The Secret Every Brand Strategist Knows
Your Brand is more than your logo.
Your brand is more than just a logo – it's a representation of your museum's values and personality. Your brand communicates to your potential visitors who you are and what they can expect from you. It's important to create a consistent look and feel across all of your branding materials in order to create a strong, recognizable presence. Yes, that includes a logo but it’s much more than that.
Your visual brand.
Your visual brand includes your logo but it also includes a chosen font, brand colors, design elements and a set of brand images. The job of your visual brand is to grab the attention of your ideal client, or ideal visitor in a museum’s case. People who are noticing your brand are subconsciously looking for that consistency. It helps create that “know, like, trust” factor. Can you imagine if McDonalds one day had pink arches instead of golden arches and then the following week switched again to blue? Would you trust that they were still the famous golden arches?
Your brand story.
Once your visual brand has grabbed the attention of your potential visitors, then the words you use need to hold their attention. Again, you want to create that “know, like, trust” factor with them so that they feel like you’re an old friend. The Marketing rule of 7 says that someone has to see the same message 7 times before they will act on it. Your core messages and brand story are as important to your brand as the logo you’ve created. But you can’t be the only one shouting these messages from the rooftops. Your entire staff needs to know these core messages and talking points. The voice needs to be consistent.
Why a strong brand is important
Having your visitors understand who you are and know what you say about yourself will help them share that message with their friends. Richard Branson said, “A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front page ad.” A good PR story from a third party is so valuable. It can be in the form of a newspaper article or in the form of neighbors talking on the sidewalk about their weekend plans. Your visual brand attracts potential visitors but the words that you use clearly and consistently are going to help them take that message to their friends.
To me, authentic brand strategy is the first step to that magical third party endorsement.
Do you have a brand kit and have you shared it with your staff? Have you audited your brand recently? Do you have a system set up so you’re sure to share your core messages often in your content?
Need help with your brand strategy? I love brand strategy and I’ve helped a few museums and several companies with their rebrand projects. If you’re working on a rebrand or feel like your brand story and messaging needs an audit, heres the link to book a free Discovery Call with me:
