There are few things I enjoy more than working with a brand new company.  There is so much passion and energy in the beginning of any new venture.  The opportunity to help shape the foundations and direct a new brand in its infancy can be as exciting as it is challenging.
However,  in the thrill of this moment as new ideas coalesce into reality and optimism flows freely, branding and identity are often given little more strategic thought than to find a descriptive name that can abe tied to an unused url.  Mission and goals are often written with broad and complex language that only a lawyer or politician could love.  And in the absence of a clear mission, logos are commonly designed based on personal preferences rather than strategic messaging.

Understanding the many challenges involved with creating a new company, I’d like to give just a couple of quick tips to help with the development of your brand identity.

1. Develop a Core Message
This often overlooked step is actually the most important element in developing your brand.  Having a clear and focused core message (no more than a single sentence in length) will not only drive all other elements of your identity, it will also aid future employees in understanding how they can best help the company achieve goals and build a strong unified brand.

2. Determine the Characteristics
Every name has characteristics that project a company’s personality. This personality is important when trying to attract the proper target market.  For example take the luxury car brand Acura, a simple name, however one that was not created through a process of trial and error.  Think of the characteristics that the name evokes, Precision, Accuracy, Engineering, and Attention to Detail, all attributes important to their target buyer.  By determining specific characteristics that defined both the brand’s philosophy as well as their target market’s needs, they were able to develop a simple, strong and memorable name that has served the brand for over two decades now.

Whether you are Acura or Mt. Dew, by determining the characteristics you want to project first you will be better able to find the name that best builds your brand and speaks to your target audience.

3. Avoid Common Mistakes
There are many traps to avoid when developing a new identity, below are just a few.

1. If you are a new product company, avoid the temptation to create a name that either is tied too specifically to the product or its purpose.  These types of names are limiting and often make it difficult to grow your company in the future.

2. Conversely, avoid names that are too generic. You can take a name that has no meaning to it and over time imbue it with your own personality, (i.e. google) but a name that is too broad in its reach (i.e Dynacorp) can be much more difficult own.

3. Be authentic. When starting a company understand who you are and what you are trying to accomplish. Then, as you develop the company into a brand, stay true to your vision. Today’s consumers can smell manure from miles away. Remaining true to your core mission and philosophy will resonate with your audience better than anything else.

We are a small but dedicated group, passionate about branding and identity.

Our core mission is to:
Align Perceptions with Capabilities

You have products and services that are unique from everyone else. We are here to help you define a brand message and identity that builds on those strengths and resonates with your target market.

We focus on:
Core Message Development
Name Creation
Logo and Identity Development

Please contact for a free consultation meeting.

All the best,
Cameron Bigler
-Principal,  Align Identity