6 good questions about branding agencies and their owners

Inevitably, that leads to even more questions. Branding agencies are misunderstood, and our scope of work is more broad than most people imagine, so I thought I’d help spell it out for you.

These are some of the questions about branding agencies I’ve heard over the years:

“Why do we need a branding agency? We’re not a packaged goods company and we already have a logo.”

Many business people think branding agencies only design logos and packaging. So if they don’t have a product on a grocery store shelf they have no use for a branding firm.

That’s not the case.

Packaging certainly is a big part of our business. We love building new packaged good brands from the ground floor, like we’ve done with Smidge vitamins and Eathos frozen foods.

But service businesses also need a lot of help. Maybe even more, because their offerings are intangible and often commoditized. For those companies, branding makes all the difference.

Like in the insurance business, for example. GEICO spent more than $2 billion on advertising in 2020. State Farm, Allstate and Progressive aren’t far behind. They’re all trying to bank some brand goodwill and top-of-mind awareness for the next time you decide to switch insurance carriers.

It’s a low-involvement, no difference business, so their brand advertising becomes the only differentiator.

Every business in every category needs help with their branding, to some degree or another.

“Do branding agencies have some sort of process that you follow, or is it just random magic that you’re pulling out of your hat?”

My team and I are in the habit of creation. We’re in the ideas business, so we come up with ideas every day, often starting in the early morning hours before we’re fully awake.

We create, we iterate, and we throw away tons of crappy ideas. The more prolific we are, the easier the creative process gets and the more magic we create for our clients.

We also maintain balance in our lives so we don’t get burned out. Being outside having fun on the ski slopes, bike paths, hiking trails or golf courses, is also part of the creative process.

When it comes to naming businesses, we employ our own proprietary process that brings objectivity to a rather subjective exercise. It’s the hardest part of our overall branding effort, so every little bit of process helps.

“What’s the difference between branding agencies and design firms?”

In some cases, there is no difference. Many branding firms are just glorified graphic design shops that approach everything as a design exercise. Every problem has a visual solution. It’s very art oriented.

Strategic branding firms like mine approach things from a broader, business-oriented perspective. It’s more holistic. We do design, but we also work further upstream, on the foundational strategic work that informs the design. At my firm it’s strategy first, then copy and design.

Our job is to help you convey, communicate and build trust with your audience. Because trust is the root of all brand growth. To do that, you need words and well-written content as much as you need stunning visuals.

Every business category has its own lingo. Food industry folks talk about SKU rationalization and store velocity. Golf industry insiders talk about coefficients of restitution and straight line frequency matching.

In the marketing business it’s CTRs, PPC, GRPs and UX iteration. It’s unfortunate because all the acronyms can be very confusing.

One of our jobs is to translate the industry insider mumbo jumbo into compelling story lines that anyone can decipher.

Ours is a business of creative reduction… we reduce down your messaging into its most impactful form and then serve it up in a variety of ways. It all involves design on some level, but it’s not limited to the visual arts.

The real magic is in the combination of all elements — words, visuals, sounds, textures — into a coherent, unforgettable brand experience.

“What’s the difference between what  marketing consultants do, and what branding agencies do?”

There is some redundancy between our work as a strategic branding firm and that of a branding-minded marketing consultant.

However, marketing consultants are infamous for charging exorbitant fees and leaving clients with tons of data and impressive reports that never see the light of day.

Just about every client I’ve ever worked with has been burned by a “consultant” of some kind.

We stick with our clients to help them through the implementation phase of whatever plan we create.

Branding firms work all the way through, from early research and strategy development to tactical execution. It is, without a doubt, the broadest, most all-encompassing mix of services in the entire world of marketing.

The best of the breed have serious consulting chops, as well as creative skills.

In a business filled with specialists, we are the ultimate generalists. We bridge the gap between management consultants and marketing tacticians. Art and commerce.

For smaller companies and start-up brands, that’s a good thing. We can work efficiently, leverage our skills and resources and save our clients money while producing long-term results.

“We have a digital marketing agency. Why would we need a branding firm?”

Digital Marketing Agencies know a lot about technology, marketing automation, social media platforms and pay-per-click advertising. They operate deep in the rabbit hole of their respective specialties, like SEM, SEO or web programming. They help you with tactical execution and technical details, but they don’t know strategy.

Producing clicks is not the same thing as producing trust.

At my firm we spent three years researching digital marketing firms, looking for one we could team up with. We talked to dozens and tested several before we settled on one. But we’ve since parted ways, and we’re back to square one. Still looking, like just about every other small business on the planet.

The tactical services provided by our digital agency is all part of one, big branding effort. So it’s led by the strategy we produce.

We help our clients sort through the endless array of “marketing opportunities”  in order to prioritize their efforts and remain focused on long- term strategic objectives.

Because let’s face it… there’s always something else you could throw money at, some new techno marketing platform, but is it really a good move strategically? Is is on brand, or are you just chasing short-term results at the expense of the brand experience?

Branding agencies produce strategic campaigns that play well in any media outlet, from websites and print ads to outdoor, digital banners and social media posts.

For us, it’s not about the form or medium, it’s about the idea. When you have a great idea it’ll find its way into everything you do. From a branding standpoint, that continuity is critical. What you don’t want are social media ads saying one thing, and your website and sales presentations saying something else.

“What kind of background do most branding agency owners have? Where do you guys come from anyway?”

I’m an anomaly among branding agencies. I’m a writer, not a designer, and I’ve held a variety of marketing positions which all led up to this. My origin story is unique, including stints in the video production business, advertising, marketing and even printing.

Most branding agency owners have had only one job title their entire lives:  Graphic designer. They rise up through the ranks at a design firm and then hang up a shingle of their own. They might be extremely good at design, but their scope of work is limited.

My broad experience and big-picture understanding of all things marketing is what makes BN Branding a better choice.  For us, it’s strategy first, THEN design.

Some owner/designers team up with copywriters or brand strategists to form their agencies. That’s a better solution for clients because it always takes a team to produce the best work. The real magic happens when an art director and a copy writer team up and collaborate closely with the client. We don’t have all the answers, but we know how to get you moving in the right direction.

Do I have to find a branding firm with expertise in my specific product category?

No. Not necessarily, but it is helpful when the product category matches up with the passion of the branding team.  At BN Branding we’ve done work in a wide variety of niche markets, and we pride ourselves on being able to grasp the marketing challenges for any business, quickly and efficiently.

Some people know us for our golf industry advertising. We love golf and we have a lot of insider information we can bring to the table.

Others are familiar with our work in the natural foods business or in tourism. But we’ve also done work for technology companies, software start-ups, medical practices, ecommerce companies and pet food brands.

It’s more about the match between the people than it is about a match of industry experience.

You have to find a marketing/branding/advertising partner who you’re excited to work with. Someone who can inspire, lead and push you when you need pushing. If you just hire junior-level specialists you’ll never get top-notch results.

Want to see some of the branding we’ve done? Visit our portfolio. And here’s the full list of services we can provide.

If you have more questions about branding firms, ad agencies or anything else related to marketing, click here. Or connect with me on LinkedIn.