his social was splattered across many billboards.
If you think that seemed like a stupid idea at the time, you would have been right. Because Davis had his identity stolen at least 13 times since 2007.
One criminal in Georgia, for instance, used it to rack up more than $2,300 worth of phone calls. And debt collectors sought out another $3,700+ from people other than Davis using the number.
In 2008, credit bureau Experian sued LifeLock, accusing it of deception and fraud in its advertising campaign. And two years later, the FTC levied $100 million in fines against the identity theft prevention company for deceptive advertising and failure to secure consumers’ personal information.
The Lesson:
This should be a no brainer — the claims your company makes should line up with what you’re able to deliver. Overpromising can lead to significant credibility damage and legal troubles if the product doesn’t perform as advertised.
LifeLock’s campaign also ran afoul of legal standards, leading to lawsuits and hefty fines. It highlights the importance of having a good grasp of industry regulations and laws. Especially in cases like this, where the brand tried to stand out with a unique form of marketing, it’s important to work with legal teams to understand the boundaries of what can be promised and claimed in advertisements to avoid legal repercussions.
4. Bloomingdale’s Spike Your Best Friend’s Eggnog Ad
Out of touch marketers? Seems to be a trend.
Bloomingdales faced criticism when they released a campaign featuring a man and woman with the caption: “Spike your best friend’s eggnog when they’re not looking.”
Now, this wasn’t the 1960s (though that still wouldn’t be a good excuse). This was 2015, when the conversation around date rape culture was in full swing. These were conversations people were having online, in schools, etc.
But apparently Bloomingdales didn’t get the memo.
The company later issued an apology, with one tweet saying, “We heard your feedback about our catalogue copy, which was inappropriate and in poor taste. Bloomingdale’s sincerely apologizes.”
The Lesson:
“It’s crucial to thoroughly understand not just demographic data, but the societal and cultural contexts that might affect the reception of your campaign,” said Tenyse Williams, digital marketing adjunct instructor specialist at Columbia University, George Washington University and the University of Central Florida.
What could Bloomingdales have done better? Some steps Williams pointed to include:
A pre-release review process that involved multiple layers of approval
Sensitivity and implication training for the marketing team
Real-time monitoring and feedback implementation once the campaign went live
“These steps are not just about crisis management but about proactive engagement and ethical reflection in the creation and launch of advertising campaigns,” explained Williams. “By integrating these practices brands like Bloomingdale’s can avoid major missteps and align more closely with both ethical standards and public sentiment.”
5. Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner Ad
A lot of headlines in 2017 featured the Black Lives Matters protests. People were talking about issues surrounding race, equality, police violence and more. For some reason, Pepsi decided it was the ideal time to release their Kendall Jenner ad.
In the commercial, the socialite walks out into the protest and immediately defuses tensions by handing a police officer a can of Pepsi.
Naturally, people were mad. Many accused the brand of trivializing the protests and downplaying the deaths caused by police.
“Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding,” the company wrote on Twitter. “Clearly, we missed the mark and apologize. We did not intend to make light of any serious issue. We are pulling the content and halting any further rollout. We also apologize for putting Kendall Jenner in this position.”
The Lesson:
Marketers should think about the context of their ads and how they will be seen by their intended audience, said Mindy Weinstein, founder and CEO of Market MindShift and author of “The Power of Scarcity.”
In the case of the Kendall Jenner ad, said Weinstein, Pepsi didn’t consider the seriousness of the social issue it used. Testing ads with a diverse group of people can help avoid marketing mistakes and will give insight into how the ads are being interpreted, she added.
“I’ve noticed that marketing campaigns that lack sensitivity to social issues, misjudge audience values, oversimplify complex matters, and fail to predict public reaction are the ones that become the biggest blunders,” Weinstein explained. “They fail to understand and respect the audience’s context, values, and current social climate. That is a recipe for a marketing disaster.”
6. The Schlitz Mistake
Up until 1977, the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was America’s largest brewer. And its flagship beer, Schlitz, was coined as the “beer that made Milwaukee famous.”
So what happened?
For starters, the brand made a number of poor decisions — like using cheaper ingredients and attempting to shorten the beer’s brewing time with a process called accelerated batch fermentation.
The nail in the coffin, however, was a series of bizarre commercials titled “Drink Schlitz or I’ll Kill You.” The ads featured people like a fictional boxer or a lumberjack with a pet cougar. When an off-screen voice would ask if they’d like to try a beer other than Schlitz, they’d respond with odd comments like, “You want to take away my Schlitz? My gusto? …You’re gonna be down for the count so long, they’re gonna use a calculator.”
The ads were a huge failure, with the company pulling them off the air — and firing their ad men — 10 weeks after they first went live.
Sales dropped, with the company taking more than $1.4 million in losses in 1976 — the equivalent of $6.3 million in 2020. By 1981, Schlitz closed its Milwaukee brewery. The downfall became so infamous that it even earned a name: the “Schlitz mistake.”
The Lesson:
Schlitz made the fateful decision to change its brewing process and use cheaper ingredients, compromising the quality of the beer and alienating customers who expected a certain standard.
But the true lesson here is in understanding brand and audience alignment. The “Drink Schlitz or I’ll Kill You” campaign is a textbook example of a marketing message that missed the mark in terms of audience expectations and the brand’s heritage.
Schlitz’s attempt to use humour and hyperbole came off as aggressive and bizarre, rather than appealing. It’s a story of marketers forgetting to make campaigns resonate with audience’s values and perceptions, and keeping messaging consistent with the brand’s established image.
It’s also a case that calls for testing prior to the ad’s launch to gauge audience reactions. Had Schlitz tested their ads with focus groups or smaller markets, they might have discovered the negative reactions and adjusted their approach accordingly. Schlitz could still be a beer that we all drink and talk about today.
Beyond Marketing Blunders: Building a Lasting Legacy
The consequences of a poorly conceived ad campaign can extend far beyond at temporary drop in sales or a fleeting PR headache. These marketing missteps above point to a deeper, more systemic issue within the sphere of marketing — a frequent disconnect between how brands perceive themselves and the realities of public perception.
For marketers, the challenge is not just to avoid the next big blunder, but to actively contribute to a legacy of respect, integrity and genuine engagement with audiences. The question should not be: How can the next campaign avoid controversy? It should be: How will it reaffirm the brand’s place in the lives and values of consumers?
Michelle Hawley is an experienced journalist who specializes in reporting on the impact of technology on society. As a senior editor at Simpler Media Group and a reporter for CMSWire and Reworked, she provides in-depth coverage of a range of important topics including employee experience, leadership, customer experience, marketing and more. With an MFA in creative writing and background in inbound marketing, she offers unique insights on the topics of leadership, customer experience, marketing and employee experience. Michelle previously contributed to publications like The Press Enterprise and The Ladders. She currently resides in Pennsylvania with her two dogs.
We all know the Lego logo, but beyond that core brand asset, our favourite purveyor of coloured building bricks has been a little inconsistent in its branding. That’s changing with the launch of a full brand identity built in-house brick-by-brick.
Covering physical products and digital, the playful new branding takes advantage of the recognisable form of Lego bricks to construct both digital and physical assets with an emphasis on learning through play. After the recent Lego AI controversy, it seems like a good idea to make sure everyone’s on message with a cohesive design language.
The new Lego brand identity includes a range of brick-based assets (Image credit: Lego)
While the Lego logo has long been a consistent recognisable design element, the Danish toy brand found itself in need of a broader fluid and cohesive brand experience across all products. So Our Lego Agency, with input from the brand consultancy Interbrand, set about creating an identity by researching different modes of visual storytelling.
Recognising that the company’s youngest fans are still learning to read, they turned to the visual language of comic books, something Lego has leaned into in the past. The result is a new brand architecture and assets that represent the Lego brand experience with the use of cells, speech bubbles, action graphics, and, of course, Lego minifigures.
Lego says that a massive 23 guidelines and 110 principles were whittled down to five key design principles: design for the audience, build from the system-in-play, tell stories, be playful and optimistic and keep it simple. The result is an identity that fits Lego’s history – indeed, it might trigger nostalgia for anyone who grew up with the brand, but also feels fresh and modern.
Lego Typewell is the appropriately named new typeface (Image credit: Lego)
The rebranding includes a clutch system named Lego Brick Pro, which enables the process of building Lego elements to be replicated digitally in the form of a font (or 130 glyphs). This can be used to quickly build holding shapes, illustrations, UI buttons, and more using the same geometry as the bricks. For example, a store button made out of Lego could be built at the same ratio to transition between physical and digital experiences.
Meanwhile the new typeface, Lego Typewell, is based on type discovered in the Lego company archive. Action graphics add dynamism, drama, and emotion to images using 58 Lego elements instead of words, while motion principles included branded ways of transitioning, editing or moving design elements, inspired by the way people play with Lego, for example separating and dropping the bricks.
Under construction, new Lego brand assets (Image credit: Lego)
Thomas Holst Sørensen, global head of design at Our Lego Agency, said: “The Lego Group has been the master of constant reinvention for 90 years. Lego play offers the chance for discovery and invention, where you can always create something new from something familiar. Our new brand DNA reflects what is important for the Lego brand. It is a beautiful, simple, and well-constructed system that both unifies and breaks free the creative and playful expression of our brand and product experiences.”
Lego brick art (Image credit: Lego)
Oliver Maltby, executive creative director, portfolio lead at Interbrand, said: “The LEGO Group’s archives were a treasure trove of elements that contributed to crafting the final solution – a mix of storytelling pieces that we used to build out a full Lego set just as iconic and timeless as the brick itself. The playfulness of the new identity reinforces the vision of the Lego brand as a global force for learning through play.”
Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
Whether you’re looking to establish yourself as a thought leader, recruit staff, or connect with key influencers, LinkedIn is a powerful branding tool for businesses.
Whether you’re looking to establish yourself as a thought leader, recruit staff, or connect with key influencers, LinkedIn is a powerful branding tool for businesses. And with more than 800 million members globally, there’s an incredible opportunity to expand your company’s reach.
TO MAXIMIZE ON LINKEDIN, CHECK OUT THE BUSINESS TIPS BELOW:
via istock
Before a presentation, update your LinkedIn profile; attendees will review it to assess your credibility.
Transform a generic link to your website into a call to action, especially on company profiles.
Create entries for every role you have performed within each job title. It’s OK to have overlapping dates.
Share high-quality information with your network to create connections that become alliances.
The ideal length for LinkedIn long-form posts is 500 to 1,200 words. Tailor the length for your audience.
Skip the “How do you know this person” step. Click “Connect from search results instead of profiles.
Want another user or company to see your LinkedIn status updates? Use @mentions when you post.
Don’t be a wallflower. Your profile is 5x more likely to be viewed if you join and are active in groups.
When introducing yourself, don’t be self-centered. Be generous, genuine, and focus on the other person.
Looking for a new job on LinkedIn? Don’t let your boss know; turn off your activity broadcasts.
LinkedIn users who update their profiles regularly get more job offers than peers who contact recruiters.
(Photo: Katleho Seisa/Getty Images)
Censor yourself. If you wouldn’t say it in a job interview, don’t say it in a LinkedIn group or post.
Schedule time to be active on LinkedIn. Review your profile, monitor updates, and participate in discussions.
Evernote and LinkedIn integrate and can organize business cards, LinkedIn info, and networking notes in one place.
Use your LinkedIn profile as a sales tool. Add a short video about your company to your profile.
Add value to LinkedIn groups: share visual presentations that will interest group members.
Profiles with pictures are 14x more likely to be viewed. Use a professional image with a neutral background.
Avoid profile buzzwords, such as creative and motivated. Minimize adjectives. Emphasize verbs.
Don’t use the automated invitation message: “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.”
LinkedIn has found that 20 posts per month can help you reach 60% of your unique audience.
The best times to post on LinkedIn are Tuesdays and Thursdays, between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. local time.
Company updates with images have a 98% higher comment rate than updates without images.
(Photo: PeopleImages/Getty Images)
You are unique. Prove it. Use a creative headline instead of defaulting to your current job title.
Help recruiters, prospects, and potential partners find you; use keywords throughout your LinkedIn profile.
Successful LinkedIn content often provides ready-to-use takeaways in a list format.
Endorse people you respect. Send a thank-you message when someone endorses you.
List volunteer experience on LinkedIn; 42% of hiring managers value it as much as formal job experience.
LinkedIn groups provide one of the best personal branding opportunities you have with social media.
Are you struggling to fill a role in your company? Instead of hiring a recruiter, consider joining LinkedIn’s Recruiter service.
Share original content; “content is now viewed six times more than jobs-related activity on LinkedIn.”
Use visuals; embed SlideShare presentations and infographics into your profile and long-form posts.
It’s been called an “unauthorized misappropriation”.
Volkswagen has sparked a design dispute after filing a lawsuit against a car dealership, claiming that its logo is “unauthorised misappropriation”. The Dallas-based dealership named “VDubs Only” has been accused of creating a “bastardised” version of the German manufacturer’s logo that could potentially mislead consumers.
As one of the most recognisable car logos out there, it seems bizarre that Volkswagen feels threatened by a small dealership. It’s by no means the most ridiculous logo design dispute we’ve seen but with Volkswagen claiming infringement and dilution of its identity, it’s clear the car brand is driving for a resolution.
(Image credit: Volkswagen/Vdubs Only)
The centre of the design dispute evolves around the VDubs Only logo, which features a “V” design against a blue background (sounds familiar but I’d say it’s far from a direct ripoff). Alongside the alleged logo infringement, Volkswagen claims that the VDubs name violates its trademark of the word ‘V-Dub’ which has previously been used in campaigns. It’s worth noting that Volkswagen only owns the rights to the hyphenated form of ‘V-Dub’, so technically there’s no foul in that department.
The official lawsuit claims that these alleged infringements will be “likely to cause potential purchasers of Defendants’ products and services, as well as the public at large, to believe that Defendants’ products and services are affiliated with, authorized, sponsored by, or endorsed by VW.” Volkswagen is searching for a permanent injunction to prevent Vdubs Only from allegedly misappropriating its marks.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
For more design debate stories, check out the Michael Jackson logo dispute. If you’re after more car branding controversy take a look at the Mercedes-Benz logo dispute that threatened to oppose a humble microbrewery.
Natalie is Creative Bloq’s staff writer. With an eye for trending topics and a passion for internet culture, she brings you the latest in art and design news. A recent English Literature graduate, Natalie enjoys covering the lighter side of the news and brings a fresh and fun take to her articles. Outside of work (if she’s not glued to her phone), she loves all things music and enjoys singing sweet folky tunes.
Branding is the most important part of your marketing strategy, without a recognizable brand, potential customers won’t know who you are.
The Nike tick, and the McDonalds sign are two of the most popular logos in the world. But there’s much more to a brand than a logo, colours and a slogan. Branding gives your audience insight into who your organization is outside of its corporate name. Therefore, a brand framework that gets results must answer five critical questions, and it starts with defining the vision for your brand. Once you are clear about the direction you want to take, everything else falls into place. But without a firm foundation in place, you’ll find it difficult to build. If you want to crush your company goals, start by developing a powerful brand framework that will guarantee results.
1) What is the Vision For Your Brand?
Start with the end in mind, think about where you see the company five, ten, and fifteen years from now. Please keep in mind that a vision is not strategy, at this point, you are not working out how to get to your destination. You are defining where you are now and where you want to go. Here are seven steps to help define your vision:
Step 1: What Are Your Goals? What do you hope your company will achieve?
Step 2: What Are Your Values? Define your values, it can be a sentence such as, “Adding a creative edge to education.” Or, words such as, “communication” and, “innovation.”
Step 3: Build Your Mission Statement: Your vision is an extension of what you are currently doing; therefore, build on your mission statement to further crystalize your vision.
Step 4: Make it Measurable: Dreams without deadlines will remain dreams. Put a deadline on the things you hope to achieve. A five or a ten year plan is a good place to start.
Step 5: Be Specific: Being wishy washy won’t get you very far, you can compare it to wearing a pair of glasses that are too weak for your eyes. You won’t be able to see anything. When you know exactly what you want, you are better able to aim for it.
Step 6: Think Ahead: Pay attention to the changes that are taking place in your industry and plan accordingly.
Step 7: Keep it Simple: Be as ambitious as you want, but keep it simple. Refrain from over defining your vision.
2) What is the Voice of Your Brand?
Have you ever answered your phone without looking at your caller ID but recognized the persons voice immediately? That’s because you’ve spoken to them so many times that you know what they sound like. That’s what your brands voice should be like. What you say and do should be so consistent across all channels that your customers immediately know it’s you when they come into contact with your brand.
3) What is Your Brand’s Story?
Every brand has a story, it gives your audience deeper insight into what a company is about, and the motivation behind why it started. Brand stories are important because we all remember a good story. It helps build an emotional connection with your audience especially if it’s inspiring and heartfelt.
4) Who is Your Target Audience?
Defining your target audience is the key to success. When you know exactly who you’re selling to and why, it is a lot easier to reach potential customers. For example, a nursery will want to target mothers and families with toddlers. Therefore, all advertising should be targeted towards this people group.
5) Who Are Your Competitors?
Regardless of the industry, there will always be competition. The good news is that competition can work to your advantage if you study them the right way. One of the best ways is to evaluate their bad reviews. In this way, you get to find out what they’re doing that their customers don’t like. You can use that as a marketing tactic to gain potential customers based on giving them what you know they want.
If you want to build a brand that performs, see a return on your investment, and gain a competitive advantage in your industry, the first step is developing an effective brand framework. We are living in an era where consumers demand authenticity, and the most effective way to deliver this, is through the right branding.
Elon Musk has been promising X’s transition into an “everything app” for some time now, but finally, we might have a breakthrough – behold X TV. An offshoot of the social media app, X TV is set to be an all-in-one entertainment app for your smart TV, bringing X’s “high-quality” content to your home.
The X overlord teased the new app via a cryptic video, debuting the new X TV logo design. With the X icon considered one of the worst new logo designs of last year, the launch of X TV was Elon’s chance to redeem himself. I’m sad to report that the result is a little underwhelming, to say the least.
Now I’m aware that for the sake of continuity, we can’t stray too far from the original logo design, but it feels like there could’ve been a little more consideration put into the new look. It seems that X (and now X TV) is caught up in the aesthetic of being edgy and fresh, and in turn, it’s giving us soulless minimalism.
Design aside, the new app is set to be an innovative form of media consumption, using tailored algorithms and AI-powered organisation to bring you the “immersive entertainment experience” that you deserve. My reservations will be held until I can make a fair judgement.
For more Elon-related news, check out why the Cybertruck’s latest design fail looks like the beginning of the end. For the logo buffs out there, take a look at the logo design quiz that has stumped the internet.
Natalie is Creative Bloq’s staff writer. With an eye for trending topics and a passion for internet culture, she brings you the latest in art and design news. A recent English Literature graduate, Natalie enjoys covering the lighter side of the news and brings a fresh and fun take to her articles. Outside of work (if she’s not glued to her phone), she loves all things music and enjoys singing sweet folky tunes.
McDonald’s, Old Spice and Corona prove the best branding is multi-sensory.
Multi-sensory branding is on the rise because of one simple human truth; consumers perceive the world using all of their senses. For a brand to succeed in the modern age, it needs to be more than meets the eye, and savvy marketers are building holistic expressions that consider what people see, hear, feel and believe.
When your messaging uses a strategic combination of visual and sonic branding, all boats rise with the tide. Visual branding works on a cognitive level, sonic assets deliver on a deeper emotional level. When they’ve been designed to work in harmony, these sensory dance partners leave a lasting impression that improves performance exponentially (see our pick of the best sonic logos).
The impact of sonic branding
Think of some of the world’s classic visual icons — the Golden Arches, Apple, AT&T’s Globe or the Corona wordmark. These brands have also developed their ecosystems to include distinct audio cues and sonic signatures. “Ba-da-ba-ba-ba” is just as evocative as the typography of McDonalds. AT&T’s “chimes” are the brand’s second most recognizable asset. Corona just launched a sonic identity that evokes beach relaxation within seconds and if you turn on a MacBook with your eyes closed you still know exactly who made it.
Yet some of the old guard still raise their eyebrows at the concept of sonic branding. Many think of it as intangible, or too good to be true despite the data showing it improves appeal, attribution and purchase intent. Some naysayers prefer a rudimentary type of “sonic branding” that only exists to score their logo animations. Unfortunately that type of waveform window dressing falls flat in audio-only environments where their visuals can’t be seen.
To be fair, if your only reference points are bad jingles or the 15 brands using the sound of a doorbell, it’s easy to assume the whole discipline is flimsy and ephemeral. It doesn’t help that a wave of music houses jumped on the bandwagon and are selling poor imitations to unsuspecting clients (“Would you like one note or two with your endcard, Madam?”)
Before I started working in the world of sonic branding, I was sceptical myself. But all that changed when I discovered the interconnected similarities between great sonic branding and the way visual brands are built.
Just as a visual identity can instantly evoke a sense of familiarity and trust, a strategically crafted sonic identity can convey authenticity, brand personality, and a variety of specific attributes. Although Sonic Logos or Mnemonics get most of the headlines, every sound or music choice a brand makes leaves a lasting impression on consumers. From advertising and apps to social, experiential and phygital.
A global brand such as American Express needs a sonic ecosystem that can span their entire customer journey. They craft every interaction from call centres, to mobile payments, to airport lounges (where they also have a branded scent). Their distinct sound and music helps Amex amplify feelings of strength, trust and a sense of adventure for their customers. When you interact with them, you feel like a part of something. You don’t live life without it.
The data
There’s also scientific backing behind that shows just how effective sonic branding can be. Many research studies show that ads with a sonic branding cue see an 850% uplift in branded attention. Consider this, if you hear a familiar jaunty whistle from across the room, you’ll probably clock it was an Old Spice commercial without paying any attention to it. In fact, that Old Spice whistle might in your head right now!
When sonic and visual elements are aligned, they reinforce one another, creating a more complete, unified brand experience. In our work with PepsiCo, we’ve seen significant uplift for their visual brand assets when sonic cues are applied. According to audio research company Veritonic, the introduction of sonic assets for the chip brand Tostitos saw a 38% increase in brand recall after only six months in market. Not only is audio a powerful tool on its own, it can actually supercharge the rest of a brand’s architecture.
How to succeed at sonic branding
When we’re partnering with brands, we ensure that elements of the strategy and discovery phase feel almost identical to visual brand building. Analysing the market, the competitors, target consumers and place in culture. Most of our clients are dipping their toes into sonic for the first time, so there needs to be an extra layer of education and it helps to compare it with development they’re more familiar with.
We become musical method actors, absorbing brand essence, purpose and personality and then translate that essence into sound. We develop concepts, emotional territories, adding instrumentation and audio design to bring a brand’s distinct, inevitable sound to life. Research adds confidence that the work is effective and will produce the desired results.
When we collaborated with Wieden+Kennedy on the global sonic identity for Corona, we needed to craft a musical expression that would be just as powerful as their other iconic assets – the flint bottle, crown logo, lime ritual, and association with the beach. We approached it as we do with every project: with the same level of rigor, craft, design and data as our W+K partners. We worked together to capture the soul of the brand, creating a system of assets that work in harmony with Corona’s brand architecture, delivering KPIs that will stand the test of time. One client said we’d caught sonic lightning in a bottle and it’s been incredible to see how quickly consumers have embraced it in campaigns all over the world.
Why it matters
So why does any of this matter? Brands need to tap into both reason and emotion because 90% of all decision-making takes place in the subconscious. Whether you’re buying a car or a candy bar, there’s a degree of emotional impulse that makes your choice just feel right. In a world where consumers are bombarded with messages from every direction, multi-sensory branding helps cut through the clutter and makes people feel something.
A holistic approach that values visual and sonic branding equally creates a lasting impression in the hearts and minds of consumers. It enables modern brands to make the leap from marketing into culture and become part of the fabric of our lives. So much so, we even start completing their sentences for them. Ba-dap-ba-ba-bah, I’m…
