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SHOWCASE Branding
Branding is much more than just an appealing logo says Richard King, The Cotton Textile Company Branding is often thought of as a company or products logo that is applied to packaging, labelling and the company letterhead. In fact it is far more than this. When you start to focus on branding you need to think what you want to achieve as a business and how you will succeed.
A business or product needs to stand out from its competitors, it needs to be seen to be competitive in terms of price and value and a business needs to deliver on its promises. All of these elements need to be communicated through BRANDING.
For this to happen the product needs a voice, it needs a personality and it needs to promote its values consistently to build a reliable following of customers. We have been looking at branding for a new product launch that will happen later this year and to ensure that we are creating the desire we have looked at; • Colours for all the products, labelling and communication methods • Fonts or typefaces that will be used on every written or published advert, email, newsletter • A voice that resonates with the target audience, in the case of our new product
this is a soft voice that makes you think of a family unit, but also using Queens English to promote the concept of history and the idea that the product has been established a long time, although it is a brand new venture. • A logo that is simple and easily recognisable and will still look fresh in years to come. The logo should also be easily transferable across the products that you produce today and also those that you may produce in years to come. • A mission statement and goal that we can deliver on and that will appeal to the target audience. • We have involved the whole team to ensure the same message.
By combining all of these elements and ensuring that every email and every time we answer the phone, we do so in the same manner to ensure consistency, we fill our audience with comfort and trust in our business and products.
Building the initial desire and then delivering on your promises is what truly creates a valuable brand. For me, Heinz Baked Beans and Guinness are great examples of products and brands that are not unique but they have both
consistently delivered on their promises to me in terms of taste and quality and they both have a voice that is both instantly recognisable and also one that I know I can trust, hence they are always my first choice.
So when you are thinking about ‘branding’ your business think deeper than just an appealing logo. Your brand is your business and everything that happens within it.
For further information: www.thecottontextilecompany.co.uk sales@thecottontextilecompany.co.uk
What’s brand got to do with it?
by Myles Pinfold, founder and strategic director at WPA Pinfold
Let’s face it, in blind tastings consumers are not going to recognise your beer and they would probably struggle to even properly recognise the beer style. And simply identifying your product as beer doesn’t cut it in today’s market either - unless your name is Homer (Simpson) and even he has his favourite brand.
So, branding serves two functions; on a basic level, it identifies your product and helps the drinker navigate the bar or shelf. However, as we all know, it’s much more than that – beyond your brewing kit, it is probably the most significant investment you will make. And, let’s face it, you don’t even need to own your own
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brewery nowadays to brew your own beer, as several well-established brands will attest to.
There were approximately 13,000 beers listed in the last Good Beer Guide, with over 500 new beers being launched annually pre-2020, and with over 100 different beer styles to choose from. No wonder drinkers have become both more discerning and more confused...
In the incredibly competitive beer sector branding really does have to function on a higher level, knowing your place on bar and on shelf is critical to ensure you have the right positioning – the landscape is constantly changing too, both on-trade and off-trade. Whilst having a compelling and differentiating value proposition will help win both the
hearts and minds of loyal drinkers. Bear in mind that quality is a given in this sector and not a differentiator (unless you happen to be called Carlsberg) and drinkers need a reason to believe in you and your brand. Most important of all you need to believe in yourself and be able to walk the talk – there are already too many great pretenders out there.
All the indicators suggest that the hospitality sector will experience a bounce back when it is finally released from its shackles and it is worth giving your brand that extra TLC, that it deserves, to ensure that it hits the ground running as market demand increases.
For further information: wpa-pinfold.co.uk
BREWING & BEVERAGE INDUSTRIES BUSINESS • Spring 2021
