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Insights

Expert advice for every brand builder, from the distracted CEO to the seasoned marketing professional.

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Branding step-by-step

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1. Lay the groundwork

The billion dollar kitchen table

The brand builder’s journey begins here. Are your capabilities and expectations for developing your brand well balanced?

2. Know your frenemies

The four frenemies of the Brandocalypse

The creative process is fraught with contradictions. Reconcile these four forces to strike the right balance in your branding efforts…

3. Assemble your dream team

Odd couples make for successful teams

Effective teamwork requires a mixture of oppositional traits and skills. Can your brand team find the sweet spot in healthy conflict?

4. Plan ahead

How can you best use a brand building plan?

Every brand needs a sturdy framework from which it can express itself, justify decisions, and more. Make sure when you have a plan, you know how to navigate it…

5. Single value

What is your brand?

We address the fundamental question – what is a brand? We discuss branding as an instinct, and why it’s useful to view brand in an evolutionary context.

6. Find your purpose

Discover your brand purpose

Brand purpose can help you attract like-minded people, strengthen the meaning of your brand and move your organisation closer to its goals.

7. Manage perceptions

Brand positioning basics

How is your brand perceived? Learn how you can occupy the right space in your audience’s minds to gain competitive advantage.

8. Keep your promise

Trust in your brand promise

Honouring your promise builds trust, but breaking it tarnishes reputation. Find out what makes an effective promise.

9. Clarify your character

The power of a winning personality

Your brand personality shapes how your audience identifies with you. Can you find the balance in expressing a winning personality?

10. Express your essence

Believe in your Brand DNA

The brand DNA is central to your brand plan. We reveal a four-step formula to guide your brand’s expression

11. Make your own model

What you need for a brand model

You’ve got all the pieces. Now put it all together. Find out the most effective way to get your brand model in good shape.

12. Better brief, better outcome

How to create a great creative brief

Ready to start some creative? Before you begin, make sure your brief is on-point for a positive, effective result

13. Look your best

From strategy to identity

After strategy comes building your brand identity. Set yourself up for success by signalling value through design. Here’s how...

14. Create value

How to develop an effective logo

An effective logo creates a perception of value. We share some key pointers that ensure a successful outcome for your design...

15. Crisis branding

Brand building in times of crisis

A strong brand is a valuable asset in a crisis. And when crisis forces an organisation to change, its brand should align with the change

16. Website development

Effective brand communication begins with www

Your website is potentially your most valuable brand-building asset. Here we examine why, and how to get more value from it

17. Website development

Assess your website for brand effectiveness

Your website is where VIP customers, investors and partners go to learn about your business. What first impression do they get? Can they understand your offering? And quickly find value they seek? Try the Stepworks Website Assessment Tool and find out...

18. Tips for web builders

Website design best practices

Here we look at specific techniques to create websites that deliver ongoing value for your brand. It’s all about finely balancing what you want to say and what your website visitors need to hear. The magic happens when your objectives align with theirs.

19. Brand guidelines for consistency

Protecting your brand building investment

Without clear direction marketers, writers and designers will do whatever they think best. This tendency will result in inconsistent brand communications that negatively impact perceptions. We discuss how to prevent this with brand guidelines.

20. How to take a brand overseas

Brand building across international borders

The decision to expand a successful business from its home market triggers an avalanche of activity. Whether a digital or physical expansion, it’s a transformation that offers opportunities for brand building.

21. Get buy-in to your vision with branding

Vision statement and buy-in as a brand building process

What is your organisation striving for? What ideal future state is your team working toward? What is your vision? A leader with a powerful vision can unite people for a common purpose. Here’s how brand-builders develop a vision for an organisation – and help ensure people will buy-into it.

22. What to consider when brewing a strong brand

How to get more from your brand building investment

When conditions change, minds must change too. Branding can deliver outsized value to leaders managing key inflection points in their organisations. This article helps leaders make more confident decisions that create value on multiple fronts for their business.

23. Are you missing out on leveraging your brand?

Brand opportunity mining – where do we dig?

Leading businesses invest a lot in branding as it unquestionably supports business performance. How to best allocate that investment? Are you missing opportunities to profitably build your brand?

24. How long will it take to build your brand?

Why do branding projects take so damn long?

Here we look at how long it takes to develop an effective brand. Discover the factors that will affect your project schedule, how long various initiatives take, and where time adds value to brand building opportunities.

25. How much should I spend on branding?

For every dollar you invest in your brand, aim to gain ten in return

Here we look at a yardstick leaders can apply to estimate the value of a brand building investment, in the context of a project’s objectives.

26. Understanding branding project risk factors

How can I derisk my branding project?

Branding can be hugely valuable to businesses facing pivotal change. Here we take a look at various factors that can prevent a branding project from reaching its full potential – or even just failing.

27. Generating ideas for hospitality brands

The immersive performance art of hospitality branding

Creativity is a major driver of success in the hospitality sector. Inspired ideas generate buzz, selfies, positive reviews and WOM. Up goes occupancy rates, RevPAR, revenue... Here’s a way to inspire ideas that have guests coming back for more.

28. Overcoming the emotional barrier to branding

Emotional B2B brand building for rational CEOs

Judging by website quality, brand building is often an afterthought in the B2B sector. Branding has an emotional dimension that can be a challenge to get right. Brand building is easier and more rewarding for CEOs who apply rational processes.

29. There’s more to it than money

How startup hedge funds can get an edge with branding

Branding is often overlooked by hedge fund managers this post looks at why presentation matters

30. Building skylines and brands

Guidelines and strategies for property developer corporate branding

A dig into the foundations of real estate developer corporate branding

31. Digital business cards

How digital business cards help unite teams and make your brand look good

Printed business cards have long been a symbol of status and belonging. With digital business cards becoming widely accepted, we reveal how the emotional value of the business card experience is being ported to mobile.

32. A legal look at trademarking

Trademarks: what’s all the fuss about?

Trademarks are valuable intellectual property that protect your reputation. They can prevent others from copying your brands, and can be licensed, bought and sold. This article by trademark specialist Ellie Patel of Rethink Legal, introduces trademarks an

33. Sustainability reports

Stress-free sustainability report design, development and publishing

An ESG commitment delivers business value. A sustainability report communicates that value to regulators, investors and other stakeholders. Here we look at sustainability report challenges and solutions.

34. NGO branding

How NGOs get a helping hand from branding

In a world of endless competition for attention, talent, capital and other resources, responsible organisations actively manages their brand – it’s an expression of reputation. Here we look at factors NGO leaders often consider when brand building.

35. Branding vs deglobalisation

Global branding in a deglobalising world

Cross-border trade is tightening and customer preferences shifting in response. This article discusses globalisation as a consideration for brand builders, and the advantages of brands with a global approach.

36. Building brands with milestones

Celebrating anniversaries

Anniversaries are powerful branding opportunities. Handled thoughtfully, an anniversary is an ideal occasion to align brand and business strategy. Here we spotlight how to make milestones matter more.

37. AI and brand building

Who needs a branding agency when you have AI?

AI can support brand building – but it can’t yet replace human judgement, creativity and experience. Here’s what we’ve learned using LLMs on real branding projects.

38. Branding the IPO moment

How IPO brand types build IPO value

A strong IPO brand type does more than look good. It builds trust, sets you apart from competitors and amplifies visibility. Discover how branding can help your listing stand out on a crowded board.

39. Defending your brand from online scammers

Defending your brand from online scammers

AI makes it super easy for scammers to fake your brand. We look at simple ways to help protect yourself.

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