Tips to sustainable branding

To build or develop something always costs money. However, when steps and actions are thought through wisely, this cost becomes an investment and gives plenty of opportunities to optimize and, in fact, over time, to spend less money. In this article, I would like to present some tips that help me with sustainable brand development. By sustainability, I am referring to both, timeless brand development as well as marketing and communication actions.

1. Visual identity of the brand -When developing a new visual identity of the brandor lifting an existing one, I think wisely about the story of the product that I want to tell. People buy stories, images, and emotions rather than simply buying the product or service. So, I play with symbols, shapes, forms, colors, patterns, materials and surfaces.

2. Tools and supports – At this stage, I think about how the brand is going to be communicated? , what kind of actions the brand will take, what kind of material is going to be used (paper, cardboard, metal, textile, plastic, etc.), and what kind of transformations are needed. At this step, there is still time to adjust the visual identity to the tools I am selecting to communicate with. Can I easily personalize everything with the logo and chosen colors and techniques? If I can not, I may face difficulties at a later stage when I find out that I can not reach my goal for technical reasons or I may need to make changes to the logo (again), so new cost can arise.

3. Sustainable communication supports – When choosing different supports, such as paper, I look to see if there are « green » possibilities source materials such as paper without bleach, recycled papers, and the green printing solutions. Is the material of my choice sustainable, and if not do I have a choice of a sustainable substitute? The choice on the market is very large. I keep up with all innovations to have good knowledge of what is new in the market.

4. Sustainable creativity -When developing a brand,I try to think of how to introduce « out of the box ideas » rather then follow set patterns and mundane actions. This brings new light to the brand actions in terms of originality, but it also helps to offset the budget. This innovative brand actions can have a significant impact on clients interest. Sometimes unit cost is higher, but, in fact, the overall cost is lower.

5. Partners rather then suppliers – I choose to work with serious parters rather than mere suppliers. Working with experts involves having good technical advice and boosting creative possibilities. I enjoy learning and working hand in hand with this kind of suppliers helps me to progress.

6. Updating customer database – I advise my clients to keep an updated database. It helps to avoid wasting money on sending out mailing that may never reach clients or that may go to clients who are not interested in the products or services anymore.

7. Efficiency of actions – Are the actions that I plan to take or to repeat efficient enough to reach the target? Am I taking these actions because they are efficient or because I’m just following this routine pattern from force of habits? What is the objective of the action? Should I review the current process and evaluate whether I need to make any adjustments by brainstorming new ideas?

There are many opportunities to introduce a sustainable approach to brand development. It’s great for the company budget, as well as for brand image, and impact that the product can have on natural ressources. Every one can do it, no matter what the product or service may be, or how big or small the company may be.

And what are your methods to make your work sustainable ? I will be happy to read your comments and learn about your approach and tips.