If You Start A Brand - You Better Have A Good Plan

Branding is a process that not every entrepreneur get's to experience. It's a significantly different world than retail or sales. When you are creating a brand - you are creating a whole new person. Your corporation is a separate individual in the eye of the government - your branding becomes an individual in the eyes of the public if and only if it's believable.

I'm working with my spouse on a project. She went to one of the better schools out here for art and design. Shes working on designing a retail model around paint (both interior and furniture).

Paint is one of those products that are often produced by other companies - marketing is the only real differentiator between "top of the line" products. Formulas are different - but its the marketing that usually hooks us. Packaging, brochures, color cards, the way the booth is setup - everything has to flow.

I've worked a lot in advertising and marketing - so I don't take it personally when a creative doesn't work out - or is criticized by others. Advertising is not art - its a subtle social science where one word or one stripe can make all the difference.

Ever heard of the ugly ad? Its an ad that's so ugly it stands out on a web page and for some reason - people click on it at a higher rate. Copying cheesy Facebook ads and using them elsewhere was a "thing" at one point. There are some things in advertising that you understand - some things you don't like - and some things you hate.

Only a few color combinations really work - I understand that because I studied color psychology. I don't like the fact that being truly inventive in advertising usually means an ad that doesn't work. I hate the fact that you have to pander to everyone's prejudices - with analytics these things it becomes apparent very quickly(like people clicking on the photo of the male doctor 10 times more than the female).

Unfortunately - small businesses can't change the world - we have to work with it.

The biggest challenge in doing any branding work - is planning every step of it. There is always on the fly creative ideas that happen - but the skeleton of what you are doing has to be properly laid out or you are going to waste a ton of money doing revisions with your designer. Leaving design up to the designer is a terrible approach - they are designers not branders - its important to know the difference.

Being an artist or working with an artist can sometimes be difficult. Artists want to use colors and pictures and all kinds of lovely things that work in a watercolor painting. Its hard to really explain branding or advertising as it actually is to someone from a different background. Its hard to explain that you have to conform to certain established "patterns" in order to sell product. I explain it like this - If you've never bought a product that looks like the one you are trying to design - you know you've got it wrong.

If you want your brand to stand out on a shelf - it has to be recognizable. They have a test called the "kid test". Essentially good branding should be able to be communicated to a child in one sentence. They should then be able to go in the store and buy the product. Trying to mesh simplicity with the intensity you want your branding to have can be a problem.

Planning is essential to a good outcome. You should contribute at least 90% to what your brand will look like (miracle designers are few) - how it will sound when it speaks - how you will interact with your customers, etc. Emotions get wild in early stage business. An entrepreneur wears many hats - sometimes one stage of a project can be more draining than the next - but its important not to rush it too much. Your company can succeed with your brand completely failing - you could have the right product in the right location . With good branding and the right product and the right location and a proper plan - you could succeed beyond expectation.

Ryan Geddes is a writer and entreprenuer located in Toronto Canada. When he's not writing, hes helping with House&Canvas Furniture Paint.