Graphic design and drama are an unlikely pair to put together as a blog topic, but there is a reason for it. Prominent’s in-house graphic designer Emily Grimes delves into the importance of your brand and why you need to listen to the experts.
I did a degree in theatre.
I studied it for three years and graduated in 2015. There were a huge number of modules I took on, which spanned from childlike clowning all the way to very stringent dance.
One module that particularly sticks in my head from those three years is improvisation.
For those of you familiar with the art of improv, the main rule when it comes to performing it is the “yes, and…” method between actors.
This rule is an acceptance principal – when someone in the scene states something, the other actor must accept it as truth, regardless of whether it is or not.
However, I have discovered through my time at Prominent that I have needed to unlearn the “yes, and…” rule – but not in a bad way.
Graphic design can sometimes be put on a back-burner when it comes to PR. Some clients do this because there are other ‘more important’ things that should take precedent when working out your strategy.
Of course, there are many crucial parts of your PR strategy which need to be included, such as selling features into press, stakeholder mapping, social media management and much more.
However, I like to argue that your brand is probably the most important aspect of your PR.
It is your identity and it is one of the things that sets you apart from your competitors.
Having a consistent brand within your company is absolutely crucial. Not only will your brand be the centrepiece for all your marketing collateral, website, social media pages and adverts, it is also what your client will see first.
And first impressions count.
The reason I referred to my improv classes was because I’ve had to say “no, and…” to so many people when it comes to branding – and I’m certain I’m not the only one.
I understand why some people won’t understand the need to invest in branding because after all, are they actually going to make money out of it?
In the short-term no, they probably won’t. But effectively marketing your brand and pushing out all the PR stops in your strategy will soon turn that into a yes.
An exceptional brand will stop a customer in their tracks and make them think. Sometimes, your brand might be the only thing people see and you shouldn’t see this as a bad thing.
A memorable brand, even to someone that’s not your target market, is a good brand. You may not have ever used comparethemarket.com, but how many of you have heard about Compare the Meerkat?
We know your company is your baby.
You may have built it from nothing, or you may have newly acquired it. Either way, we understand why it might be difficult to trust and allow people in who might be suggesting that you do something different.
But we are experts, and we will tell you if we don’t agree with something you have suggested – in the nicest possible way of course! We do it because we care about your brand.
Your success is crucial to our success.
If a client says to me: “I don’t really need brand. I have this picture I downloaded from Shutterstock and that’s enough, isn’t it?”
My response will always, always be: “no, and here’s why.”
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