When branding a company, it's easy to make some key mistakes. These can affect how people see you - or, in extreme cases, fail to look at you at all! Here are some tips for avoiding a few common mistakes when building an identity and developing a creative strategy.

Appreciate that marketing isn't the same as branding

Your brand is what you are; marketing refers to the methods you use to express this to your potential customers. Once clear branding has been achieved, then you can move on to finding the best ways to market this. Many businesses still confuse the two! It's also not unknown for businesses to equate branding with a logo; the latter is simply an asset to be used as a key part of the overall branding process.

Appeal to those you need to appeal to

There are very few businesses or products where their marketplace could be defined as 'everyone'! Therefore, just like the products or services themselves, your branding should appeal to those currently, or potentially, in your marketplace.

Avoid semi-branding

This is even more relevant today. Branding should be carried over all the mediums used to promote your business. In past times, this would have simply entailed your letterheads, business cards, brochures and the like. Now, it needs to be fully branded and consistent across all media, including those traditional ones just mentioned. But it's also about consistency on your social media, where effective branding is often absent.

Keep your branding up-to-date

Many businesses carry out a lot of work creating and presenting their branding before leaving it to survive on its own. That's like carefully planting a new bush in a garden and then just leaving it to do its own thing! Over time, it might thrive, but become straggly, untidy, ill-shaped or unwieldy. So can a brand! Updating doesn't mean a complete change, which is likely to confuse people. It's about tweaking and shaping your branding to be totally relevant in what is a changing marketplace.

Need a fresh pair of eyes on your branding? Our talented professionals, here at Sydney-based Mark 2 Creative, are ready to work with you to ensure your branding is all that you want it to be.