Distinctive brand assets transform companies into globally recognisable brands – and this is why they’re so important.
It’s a simple image of a man walking that instantly conjures up feelings of quality and an established and trusted company. Even the non-drinkers among us will recognise the strapline “keep walking”; and those partial to a tipple intuitively know the difference between the distinctive red bottle and black bottles.
The logo, the strapline, and colour palette are all distinctive brand assets of whisky brand Johnnie Walker. They carry with them the brand identity, and are responsible for the phenomenal marketing success of the company, which is now the highest selling brand of Scotch whisky in the world.
You’re probably familiar with a few others too, like the golden arches for McDonald’s, the swoosh mark for Nike, or the iconic bottle shape for Coca-Cola.
Distinctive brand assets transform companies into globally recognisable brands – and there are steps you can take right now, to put your branding design on track to follow.
What are distinctive brand assets?
Distinctive brand assets are the most powerful elements of your brand identity – the ones that people instantly recognise as you, and what you value and offer.
The design of distinctive brand assets are unmistakably unique and help companies stand out from the multitudes of brands people come into contact with on any given day by being memorable and consistent.
Brand elements can be words (think: Nike’s ‘Just do it’); symbols (think: Coke’s dynamic ribbon or Apple’s apple logo); mascots (think: Ronald McDonald); or jingles (think: “call, call, Carpet Call!”)
Why are distinctive brand assets important?
Distinctive brand assets enable you to stand out in even the most crowded spaces, and convey a depth of understanding and background knowledge and reputation in one move.
They allow customers and potential customers to connect with your brand immediately and without any context.
What are the benefits of distinctive brand assets?
Distinctive brand assets increase and leverage loyalty because customers are more likely to engage with a company they immediately recognise as established and trustworthy.
Getting to this stage requires consistency in messaging throughout the marketing mix because this uniformity works like building blocks, with your brand increasing in size with every interaction.
The stronger your distinctive brand assets, the greater the return on advertising investment. The consumer doesn’t need to make an effort to think about who you are and what your business does and stands for. Advertising will also have a more powerful impact, no matter the size it is or how long the ad is visible.
Assemblo created distinctive brand assets for Bass Coast Skin Doctors, including their logo, colour palette, and brand elements.
Tips for creating distinctive brand assets
There are marketing techniques you can employ right now to start turning your logo or branding style guide into a distinctive brand asset:
- Do a distinctive brand assets audit. Your current assets might simply be a logo and store signage, or as complex as media advertising, brand ambassadors, and branding toolboxes that take in logos, a colour palette, and fonts.
- Next, determine the strength of each asset. This will require A/B testing, but should also take in other forms of feedback. You could run advertisements and social media posts that are identical except for a series of variables, such as logo design, strap line, colours, etc. Analyse the results to get a better idea of the strongest assets.
- Add a layer of uniqueness and consistency in your brand elements. This could be a particular typeface used across all marketing, or a distinctive colour.
- Don’t limit your distinctive brand assets to marketing and advertising campaigns, rather employ them across all visuals, including store design and signage, packaging, and audio if an asset is a jingle – you might even incorporate your strapline in your in-store customer greeting.
- When implementing new brand elements, start by incorporating the name of your brand. After your logo becomes recognisable, you can pare it down to a simple image.
Call in the branding experts
Once you have determined existing distinctive brand assets, or created new ones, make sure you use them in every single marketing campaign. Remember, the greater the consistency the stronger the distinctive brand assets.
Assemblo is a full-service marketing agency based in Melbourne that specialises in creating branding and identity and growing distinctive brand assets – as well as using them to elevate your business.
To chat about any aspect of marketing give us a call on (03) 9079 2555 or drop us a note via the contact form below.