The world is full of truly unique perspectives. Finding a message that resonates with your tribe is the make or break of brands. The creative world is often viewed purely as an aesthetic discipline, this inexperienced outlook focuses on the outcome rather than the process, (or as my Nan’s fridge eloquently puts it) the destination, rather than the journey. Strategy is the necessary roadmap that the organised traveller establishes before they set off.

Too many businesses perceive branding as a quick-fix graphical solution that can look good on a business card or at the bottom of an email, but after a year or so in industry, the brand they have is spread thin between marketing, communications and services. Granted, in the formation of a business, it’s difficult to identify the defining character traits before getting in a few practice rounds. But once you step in the ring, priorities change, operations understandably become priority, and the development of your brand is another job that’s pushed down a very long list.

Marketing is vital for maintaining and growing business. The problem is, without creative strategy, it doesn’t matter how much money you throw at getting your message out there, if it’s not aimed correctly, you’ll be lucky to hit your target. Brand messaging is imperative to successful marketing, having your team aligned on what that brand message is means they are the best possible representatives for your business across platforms. That’s why strategy has to start with a deep dive into the inner workings of the business. A brand is an ethos that you want to permeate amongst your team internally which will allow them to exemplify externally; and preferably, eternally.

As product designers, Dooka look at brand solutions holistically. Producing the aesthetic solution is an important part of brand building but by no means the leading factor. Our expertise lie in understanding the issues, discovering the opportunities and then implementing the most appropriate solutions. Ideas generally are formed by an unadulterated understanding of the field through research and identifying the areas for appropriate change. This typically comes from extensive research into market but also equivalent solutions that are elevating companies in other industries, married with an internal discovery with the team to figure what makes them unique.

Building a brand is like building a cocktail, you can’t just go with what looks good, it’s the considered balance of flavours that makes people come back for more. It’s about understanding your customer, their preferred tastes, how experimental they are, where they hang out etc. Luckily, if your business has been operating for over a year, you know what you’ve got on the back shelf, you may just need a few mixologists to come in and shake things up. It might be time for a long cool refreshing sip of strategy.

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