Brand assets are all the elements that you use in your branding. Today we reveal, how to use them to create a distinctive and, above all, consistent image for your brand.
Successful brands stand out and make an impression. If you want your brand to succeed, you have to make it recognisable and memorable. There’s no point in having or promoting a brand that is often mistaken for something else or completely forgotten. That’s where brand assets come in – these are elements that distinguish your brand and make customers immediately think about it when they see even one of them.
How does it work?
Let’s start with a quick experiment. Can you identify the companies behind each element below:
- Yellow stitching in the shoes
- ”Just Do It”
- A likeable humanoid consisting of stacked white tyres as a brand hero
If your answers were: Dr. Martens, Nike and Michelin – you’re right! This is the subtle effectiveness of well-designed brand assets. You don’t need to see a shoe or a famous swoosh logo to think about Nike; even a slogan comprising just three words is sufficient. Why? Because they’ve been using it for years, which distinguishes them from other sportswear makers. The most recognised and persistent brands have been using the same symbols, taglines and logos for years. As a result, they’ve managed to create a deep and immediate connection. This way, you know that an animated lamp means Pixar, a half-eaten fruit means Apple and a tyre man means Michelin.
Make your brand recognisable
Remember, the brand is all about evoking positive connotations. You want people to recognise you and value your products or services. You want to be correlated with specific elements that are visible in your products, in your company and in your marketing. That’s how our brains work – we look for connections, for details that ring a bell. And if that bell is positive – we are more likely to place an order or to put a product in the cart. Yes, each brand is all about being remembered and liked.
That’s exactly why you need brand assets – because they help you make your brand recognisable, distinguishable and memorable.
Now it’s important to explain what brand assets actually are because the list can be quite extensive and dynamic.
What constitutes brand assets
Shortly put, everything that constitutes a brand identity can also be considered a brand asset. Therefore, we can say that the following elements of your brand are brand assets:
- Name
- Logo
- Colour palette
- Packaging
- Tagline
- Jingles and specific sounds
- Brand heroes
- Typography
- Other design elements
Almost everything that you use in your branding is a brand asset
However, brand assets are also something more. They are also all the elements that you use in your branding, although maybe not be visible at first sight. For example, if you have brand guidelines explaining how your brand should and shouldn’t be showcased, they are also considered as brand assets. All the ads, presentation design, videos, animations and even the tone in which you communicate are part of your brand’s arsenal. Anything and everything that makes your brand distinctive and extend your message can be considered an asset.
Which assets are the most important ones? Without a doubt, a logo, name, colour palette and tagline are a crucial foundation for your brand. Yes, many brands can be recognised only by the colours they use. Again, let’s use a quick example. Do you know which brand uses these colours?
https://colorswall.com/palette/3920
What about big brands?
If you guessed Coca-Cola, you are right! It is a similar story with lots of other brands. Many people can recognise BP, Lufthansa, Google, Mcdonald’s or IKEA only by seeing the colours these brands use. But brand assets don’t have to be so obvious. A good example is the aforementioned Dr. Martens brand and their yellow stitching. Or Amazon – originally, their logo had an arrow pointing from A to Z. Now, the same arrow is used in all their logos, even if it no longer points from A to Z:
If there is one particular, even small, element that distinguishes your brand among others or makes it memorable – that’s also a brand asset.
What if you have a hard time deciding what brand assets are most recognisable in your company? In such a situation, you should ask for professional help. A seasoned branding agency will conduct research (including quantitative and qualitative interviews and workshops) to help you understand your brand’s current situation. It’s a good starting point, enabling you to introduce some improvements if necessary.
How to use brand assets
First off, all of your brand assets should be stored in a single digital space. Such a space is frequently referred to as a brand portal. You can think of it as a branding hub where everything related to your brand is kept. Brand books are helpful for guidelines, but are harder to update over time and cannot store as many assets and pieces of information as a digital tool.
A brand portal should comprise of all the approved brand assets and related materials, as well as brand guidelines. Brand guidelines are important here because they explain how your brand (along with all accompanying brand assets) should be showcased. It’s the best way to ensure consistency and high-quality of your brand’s presentation.
Want to know more about how dedicated team of experts can assist you in brand assets management and increase brand consistency? Watch our webinar on Brand Advisory!
Brand guidelines
All of your brand assets should be used in full compliance with the entire brand. But how should they be used specifically in the case of your brand – that depends on your brand guidelines. What if you don’t have such a manual? Then, if you want to make the most of your brand and how it’s presented to the world, you should always start with creating brand guidelines. You can do that on your own (if you have experienced marketing and branding specialists on your team), or you can work with a professional branding agency such as Admind. We help our clients refine or even create new brands from the ground up. A significant part of our work is related to creating detailed brand guidelines.
With brand guidelines in place, you know how to use each of your brand assets so that all of them build one consistent and positive image of your brand and the company behind it.
The recipe for success
There is one thing that you have to remember about always and everywhere. It’s brand consistency. You should use your brand assets constantly in all communication channels and in all marketing materials for at least several months (ideally, longer). Only this way, you can make sure people will remember your brand assets, associate them with your brand and, ultimately, recognise them as an inseparable part of your brand.
And what if you want to introduce new brand assets to your brand? You should do that gradually and always as a part of your previous activity. Don’t rush customers; when it comes to brand assets, time is of paramount importance. It takes time to create a strong association in even one customer’s brain, let alone millions of them!
Let us create your brand assets!
Our team is always at your service! Admind is an experienced international branding agency. Thanks to our experts, we can help you create, update or refine your brand along with all its assets. Drop us a line today and tell us what can we do together. We will help you make your brand one in a million!