You are what you are perceived to be, and why it matters

I like to keep these short and sweet so you only take the key points away.
So hold tight let’s jump into it.

You may have heard the phrase that how you dress is how you will be addressed, you might be talking about clothing but the same applies in the branding world.

A brand’s perception comes from the customer, not from the company. It is the customer who determines what a brand represents. This is why it is so important that the branding is targeted to your ideal customer so that message is clear and you can control the perception to a certain extent and mould it. A clear example of the wrong way to do this would be to have a cheap tacky looking visual identity and be attempting to sell a high-end product or service. The product may indeed be high end but the customer doesn’t see this because the visual identity is completely misaligned with their service or product. The branding needs to reflect the value a customer should expect to receive.

If you take a second to think about tyres (I know, an odd choice but go with it) in New Zealand there are a few tyre places that come to mind. Bridgestone, Tony’s Tyres, Beaurepaires or Tyre General for example. If you’re familiar with them, have a quick think about who in your mind is the high-end supplier and who is the more budget option. This is the beauty of branding, it’s pretty obvious when you think about it from the right point of view (always put yourself in your customers shoes), from the use of colour, typography and their complete visual identities.