The most popular and successful global brands, like Coca-Cola, Samsung, Apple, Nike, and Starbucks didn’t appear by chance. Their strong market positioning is the result of top-notch product quality, exceptional customer service, and surely, unique corporate branding that we all adore.

But how can a modern business achieve the same level of recognition and make their brand a household name? The answer is to build a truly memorable and appealing corporate branding strategy. 

In this article, I’ll provide you with basic and some more advanced answers and tips for the following questions:

• What is corporate branding?
• Why do you need to create a corporate identity?
• How to build a strong corporate brand? – Step-by-step instructions
• Inspiring corporate branding examples.

So, let’s figure out how to develop a robust branding strategy that will leave no one indifferent.

What Is Corporate Branding?

Simply put, corporate branding (also known as corporate identity) is a combination of unique features that distinguish your company from the competitors and make potential clients, employees, partners, and stakeholders choose you. As a result, it allows you to build lasting relationships with all these parties.

Initially, the concept of corporate branding was thought of as a set of basic elements, such as a memorable and appealing name, logo, and visual presence. Studies today find that 90% of all purchasing decisions are guided by emotions rather than cold logic, which makes modern brands less formal but more human. 

These days, it’s not enough to choose a name and create a logo. It’s time to enhance your basic approach and tell a unique brand story, form an outstanding corporate culture, and influence emotions in an efficient way. Thus, you’ll create a special connection with your clients that takes you beyond the standard buyer-seller relationship.

A switch to an emotion-based sales model imposed some special requirements on the successful corporate branding strategy:

1. Originality

Originality is a key factor in distinguishing your brand! One of the biggest mistakes in forming a corporate identity is to follow the old approaches established by other companies. Things that worked yesterday may not work as well tomorrow.

Today consumers are obsessed with novelties and innovations, with anything they haven’t seen or used before. Define how your company differs and create a corporate branding strategy around these unusual features.

2. Sincerity 

Besides falling in love with everything new, today’s customers also show another important tendency: They can quickly figure out that your corporate branding strategy has been copied or that they’re pretending to be something you’re not. Try to avoid a reputation for pulling the wool over customers’ eyes. Your product or service should reflect what you genuinely have to offer.

Using the services of a corporate branding agency like ReVerb can help you create a transparent and authentic brand that inspires trust and confidence while standing out from the crowd.

3. Courage

If you’re still not making waves on the market with your corporate branding, the issue can be that you’re not being brave enough. Let’s see how the top successful single product stores overcame challenges to build a strong brand identity. In this modern world of self-driving cars and digital currencies, you should take advantage of all the benefits of revolutionary inventions, using them to enhance your brand. 

How about offering users a crypto payment option? That’s just one of the bold decisions you can make to impress the public.

How to Build a Strong Corporate Brand?

Now that you know what corporate branding is and why it’s so essential for your business, let’s get down to the practice. Here are three steps you can take to build a strong profitable brand that users love:

Step 1. Conducting a brand audit

If you already have an active business and want to reorganize your current corporate branding, start with a thorough brand audit. Are you satisfied with your company image and the way users perceive your brand? Your task is to identify existing gaps and weaknesses by analyzing visual identity, website, and other branded materials. 

A corporate branding specialist can conduct an in-depth analysis of your brand and advise you on what needs to be fixed and what to keep. 

Another practice is evaluating the brands of your strongest competitors to get some insight from their killer features.

Step 2. Setting brand goals

For those who are just starting to work on corporate branding, setting brand goals is an essential prep step. Talk with the company leaders about the core targets: What does your company hope to achieve with its branding in the long run? It could be increasing brand awareness, building emotional relationships with buyers, global recognition, and so on.

Invite creative departments to join the conversation and brainstorm ideas on how to get more attention from customers. Document the generally accepted list of goals and practical ways to achieve them.

Step 3: Creating brand guidelines

The final and most extensive stage in building corporate branding is the creation of brand guidelines (also known as a style guide). Get all your visual ideas for brand representation down on paper. In this step, you’ll create a logo, select color schemes, and fonts, define your tone, and think about other brand elements.

You can learn more about setting brand guidelines in our previous guide.

Once you’ve finished with this step, it’s time to act! But first, let me share inspiring examples from three of my favorite brands.

Corporate Branding Examples for Your Inspiration

In a highly competitive environment, every company is looking for ways to stand out. Well, the following brands succeed. Let’s analyze their secret sauce!

Nike

Nike is one of the most popular sports brands, in great demand among athletes, celebrities, and ordinary people. A co-founder of the company once said: “If you have a body, you are an athlete.” 

This phrase made it clear to various audiences that the brand is intended not only for professional athletes but for everyone fond of sports. Giving consumers the confidence to rank themselves among the greatest athletes is what Nike’s corporate branding strategy bets on. 

In addition, the company has amassed an extensive corporate base, sponsoring various sports and related events.

And Union

And Union is a German brewing company with a fun and unusual brand identity. 

The manufacturer’s idea is to banish the stereotype that only cheap drinks are sold in cans. In this case, And Union decided to create a series of attractive yet straightforward can designs that showcase their beer’s exciting complexity. Using vibrant colors and modern style, they highlight their positive company personality.

Apple

A bitten apple can be called the most recognizable brand ever. What’s Apple’s secret?

Apple’s brand mission is to give users the feeling of premium luxury and success. Everyone purchasing their devices experiences a boost of self-confidence. Apple’s brand guidelines also match this idea: minimalistic design elements in solid colors.

The company is recognizable due to the decisive steps it takes to build strong corporate branding. 

Conclusion

As you can see, brand identity isn’t limited to a set of basic features that distinguish your organization. In fact, the goal of corporate branding is to make consumers feel and express certain emotions associated with your company products and services. A comprehensive brand strategy ensures that you offer customers not just a product, but an entire experience. 

Need help creating a remarkable corporate identity or fine-tuning your current strategy? ReVerb’s corporate branding specialists will increase your brand awareness. Let’s start with a free consultation!