What are some iconic brands seen and recognized immediately for who they are and what they do? I need not mention them, but I will – Coca-cola, Apple, Nike, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Army, Navy, Allstate, Tide, and so on. If you “read” the name of the logo, you likely can “see” it as well.

How did these companies manage to brand themselves so well? How did they come up with simple images (think Nike) that are immediately recognizable to consumers? Some of you will say, “That’s easy. They had a lot of money.” Likely true. But I can think of a few other brands that also began with lots of financial backing that aren’t so easily recognizable (banks come to mind along with some insurance companies and you KNOW they had solid financial backing!). You can probably think of a few others – then again, maybe you can’t because they simply aren’t memorable.

Okay. We’ve established that some brands work and some don’t. How do you ensure yours does? Make it unique. Make it simple. Repeat it consistently on every marketing piece you use. If you attend trade shows, put it on your branded table cover. We do, and our covers get a lot of compliments.

Imprint it on your feather flag (the ones with a spider base seen below beside the Sprint feather flag allows the flag to be balanced on the flat surface of your trade show floor). There are many sizes of these flags – from 15 feet in height to desk top size.

Put your brand on your giveaways, on your pens, on your apparel (I confess, I do not like to wear branded apparel, but I do it).

If you want to take your trade show to the next level yet you only use a 10′ x 10′ or 10′ x 20′ booth, use a tent to frame your space (see below). When you’re on a budget and can’t compete with those large 40′ x 40′ booths, this will make your brand sizzle like nothing else.

Branding is vital to the life of your business.  You may not have the funds of Nike, but you can create a look that is memorable by using your unique image everywhere possible.

Happy Branding!