8 Branding Facts You Need to Know

Most marketers can agree that brand perception is key, but how can a brand change the way people think about the company?

“The brand that you put out in the world reflects much more than just the product that you're selling,” says Ellen Macy, Senior Brand Strategist at Anthem Branding.

“It speaks to what you as a company believe in, your personality, your aesthetic, a vision for the industry you're in, and the culture you represent and stand for,” says Macy.

Brand perception is a powerhouse of marketing that can increase brand awareness, surge brand loyalty, and ultimately sustain your company’s growth for years to follow.

The first step to improving your brand’s perception is becoming an expert on what it really means and how important it is. Read some of these insights and facts that could help you understand the ins and outs of perfecting a strategy for maintaining a strong brand perception.

Eight facts from branding insiders

1. 89 percent of marketers think that brand awareness is the most important goal, followed by sales and lead generation.

The first step to brand perception is brand awareness; no one can perceive your brand without knowing about it.

Brand awareness can be achieved in many ways, whether it’s the packaging of your product, the logo represented on your merchandise, or the custom high-quality hat that your customers can represent with pride.

2. It only takes consumers 10 seconds to form a first impression of a brand’s logo, but it takes 5-7 impressions for consumers to recognize the logo.

Take custom merchandise, for example. The first time you see someone wearing a cool shirt and ask “Where did you get that?”

By asking that first question, it shows the item caught your attention, and thus you’ve created the first connection to the brand.

Then the more you see that logo, the more you will recognize it and begin to form a relationship and connection to the brand.

You can move through this vital first step of building brand awareness in the marketing funnel through branding, custom merchandise, original content and more!

3. 77 percent of marketers say that branding is critical to future growth.

“As consumers begin to become aware of and interact with your brand, they form an opinion of it based off of each and every experience they've had with it,” says Jacki Ognibene, Creative Services Manager at Anthem Branding.

“Therefore, the more effort you put into giving meaning to your product and organization, the more loyal customers you will gain, and the more your brand will grow,” says Ognibene.

Check out how we worked with Sunflower Market to rebrand the business and create a new, modernized visual identity that brought life to the fresh, honest, and friendly personality of the brand while maintaining their rich community heritage.

4. The average increase in revenue attributed to always presenting a brand consistently is 23 percent.

See how Upslope Brewing keeps brand messaging consistent throughout its custom merchandise, retail packaging, and brand identity.

5. On average 84 percent of people remember the name of the company on merchandise.

Throughout our research, we’ve found that company merchandise and promotional products are vitally important to brand recognition.

6. 94 percent of consumers have discontinued communications with a company because of irrelevant promotions or messages.

Relevancy is key to communicating to your stakeholders that you care about what matters to them. The other aspect of staying relevant is how well your messaging matches the mission, vision, and ethos of your brand.

“A strong brand that is confident in who they are and delivers a clear, distinct message will make them culturally relevant and will resonate with the consumers whose beliefs align with theirs,” says Macy.

7. 72 percent of marketers think branded content is more effective than advertising in a magazine or on TV, and 69 percent say it is superior to both direct mail and public relations.

Storytelling is important to communicate your brand to its target audience, and branded content is a proven effective way to tell that story.

“Storytelling helps to build an emotional connection with your audience because it establishes common ground and is more relatable than traditional advertising — not to mention it’s how we are trained as humans to remember things,” says Melissa Kovach, our Marketing Manager here at Anthem Branding,

“Through the use of branded content, companies can get the attention of that hard-to-reach buyer in a genuine and authentic way that traditional advertising cannot because it offers value to them whether the content teaches them something, makes them think or merely entertains them,” says Kovach.

8. Marketing messages reach 561 percent more people when shared by employees rather than the brand itself.

People trust people, so it’s important to get the conversation started about your brand from the perspective of employees or customers rather than only from the brand itself.

Brand perception and brand awareness are powerful factors that can help grow your brand. If you want to dig deeper into how to develop a consistent brand can build perception and awareness, speak to one of our branding experts.