Branding Discussion

Branding Discussion

Effective branding is essential in order to make a product successful. According to Jerry McLaughlin, co-founder and CEO of Branders.com, “brand is the perception someone holds in their head about you, a product, a service, an organization, a cause, or an idea.  Brand building is the deliberate and skillful application of effort to create a desired perception in someone else’s mind". 

It is clear from this statement that the branding of a product should be crafted meticulously and thoughtfully in order to enhance the success of a product.

My proposed branding is split into two just like my music video; one side focuses on the accomplishments of the runner, while the other side focuses on those of the cyclist. Overall, however, it was the branding of the runner which stood out to me initially as the most ideal and effective branding image (see images below).

Proposed branding image of the runner

Proposed branding image of the cyclist 

I found that the silhouette design of the runner's image was the most adaptable to other products and in different situations, for instance on merchandise such as t-shirts and phone cases (see the 'shop' page of the website here). The image itself seems to have more versatility in regards to the orientation of the image and its ability to be cropped without adverse effects. It is also worth noting that the silhouette makes the majority of the branding image entirely black - a colour which is ideal for printing since it is less expensive. A main advantage of the cyclist branding image was its appealing green theme (hinting at the natural theme throughout the music video itself), however upon testing its versatility it was evident that both white and black text is difficult to read on the multi-shaded green background. The cyclist image is also extremely dense and rich in terms of colour, unlike the initial runner image. 

Knowing my Audience 

I thought that it would be relevant to reflect on the demographic and psychographic research that I conducted earlier on in my project to refresh my understanding of my target audience. By doing this, I was able to pinpoint exactly what should be involved in the main branding in order for the product to appeal to my demographic from the very start. With the most relevant class demographic group being from letter groups B and C1, and the characters in the narrative purposely designed to appeal to this group as well, I decided that one of the characters should be included in the branding design of the product in some way or another. My psychographic research concluded that my product would be best received by the 'Explorers'. 

Within the narrative of my music video, it is the runner who perhaps sets themselves the most advanced goal (to run a marathon). In order to achieve this goal, it is vital that they have the right attitude - an attitude like their target psychographic group, as described above. By using the runner as a central figure for the product's branding, it could be argued that the target psychographic group is thus being addressed from all angles. For this group, the runner is likely to stand as a good role model, encouraging them to persevere and 'try everything'. 

Uniqueness

For any product to be successful, it must have something which makes it different to everything else on the market. The fact that the song used for my music video is also the main 'theme' for the 2016 Disney film Zootropolis makes it unique in the first place. In terms of narrative, I have purposely challenged the conventions of the 'traditional pop music video' by having the narrative and the achievements of the characters at the heart of the video: although the 'artiste' features lipsyncing their song, they are not the most prevalent (unlike most pop artistes who use their prevalence within their music videos to sell themselves as the product). 

Consistency 

There is no doubt that consistency is essential when it comes to branding a product, ensuring that the product is well recognised wherever it is displayed. The original concept of featuring both characters (the runner and the cyclist) may be confusing, so keeping the silhouetted runner as the main figure throughout the branding is likely to bring most success. The silhouette image also offers the most minimalistic design; keeping the branding simple and transferable. This technique has been used widely recently...

Featured above is the world's latest most popular and successful brands broken down. Even when they have been stripped down they are still recognisable, proving that the amalgamation of basic shapes and colours are most effective. With this concept, the basic silhouette shape with the blue/yellow of the sky should have the same effect for my own product. 

Exposure

Different means of brand exposure is essential in order to reach the target audience, or even a wider audience. Having the film attached so closely to 'Try Everything' is a huge advantage, since its target audience is addressed directly when they watch the film. Larger companies would have a larger budget to experiment with the branding of their products, such as television advertisements, radio advertisements and billboards in prominent locations within cities, for instance. For my own smaller product, which would not have this kind of budget, social media would be used as the main marketing strategy. Using the same silhouette branding in a consistent manner (across all platforms), my product would gain recognition on sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.