How do you anchor your brand?

Because the process of branding is about the discovery and management of meaning (to the benefit of all stakeholders), and ownership of the individual intellectual properties of the brand that contribute to that sense of meaning, all brand components must satisfy the following checklist of objective criteria to be acceptable.

They must be original – why imitate when you can individualise?

They must be legitimate – good medical branding makes good medical sense, and does not borrow desperate interest from the zoo or the sportsfield – as is so often resorted to by so called ‘communicators’.

They must be adhered to & campaignable – so that the brand can be instantly recognised whatever the medium

They must be coherent – so that the combined result of all BrandAnchors achieves both visual and intellectual synergy.

They must be accessible – graphic communication is a fleeting exercise. The job of good graphic design is to seduce the viewer into holding their attention for longer.

One can easily satisfy all of the above, and still be quite dull. In order to transcend the ordinariness that abounds iin the healthcare marketplace there is one additional criterium which is probably the most important of all. The one that is a result of ingenious creative thinking and great design. Think for just a moment about the things you love. The objects that really please you. They are all well designed. They somehow connect with your pleasure centres in a way that the stuff you really don't like will never achieve. This manifextation of emotional intelligence is the central core of a highly valued, powerful brand.

They must be satisfying – brand attributes that are bafflingly complex or ‘too clever’ will alienate customers, rather than entice them. If solutions need to be explained, reject them.

As Ogden Nash said in his no-nonsense way:
Here’s a good rule of thumb,
Too clever is dumb

For healthcare brands, whose scientific rationales may often be highly complex, it is important that the approach to branding both recognises and understands this complexity, but delivers it in an elegant, accessible and meaningful way.

Correctly developed and implemented, a brand’s identity will transcend geography and discipline. It will drive and engineer strategic direction and communications strategy and planning. It will help to form the corporate behaviours and beliefs that mould customer experience and expectation.

It will exemplify the Customer Value Proposition at every touch point.