Successful Branding Plays Leadership Role in Business

Kirby Stephens Design (KSD) was recently featured in Branding USA 3, a new book published by Graphis International that “showcases the remarkable work of the most creative minds in the branding business.” KSD was the only Kentucky firm to be selected for inclusion in the publication.

“Branding isn´t only about convincing potential customers to choose one business over the competition. Primarily, branding is about persuading those prospects to see your service or product as the one and only solution to their problem. To be effective, a brand identity must project a trustworthy and memorable image, an image immediately identifiable whether presented on something as basic as a business card or as elaborate as a website.”

Graphis BrandingUSA3/Introduction
Published April 2009

In a world moving so quickly, with every passing moment witnessing enormous changes in business environments, perhaps it would be prudent to step back for a moment and examine just one single (but vitally important) segment in this world of business: Branding.

A search on the web and a reading of Merriam Webster reveals the following:

Brand: a name, logo, slogan, and/or design scheme associated with a product or service
Branding: in marketing , the use of logos, symbols, or product design to promote consumer awareness of goods and services

These are definitions. Concise and to the point. But definitions can only tell us things, but they cannot show us. What is needed is a way in which you can actually see examples, excellent examples, of branding. That is the purpose of the BrandingUSA book series. And here in BrandingUSA3 we present a cross-section of the nation's top branding professionals and firms representing a plethora of American businesses from start-ups to major players.

Branding has evolved over the years and has now become a common term used in marketing. What it does, essentially, is burn your company or website name, logo or slogan into the minds of potential customers. It is often a subliminal process by which a business employs marketing strategies to get people to easily remember their products and services over a competitors'...applied psychology. Obviously, a company's branding should include logo, color schemes, images both online and offline, motto or tag line, and more.

In this book, the featured branding firms open their portfolios, present their most creative and successful efforts, and explain their design/branding philosophy. After perusing this book, the reader will have a deeper understanding of the essentials of successful branding, and what a huge part it assumes in a business or product attaining and retaining a leadership role in its market segment.