This document provides an overview of key branding concepts: 1. A brand is an idea that differentiates a product through functional and emotional benefits rather than just price. 2. Branding is defining, promising, and consistently delivering a unique experience to distinguish a product from competitors. 3. Strong brands are built on trust between the brand and consumer, a common identity, and a point of difference from other brands.

1. Hello.
01 thought starter series
BRAND DESIGN
My name is kevin krossing.
I spend my waking hours blending
brand strategy with design to create the
planning digital tools, platforms and
marketing campaigns that unite
ideas, people, and brands.
kevinkrossing.com @kkrossing

2. 01 thought starter series
“ Strictly speaking, brands do not exist.
You can’t extract them from the earth,
BRAND DESIGN
craft them in a workshop, manufacture
them with industrial robots in a state-of-
the-art facility, or fabricate them with a
what is 3-D printer. You can’t put one in your
a brand? pocket, grow it on a farm, put a fence
around it, fling it through a window, or
leave it at a restaurant by accident. You
can’t even download a brand. A brand
is nothing but an idea.
Rob Walker, Brand Thinking
”
02

3. 01 thought starter series
BRAND DESIGN
‣ A brand is a container for a customer’s complete
experience with a product and company.
‣ A brand simplifies the buying process by
what is differentiating a product on something other than
a brand? that price.
‣ A brand is the bundle of functional and emotional
benefits, attributes, usage experiences, icons, and
symbols that in total comprises the meaning of a
product/service.
03

4. 01 thought starter series
BRAND DESIGN
what is Branding is defining, promising, and delivering a unique
experience consistently. Branding distinguishes the
branding? product/service from its competitors and builds preference.
04

5. 01 thought starter series
BRAND DESIGN
Building strong brands you need focus on 3 key
requirements:
building ‣ Trust between brand and consumer
a strong ‣ Common identity between brand and consumer
brand ‣ Point of difference between brands in a market
05

6. ‣ Awareness – How are you going to build awareness
for your brand with the audiences?
‣ Relevance – Where does your brand fit into the needs
01 thought starter series
BRAND DESIGN
and desires of your target audience?
‣ Differentiation – What makes your brand different and
better than the competition? Can you define it in terms
brand of rational and emotional benefits not its features.
plan ‣ Credibility – What is your plan to develop credibility
with your audiences? How will you define
checklist expectations?
‣ Imagery – How will you define user, usage, product
and associative imagery for the brand?
‣ Brand Positioning – Given all of the above, what is
the brand positioning? Where do you fit in the market
place today and tomorrow? 06

7. ‣ Target Audience: Whom are you trying to influence?
Where are they? What are their needs? What past
experience have they had with you and your
competitors?
01 thought starter series
BRAND DESIGN
‣ Frame of Relevance: What is the frame of relevance
or competitive framework from the consumer’s point of
building view? What are the relevant alternatives to you and
your brand? What differentiates you from the
a brand competition?
position ‣ Points of Difference: What is the unique selling
proposition for your product/service? How is it
different from other brands in the frame of reference?
‣ Support: Not included in the positioning statement
BUT how will you support your points of difference?
07

8. ‣
01 thought starter series
BRAND DESIGN
User Imagery: is all about what kind of people use the
product.
‣ Usage Imagery: is about what it feels like to use the
brand product and be associated with the brand.
imagery ‣ Product Imagery: is the client’s image of the product
and the product in use.
‣ Associative Imagery: is about the company you keep
– the brands, individuals, institutions, and events
identified with your brand.
08

9. ‣ Brand Relevance: Brand relevance is the way your
brand fits into your customer’s lives and how it meets
their needs and desires. It’s how important your brand
01 thought starter series
BRAND DESIGN becomes to your customer.
‣ Differentiation: You have to have meaning in your
brand customer’s lives, and you’ve got to be perceived as
different from all the competitors. Differentiation is
attributes where value is created.
‣ Credibility: Every brand is a promise. It carries with it
a set of expectations defined by users experience and
by your marketing claims. Delivering on that promise
increases brand credibility. You must increase your
brand’s credibility with customers every use of your
product/service and with every interaction.
09

10. ‣ Emotional Benefits – this is what customers buy, it’s
the “sizzle not the steak”. Its how the brand makes
01 thought starter series
BRAND DESIGN them feel. Offering the right emotional benefits makes
customers feel that you understand and respect what’s
in it for them.
brand ‣ Functional Benefits – these are the elements that, in
architecture the customers mind, make your brand superior to any
of the competitors. If you don’t deliver the functional
goods, the emotional benefits you offer won’t help for
very long.
‣ Attributes – these are the things that affect the
functional and/or the emotional benefits even thought
they aren’t benefits themselves.
10

11. The only way to build brand equity and drive sales
volume is through offering consumers relevant emotional
benefits.
01 thought starter series
BRAND DESIGN ‣ Price of Entry - getting on the consumers
consideration set through meeting a series of basic
requirements.
brand ‣ Differentiation - this is what separates your brand
architecture from the pack. It’s what motivates people and can
influence their decisions. The differences have to be
relevant before your product/service is perceived to be
different.
‣ Preference - getting customers to prefer your
product/service on the basis of more than just the
product itself.
11

12. price of entry differentiation preference
01 thought starter series
BRAND DESIGN emotional
benefits
brand
architecture functional
benefits
brand
attributes
12

13. This is a function of your brands ability to meet the
01 thought starter series
BRAND DESIGN performance goals of the business, to withstand
competitive pressures or attacks, and to create
sustainable value to customers in the long-term. This
brand includes 3 components:
capacity ‣ Strength – ability to deliver short-term results
‣ Endurance – ability to sustain long-term performance
‣ Resistance – ability to fight off competitors
13

14. The truth is that even though you think your selling a
product/service, you’re actually selling an experience.
01 thought starter series
BRAND DESIGN
It’s a 5-part recipe:
‣ Intrinsics – Physical elements that are essential to the
experience
a recipe ‣ Intention – What the consumer needs or wants from
for brand the experience
experience ‣ Interactions – The actions, communication and
behaviors of the consumer
‣ Impact – The tangible results
‣ Impressions – What the consumer is left with
14

15. ‣ Sergio Zyman http://www.zyman.com/
01 thought starter series
BRAND DESIGN
‣ Debbie Millman http://debbiemillman.com/
‣ Rob Walker http://www.robwalker.net/
thanks ‣ Grant McCracken http://cultureby.com/
for the ‣ Brian Collins http://collins1.com/
inspiration ‣ Dori Tunstall http://dori3.typepad.com/
‣ Seth Godin http://www.sethgodin.com/
15

16. 01 thought starter series
BRAND DESIGN
cheers! kevin kevinkrossing.com
krossing @kkrossing
16