Visual positioning<\/h1>\r\nWhat\u2019s behind the good looks?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nWe\u2019ve established that the visual aspect of your organization is critical to communicating the distinct identity and intentions of your brand. We know that allowing personal preferences to guide color, design and aesthetic is no way to anchor a brand and attract an audience.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nSo, what is the anchor we drop to authentically visually portray a brand and build a loyal audience?\r\n\r\nThe first step is to get your story straight. Start at the core: \"What are we about? What do we stand for? What is the real business of this brand\" Essentially, know the story you\u2019re \u201cillustrating.\u201d Answering those question will take work.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nGo to the root. Beyond making money (which we never, ever dismiss) perhaps your brand is about providing confidence, freedom, sustainability, peace of mind, understanding, opportunity\u2026 we could go on, but you get the gist. It could revolve (and evolve) around anything that goes deeper than pure facts and figures.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nBeyond the naked eye<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThree things that a successful brand identity should do:\r\n\r\n \r\n

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1. Communicate what you do<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nThis certainly includes your specific product and\/or service\u2014we never want to get too clever for our own good and obscure our deliverable. But to define yourself above and beyond the herd, visuals need to communicate past the images of the car, or widget, or basic service you sell, to why you\u2019re in business, at a deeper level. This allows your marketing to take an authentically different approach. With a strong sense of brand self, you don\u2019t necessarily need to show an image of a car with a headline that honks\u2014you can be more aspirational, attractive and longer-lasting.\r\n\r\n \r\n
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   1. Creatively stand out <\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nWe\u2019ve looked into the navel of the brand and determined the authentic \u201cwhy.\u201d Now on a creative and process front, how do we harness and manifest that story into something that breaks through and stands out?\r\n\r\nPart of our creative branding process includes exploring and defining four to six attributes that are genuine to your brand, generally adjectives. It\u2019s a thoughtful winnowing and editing of sometimes dozens of characteristics. Once we lock down those elevated traits, we have a place to hang our creative hat. It focuses the work and removes personal preference from the mix. This attribute discovery aids both the visual and verbal aspects of the brand. It gives you grounds for rationale and helps to remove subjectivity from the process, and the result.\r\n\r\n \r\n
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      1. Attract your customers <\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nYes, we know, \u201cDah.\u201d To attract your customer is to know your customer, AND your competitors, including indirect competitors. Seek out the insight into what else and who else is competing for your customers\u2019 attention. Discovering who, outside your industry, is resonating, and how they are resonating, with your target audience, yields lessons for your own brand strategy.\r\n\r\nWhen you study the competitive landscape, you can accurately determine how to prioritize your brand attributes. Depending on your competitors, the market conditions and other industry-specific factors, you can choose to move an attribute to the forefront. You\u2019re tailoring and strategizing your brand identity while remaining true to your core values and motivation. This thinking directly relates to how your brand is built visually. Color and design and photographic style all have an art and a science behind them. Brand yourself intentionally. Attract attention and customers on purpose.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTo that point<\/strong>\r\n\r\nUpon creative brand presentation, one of our most successful customers, said, \"I personally don't like this. I would never wear it. This isn't for me. BUT, I completely recognize that I'm not even close to being in the target audience, and I think this is absolutely on the mark for those we\u2019re talking to. Let\u2019s go.\"\r\n\r\nThat was brave.\r\n\r\nBe brave.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nStart seeing further,\r\n\r\n\u2014Team Sussner\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTo hear this, and all Brands Made Meaningful<\/em> podcasts, just click<\/u><\/a>\r\n\r\nWe tell, and we show. See work examples at sus001.brethummel.com\/work<\/a>\r\n\r\nAnd we\u2019d love to hear from you. Please contact inquire@sussner.com<\/a>","text_content2":"","text_buttons":null,"custom_class":"","text_settings":{"style":"one-col","background":"bkgnd-white|light","align_text":"left","pair_with":[],"include_button":false},"text_columns":{"settings":{"wrap":"wrapped","configuration":"equal"},"backgrounds":{"col_one":"bkgnd-white|light","col_two":"bkgnd-white|light"},"alignment":{"col_one":"middle","col_two":"middle"}}},{"acf_fc_layout":"block_casestudies","casestudies_image":{"image":2232,"client":"Brands Made Meaningful","caption":"A Sussner Podcast","case_study":2056},"casestudies_headline":"","casestudies_slides":{"style":"square","slides":null},"custom_class":"","casestudies_settings":{"style":"billboard","background":"bkgnd-white|light","orientation":"left","align_text":"left","include_button":true},"casestudies_colors":{"background":"","type":"dark","highlight":""},"casestudies_columns":{"configuration":"equal"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"block_casestudies","casestudies_image":{"image":1618,"client":"FAQs","caption":"Frequently Asked Questions","case_study":1113},"casestudies_headline":"","casestudies_slides":{"style":"square","slides":null},"custom_class":"","casestudies_settings":{"style":"billboard","background":"bkgnd-white|light","orientation":"left","align_text":"left","include_button":true},"casestudies_colors":{"background":"","type":"dark","highlight":""},"casestudies_columns":{"configuration":"equal"}}],"excerpt_image":1620,"excerpt_title":"Visual positioning","excerpt_excerpt":"Personal preferences should not guide color, design and aesthetic."},"yoast_head":"\n