You sit down for dinner at a new restaurant and order a Coke when the server tells you that they only have Pepsi. If you change your order to water, you’re not alone. Coca-Cola’s market share is almost twice as large as PepsiCo’s. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not necessarily a matter of quality. A 2004 study found that while contestants preferred Pepsi to Coke during blind taste tests, they preferred Coke to Pepsi when they knew what they were drinking. Why? Because Coca Cola’s branding actually enhanced their experience of the flavor.
Choosing your brand colors and making a logo may seem like some of the least important decisions you make when starting a business, but they can actually be the difference between success and failure. That’s because branding is what sets your business apart from competitors and what makes consumers remember it.
In this article, we’re going to discuss the different types of brand assets that you can create, why they’re important and how to use them in order to become the Coke in your industry.
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What are brand assets?
Brand assets are elements that a company uses to convey its brand identity to consumers. Strong brand assets can help you stand out from its competitors, build brand recognition, and create emotional connections with its customers.
15 types of brand assets
The types of brand assets that your company chooses to use will depend on your specific goals, target audience and industry. However, there are several common types of assets for you to consider, most of which fall in the realms of visual, digital, sonic, intellectual and experiential brand assets. Let’s discuss the 15 most common types of brand assets to help you create your own.
01. Brand name
Because a brand name is typically the first point of contact between a brand and its target audience, it’s the foundation of a brand's identity. A strong brand name can help a company stand out from its competitors, build trust with its customers, and create a sense of loyalty. Just think back to our Coca-Cola example—the brand name is so powerful that some people even use the term "coke" as a moniker for all soda.
02. Logos
Visual brand assets are key to establishing a consistent visual identity, building brand recognition and providing consumers with a sense of your brand’s personality without much investigation on their part. Your logo is one of the most powerful visual brand assets.
Whether it’s a whimsical doodle or an intricate graphic design, a logo showcases brand personality more than any other visual. The Nike swoosh is an iconic example of this brand asset. Inspired by the Nike goddess's wings, the simple yet memorable logo effectively symbolizes the speed and athleticism that defines the brand.
03. Brand fonts
While brand fonts may have a subtler impact compared to other visual brand assets, they still play an essential role in establishing brand recognition and communicating important information about a brand’s personality and values. For instance, the custom Wix Madefor typeface not only conveys professionalism but also ensures high readability, underscoring Wix’s commitment to delivering a positive user experience.
04. Brand colors
In fields such as consulting or medicine in which consumers may lack the knowledge to distinguish between good and bad services, visual brand assets like brand colors are helpful for differentiating your business. For example, Tiffany & Co. differentiates itself from the competition by only selling high-quality diamonds. Because the average consumer may have a hard time identifying the difference between a high-quality and low-quality diamond, Tiffany & Co. uses its iconic Tiffany Blue® brand color to communicate luxury, sophistication and elegance.
05. Website
Establishing trust online is an uphill battle, as consumers have become increasingly vigilant to protect themselves against scammers. Digital brand assets are the tools you use to represent your business online, connect with consumers and build brand trust. Creating a seamless brand experience across various digital platforms will assure consumers that you run a legitimate business.
Today, any successful business is practically expected to have a website. This digital brand asset not only equips your new business with credibility, but also functions as a hub for all your digital marketing. A Verisign report showed that 93% of U.S. consumers use the Internet for research before making a purchase.
06. Social media profiles
When a consumer sees social media posts from your brand amongst posts from friends and family, they learn to associate your brand with a sense of intimacy and connection. Because of that, social media profiles on platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and TikTok can serve as powerful digital brand assets. They can help you establish brand loyalty, increase brand retention and showcase your brand’s personality.
07. Mobile apps
Creating an app can help you increase brand engagement by giving customers a direct line to your business. Along with boosting brand awareness, apps act as a form of free marketing for your company. You can use push notifications to remind customers of sales, upcoming events and other relevant information that promote your brand’s services.
08. Brand voice
Your brand’s voice is the style in which your company communicates with its customers. You should consider the personality of your brand and key demographics of your audience when establishing your brand voice. Whether you choose a brand voice that’s whimsical, authoritative or to-the-point, developing a consistent tone of voice is important to setting a precedent for the type of experience that your customer can expect when interacting with your brand.
09. Slogans
A slogan is a short and memorable phrase or tagline that communicates the essence of your brand's value proposition, personality or mission. It's a powerful brand asset because it can encapsulate the core message of your brand and help it to stand out in a crowded market.
A well-crafted slogan creates an emotional connection with your target audience. It helps consumers to remember your brand, recognize its products or services and associate it with a particular image or experience. Take the iconic Maybelline tagline as an example: “Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.” This catchy slogan has a playful rhythm that makes it easy to recall. Plus, it succinctly communicates the brand’s mission to help people feel confident by enhancing their natural beauty.
10. Sound effects
Just as Pavlov used the sound of a bell to condition dogs to expect food, you can use sonic brand assets to condition consumers to recognize your business. Sonic branding doesn’t get as much attention as other types, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be incredibly powerful in establishing brand recall.
The Netflix "ta-dum" sound effect is a powerful example of a sonic brand asset. It's a short, distinctive sound that plays when you open the Netflix app or choose to watch a Netflix Original. It primes streamers to associate Netflix with high-quality entertainment and a seamless user experience. The sound effect is so memorable that it has become a cultural phenomenon, with people creating memes and remixes of the sound.
11. Jingles
Jingles are short, catchy tunes or melodies that are used as a form of sonic branding. They are often used in advertising and marketing to create a memorable association with a particular brand or product.
An example of a famous jingle is McDonald's "I'm Lovin' It" jingle, which was first introduced in 2003. The melody and lyrics are upbeat and positive so that customers associate happiness and satisfaction with the fast-food company. The jingle became so recognizable that in a recent rebranding effort, McDonald's changed it to just a man singing "ba da ba ba ba," relying on consumers' minds to fill in the rest of the tune.
12. Theme music
Sonic branding is especially important if you use audio mediums such as podcasts or video content to reach your audience. You can use theme music to represent your brand and create a distinct audio identity that consumers can associate with your brand. Just think of the suspenseful clanging of a toy piano that introduces a new episode of the podcast Serial or the doom-ridden Gregorian chant that plays during the opening credits of The White Lotus, and you’ll recognize the power of a great theme song.
13. Customer service
Customer service is an essential experiential asset that can make or break a customer's relationship with a brand. It involves all the interactions that a customer has with a company, from pre-purchase inquiries to post-purchase support. Your brand's commitment to excellent customer service can create a positive emotional connection with your customers and set your brand apart from its competitors.
14. Product packaging
Look up unboxing videos on YouTube and you’ll understand how powerful packaging can be used as an experiential brand asset. It’s not only a way to protect and deliver your product but also an opportunity to communicate your brand’s identity and personality. For instance, the sleekness of Apple packaging emphasizes the brand’s commitment to innovation and user experience. If you’re a third-party retailer who sells through eCommerce platforms like Amazon or Etsy, packaging becomes even more critical as it’s one of the few ways to communicate your brand personality and stand out from the competition.
15. Brand character
Brand character is a type of brand asset that humanizes a brand by embodying its personality and values. Mascots are a common example of brand character, as they serve as a visual representation of your brand
For example, the Geico gecko and Flo from Progressive are mascots that have become synonymous with their respective brands, creating a strong brand association in the minds of consumers. By using a brand character, companies can create a sense of trust and familiarity that drive customer loyalty.
11 quick tips for brand asset management
With so many brand assets to keep track of, it’s important that you develop a system for brand asset management. Brand asset management involves establishing a clear process for creating, organizing and maintaining all of your assets as your company evolves. Here are a few quick tips that’ll help you get started:
Develop a style guide: Once you’ve created your brand assets, build a brand style guide that outlines your rules and guidelines for using them. Doing so will ensure that all brand communications are consistent and in-line with your brand identity.
Limit access to brand assets: Control who has access to your brand assets to avoid unauthorized use or misuse. Establish a permission structure for who can view, download or modify brand assets.
Use brand management tools: Brand management tools can help you maintain consistency throughout a consumer’s experience with your brand. For example, you can use Wix’s site design manager to easily align your site with your brand colors and brand fonts, ensuring consistency and solidifying your brand identity.
Label assets with metadata: Let your assets do the work for you. By adding metadata to your assets, you can gain clearer insights into your analytics, boost your asset performance and make decisions based on this information.
Use a calendar to track use of assets: You’ve probably lost interest in the ads you’ve seen repeated over and over again on your social media feeds. The same principle applies to the way your customer interacts with your brand assets, which is why you should vary your assets and track their use.
Label alternates properly: You can use alternate assets to accommodate their use on different platforms by changing the layout or simplifying the design. It’s important to label your assets according to their use so they’re uploaded in the correct format.
Have a system for approving changes to assets: Put someone in charge of approving changes to assets, then communicating those decisions to your team. That way, you can mitigate confusion about the approval process and employees will know how to share new asset ideas.