I spent a good amount of time studying brand principles in my days at the uni. The most important interest of mine was branding for small businesses. How it works out and what is the most cost effective way of doing it. Here’s few thoughts for you.
There are elements that does not differ in principle regardless of the company size. However, in all brand principles, especially when your fostering young brand, the key element is FOCUS. If you’re a small company this probably works even better for you than for most of the large mne’s that aim for every possible profitable segment in the area. In most simple terms this means that brand has distinct values and principles. This is can be called as brand principle, brand core, brand essence, brand dna or what ever. But this creates the focus on everything a brand is and does. It is, after all, the heart of the brand.
The hardest part is to decide what are the values the company represents. This is called the brand identity. If your company already has a clear conscience, a good heart and belief in what your doing, and these values are not lukewarm and it is distinct from whatever the others are doing, good. Here you have an identity. Stick to your guns.
Usually the most complicated phase is to explain for a client why they should narrow down their business. Since more customer segments and areas of operation might seem reasonable to keep in the pack from the company perspective. Here usually comes in play the so called brand architecture. The way to go for an SME (small and medium businesses) would be range brand, academically speaking. Without the jargon this means that all services and products are structured under one single concept, in order to maintain clarity and enhance coherence. Someone once compared a brand to a family and products as a family members with distinct personality but common family resemblance.
If you’re interested few recommendations are Kapferer, Aaker, Neumeier, Jansen (Brand Prototyping), Edwards & Day (Passion brands), as well Brand Management by Heding, Knudtzen & Bjerre.
Here’s few pages from Neumeier’s Brand Gap:
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