We often get asked by our clients 'what is a brand?'

The word 'brand' offers many connotations. Is a logo a brand? Is Nike a brand? Is David Beckham a brand? The answer is that a brand is all the positive attributes, both tangible and intangible that spring to mind around the brands name! Good branding offers promise of what you can expect from that product, service or experience. It allows you to express what you think, how you feel and what you want to say about yourself!

To give an example, if i was to say the word Ikea, you could probably think of at least a dozen positive adjectives or descriptive phrases about the brand. Some of these may include: great design, contemprary furniture, within reach for most consumers, swedish design, minimalist, beautiful furniture etc. All this added value that the brand name conjurs up, allows consumers to make decisions about the company and their products before they have gone anywhere near the store or website.

The strength of the Ikea brand (amongst other things) is what has allowed Ikea to stand out from the crowd and build a global business brand with a turnover of $263million in 2008. Ikea's customers are always willing to spend that little bit more because they feel they are getting design led products at reasonable prices that are modern and individual.

So how do you go about creating a strong brand? It's all about having a clear uncompromising vision... a big idea if you like! You have to know, where you're going, how you will get there, what your values are and how to express you personality! Communicating these values in a clear, structured, definite way is vitally important. If you don't understand what your brand values are, how will your customers understand what you're all about?

Your vision or big idea must be;

• Distinctive: To help you stand out from the crowd
• True: So you can deliver what you promise
• Desirable: To connect with customers
• Clear: So that your employees, customers and stakeholders understand it!

For help on how to build a strong brand, contact Platform81. We can help you define your brand values and offer the platform to help you communicate them to your audience to add value and create enquiries