Branding

What is branding? Branding is NOT just a logo, although your logo is a significant part of how the public perceives your brand.

Branding is the full expression of who you are as a company and how people think of you. Sounds straightforward, right? But discovering who you are is often the most difficult task an organization will undertake. To find your “brand personality” you have to answer some difficult questions – questions many organizations have never thought about before.

To establish your brand personality (your “essence” that marketing will support and express) you must ask:
• What are your core principles and values?
• What is your mission?
• What makes your business unique from others in the same market?
• A Brand is a personality. If your organization was a person, who would you be?
• How do you act? How do you speak (both verbally and visually)?
• What do you want people to remember about you?

Branding gives you a yardstick to measure the success of your marketing messages and tools, be it a brochure, web site, social media post, blog, or even a phone conversation.

Branding underpins being able to speak with a single voice, and to act in a consistent manner. Your branding builds expectations by your consumers about what they will experience when dealing with you. 

The first important step in visually marketing a Brand is development of a brand mark – a logo/word mark. A brand mark instantly gives the audience a feeling of the organization (or event), even when no marketing message supplements it. A good word mark tells the story of in a single image.

The following are just a few of the brand marks we have developed over the years.

Below are three examples of the extension of the Cantori New York brand to basic print materials (posters and postcards). Praised by The New York Times for its “spirit of exploration” and “virtuosity and assurance,” Cantori imaginatively interweaves historical hidden gems with audacious premieres to create eclectic and dynamic musical experiences. Designed layouts had to reflect that dynamism.

Discovering your Brand
Depending on the complexity of the branding project, sometimes Discovery Sessions are warranted This step, by far the most difficult, is to determine who you are and how you wish to be represented to the public. (Read more)

What is a Brand Guide?
A solid brand identity expressed through a guide is critical for developing customer loyalty and retention long term. Well-defined brands can succinctly explain who they are (both verbally and visually) to their audiences, and implement communications to connect with them. Once established, brand guides (regardless of the medium used for delivery) keep the messaging of “who you are” constant. (Read more)