How to create a brand identity that connects

A brand identity is made up of every element used to communicate what you do and what you stand for. It's a unique mix of your personality, your core values, even how you desire the world to be, how you live your life, and how you would like your audience to live theirs. All of this is used to influence how your audience thinks and feels about your business.

To create an effective brand, you need to consider two things:

Internal perception. How you see yourself.

External perception. Which is how your audience sees you.

The goal is alignment and understanding the steps you need to take to reach that alignment.

The alignment is achieved by understanding 6 crucial steps you need to take. Jean-Noel Kapferer created a model called the Brand Identity Prism that makes the process easier to understand.

The following diagram shows the prism in action describing Coco-Cola's brand identity.

1. Physique

This is how you look. Your logo, color scheme, all visible elements that your audience can interact with.

2. Personality

These are the personality traits that reflect your brand.

3. Relationship

This is the kind of relationship your brand has with your audience.

4. Culture

These are the values and the beliefs you live by. It’s your way of life and how you want your audience to live theirs

5. Reflection

This is how people are perceived in the minds of others when they use your brand.

6. Self-image

This is how your customers see themselves when interacting and using your brand.

Many brands and people fail at achieving this alignment because they get caught up at the top half of the prism.

Thinking only about how you want to be perceived and not taking the necessary steps to understand what your audience really thinks will spell disaster for your business.

Take the time to understand the 6 elements of the prism, and you'll be able to create your own stunning identity.

Final Takeaways

Be clear on how your physical appearance aligns with your personality.

Understand how your physical appearance and personality impact your relationship with your audience.

Know how your audience perceives you? Are you a friend that wants to have fun with your audience, or maybe you are a teacher? Do you want to inspire and empower your audience to achieve their dreams?

Showcase your culture, share your values, and communicate that ideal way of living to your audience, so they can decide if it's for them too.

With the above 4 points in place, your audience will begin to form an impression of your brand. It's at this point that you will want to be clear about how your brand is perceived when in use by others.

You know how Rolex wearers are seen as accomplished individuals of luxury and wealth? Well, that's because Rolex worked hard to make sure their products were always associated with successful brand ambassadors.

The final point of the prism is how your buyer feels when purchasing your product. Your entire experience up to this moment has been to influence this moment of truth. Is it everything you hyped it up to be?

It's time to deliver.

Do you need help creating a brand identity that performs well in your market? Let's get started.