Benefits Of Building Brand Image & Identity For A Fashion Label In 2021
One of the harsh truths about the fashion industry is that there is nothing that your competitors can’t duplicate in a matter of weeks or months. If you have a great idea, you can be certain that people are going to follow your lead, and create a similar product. The question then becomes, “What competitive edge do I have to offer that cannot be copied by anyone else?” The answer is Your Brand. It is the one thing that you can own that nobody can take away from you.
Branding is a medium through which a company can communicate with its customers. It is extremely important for a fashion brand to create a unique identity as it creates an impression and helps customers distinguish your brand from your competitors. Effective branding can represent what the brand can offer to a customer, how is this offering the most suitable choice for the audience and what experience can the customer expect from the consumption.
Branding is an art to convey how you wish to be perceived, it is about how your business motivates a consumer to make a purchase. Great branding offers acceptance and provides a sense of comfort to your customers.
What Goes Behind Building A Successful Brand?
It is important for fashion entrepreneurs to think about their brand from the very beginning. Having an idea about the type of brand you want to build before the launch helps you understand the things required to implement this vision.
It is impossible to have comprehensive knowledge about how your brand may evolve over time, but building a brand identity at the beginning will definitely help your brand stay relevant and grow into a dynamic version of itself over the years. The key players in building a successful fashion brand are its brand identity and brand image.
Brand identity is the visual component of the brand. It includes unique sets of brand associations like the logo, typography, colours, packaging, and messaging of the brand. These associations represent what your brand will stand for and imply a promise to the customers from you. These associations serve as visual touchpoints to your consumer through which they can identify your brand and distinguish it from others. These elements serve as the face of the brand and are vital for you to build a memorable experience for clients.
Consistent brand identity will attract new customers while making the existing ones feel at home. Fashion brands can build a brand identity to establish a relationship with the customer by generating a value proposition involving functional, emotional, or self-expressive benefits.
Establishing A Strong, Consistent & Attractive Brand Identity
The first step in establishing your brand identity is determining what your purpose and position are. Brand purpose defines the reason for your existence and offers a unique selling point to the customer. For example, an organic clothing brand’s purpose can be to provide sustainable clothing options to its consumers. Brand positioning defines who your product is made for and why is it a better option over other clothing brands. Defining these will help you develop a strategy to create your logo, decide on a colour palette and choose the right typography.
Your logo is central to your brand identity design. This element of your brand identity will be most exposed, hence, it is imperative to create a logo that matches, compliments, and enhances your brand. To increase your chances of having a memorable logo that encourages a strong emotional response, go for something simple and easily recognizable.
An attractive colour palette with a maximum of 3 colours can help you convey tour brand message. Understanding the impact of colour on consumers behaviour will help your brand become a success.
Brand image refers to the way customers perceive your brand. It encompasses all ideas, opinions, associations and emotions a consumer can have with regards to your brand. It is essential to create a positive brand image as more than 80% of all purchase decisions taken by customers are based on your brand image and nothing else. A consistent brand image will help you introduce new collections under the brand name, and is likely to attract more customers due to its existing name and fame.
Steps To Solidify Your Brand Image
Define your target audience and conduct thorough research on them. Understanding your audience will give you an opportunity to create an effective marketing and PR strategy and enhance your brand’s relationship with the customer.
Advertising your products through famous personalities can evoke a sense of trust within the consumers. Ambassadors for a fashion brand promote the brand in a unique way by giving it a face, using their strong personalities For example, H&M- a fast fashion brand engaged Stella McCartney to exhibit their new range of clothes and their sales increased by 12%. This proves the point that association with a popular face can enhance your brand’s image and eventually, improve sales.
Further steps like leveraging the power of social media platforms to engage with your customer generate a loyal fan base and generate sales for your brand.
Developing a brand image and a brand identity is extremely important for building a loyal customer base. Brand loyal customers resist the temptation to change their clothing brand and are shielded against the products of the competitors. They are a source of repeat sales. In today’s market,
entrepreneurs need to keep the aforementioned points in mind to build a reputation for their clothing line and create a positive image in the public mind.
The author is Masumi Mewawalla, Founder of Pink Peacock Couture and Emblaz
