Every brand has its identity, its own look. Some brands are easily recognisable from colour alone; others from font. I mean, who doesn’t know Tiffany & Co.’s iconic “Tiffany Blue” or Coca-Cola’s signature Spencerian script?
In today’s world of shorter-form, fast-paced advertising, attention spans are getting increasingly shorter. To stay relevant with how quickly people tap through online content, a strong brand identity is especially important. As businesses, we want to be memorable and instantly recognisable.
Consistent personal branding is the easiest way to cement yourself in a person’s subconscious. When people see the same colours and visuals across multiple platforms, the likelihood of association and recall increases. For example, Apple’s minimalistic aesthetic evokes the feeling of calmness in a person. This feeling mirrors the appearance of Apple products: clean and sleek, accurately creating and matching expectations.
When does personal corporate branding stop being a strength and become a limitation?
During one of my past internships, sometimes, I would feel stuck between a rock and a hard place. I realised that personal corporate branding felt less like a direction and more like a constraint, a means to limit our creativity and box ourselves in. The fonts we used felt impersonalised to the brand identity and I saw new hires with strong software design skills simplify their work to fit the company’s simple style.
It also showed me how fine the line between brand integrity and creative evolution was. Occasionally, decisions made felt like they were influenced by internal preferences or habits, rather than company branding. As a young Generation Z intern, despite knowing the social media preferences of the modern audience, I, and my intern colleagues, hesitated to share our ideas out of respect for established practices.
That experience taught me how important adapting to the ever-changing public was. Eleven years ago, a heartwarming 3-minute advertisement was something people could sit through. Today? You are better off with portrait advertisements that last no longer than 30 seconds. However, it is essential to note that the 3-minute advertisement did stand the test of time and still lingers in our memory, emphasising how good storytelling, regardless of the video duration, is a powerful marketing tool.
What brands can do for personal branding
Every few years, brands can revisit their guidelines and compare them to market expectations and trends. If it falls short, that is an indication to upgrade your personal branding.
Seasonal advertising is a great way to connect with the audience. It is a concept practised by many companies already. Take Spotify Wrapped, for example. It is an annual year-end review done by the music app, Spotify, to give users a better understanding of their listening habits through a personalised review in a fun and engaging manner. In spite of the use of personal data, it feels non-intrusive.
This year-in-review personalised concept has been mimicked by many other brands, like Starbucks and Tinder, becoming a yearly marketing season audiences look forward to. It is proof that creativity with consistent branding can bring about a loyal fanbase.
Encouraging diverse perspectives, whether from audiences in the form of polls and competitions or internally, across different age groups in the teams, helps with new content creation. A set of uninfluenced and fresh eyes is a good way to bring about new ideas for evolving.
Also read: The new frontier of PR in the age of trading automation
Final thoughts
Strong branding is powerful until it stops serving its purpose. Rigidness prevents growth. Evolution is necessary in staying relevant and does not require a brand to discard their core identity and revamp themselves entirely. The focus is on adapting.
Additionally, with the shift in target audiences to Millennials and Generation Z, it is important to adapt marketing strategies that they would enjoy. For example Duo the Owl, is the green owl mascot of the language-learning app, Duolingo. It became viral on TikTok through short and unhinged videos, perfectly encapsulating what the modern audience enjoys. Even though its social media presence has reduced since, it remains as an inside joke amongst TikTok users, proof that adaptive, human branding will have success.
If you are keen to learn more about branding and PR, drop us a line at hello(a)syncpr.co.