What Are Brand Assets and How to Leverage Them

Your brand has only a tenth of a second* to catch and hold a potential customer’s attention long enough to consider purchasing your products or services. No pressure, right? With so little time, you may want to think about how you craft your business’s brand including which assets are most effective in specific applications. Spoiler alert: you’ll need more than a logo! Get started by learning what brand assets are and how you can use them best, creating strong brand and marketing for your business.

What are brand assets?

A brand asset is a ready-to-use digital file, written phrase or sentence, formula or approach that is used consistently across print, digital, and environments (virtual or in-person). Your brand assets, both tangible and intangible, work together to create your distinct identity.

In the past, the “brand” assets were part of corporate identity systems and corporate standards. But these documents focused primarily on keeping things like color, logo size, and layouts consistent. Brand assets go beyond standardization by connecting the assets to a larger purpose, theme, or set of values — although there are still guidelines and consistencies that should apply. Each asset is designed, created, or selected to connect with the unconscious emotions and values of your ideal customer or represent your business in a unique way.

How are brand assets created?

While each brand or design agency may have a slightly different process for developing brand assets, the stages are fairly consistent. Our process is highly collaborative with clients who provide expertise in their subject matter and industry and includes discovery, strategy, ideation, and asset delivery.  

For us, effective brand assets begin with an empathy-first definition of your audience. When you use empathy to define your target audience, speaking to their needs and feelings and showing an understanding of their world, you’ll be able to create true connection with your audience and empower actions aligned with your marketing goals.

Visual Brand Assets

There is no denying that your brand’s most visible asset is the logo, but other visual brand assets include typography, color, illustration, iconography, texture, and photography which arguably play much bigger roles in persuading and informing your audiences. These unsung heroes of brands typically dwarf the size of the logo on a majority of marketing collateral created and often elicit a more emotional response.

Written Brand Assets

Written brand assets such as your name, product names, processes, value set, and of course your tagline are also important because they identify the particulars of who you are and what you do and often have a proprietary aspect. 

Most importantly, all assets should be developed together based on your market position rather than added over time to avoid sending competing and inconsistent materials or confusing messages. In short, brand assets should work together to amplify and clarify your business’s value to customers and prospects inside your competitive landscape.

Now that you have a better understanding of what brand assets are and how to best use them, you can begin building a unique brand identity that not only distinguishes you from the crowd but more importantly, connects and engages with your customer on every level. 

Looking for brand assets that help your business succeed by connecting with your audience? We’re ready to jump in, wherever you are!

Fill out a quick form on our contact page to get started on building your brand!

*Source: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/how-many-seconds-to-a-first-impression