It’s a common misconception that a brand is only made up of its name and logo. A brand is intangible and consists of many elements. In addition to the name and logo, a brand comprises the experience, perception, and emotions we encounter whenever we come in contact with a product or service.

Imagine this: You’ve decided to visit a well-known hotel with a good reputation. You’ve seen it on social media, you’ve been targeted by ads, and you’ve come across it in the media. Based on all of this, you’ve formed a certain image of the hotel brand in your mind and decided to spend a significant amount of money to visit.

And here you are—standing in front of the hotel with a packed suitcase and a happy heart. There’s no parking space, but that’s okay—you can park a bit further away, it won’t ruin your mood. At the reception, a forced, overly polite person greets you, constantly interrupting your conversation to answer the phone, which keeps ringing. Eventually, you get the key and head to your room, wondering if you need everything in your suitcase.

The air conditioning isn’t working at the moment, but someone will come to fix it soon. In the meantime, you can refresh yourself at the restaurant on the first floor. You plan to, as the situation is already stressful. At the restaurant, you realize that while you may refresh yourself, the bill with those prices will surely wilt your spirit…
And to avoid going on much further, your initial image of the hotel’s brand is already changing.

Your experience was unpleasant. The hotel’s perception doesn’t align with your expectations, and you are not feeling positive emotions.

But the hotel’s name and logo are the same—still excellent. However, now, when you see that logo, you don’t have the same image of the brand as you did before interacting with it. Everything in your mind has changed; your mind is where the brand lives.

If you are the owner of a brand, or if managing a brand is your responsibility, this is a moment to remind yourself that a brand is much more than what you define through visual and communicative touchpoints.

Brand Elements

Now that we understand where this story is going let’s talk about the elements of a brand—everything that influences the brand image in the minds of (potential) customers.
After extensive education, research, and projects focused on brand building, I chose the following depiction of brand elements. Note that sometimes we make minor adjustments depending on the industry, but generally, everything you need to pay attention to is here.

As you can see, there are many elements, some of which are defined once and last until a decision is made about rebranding. These are the elements we implement with our clients.

Developing a brand strategy document is also good practice. This document will give all future marketers who manage your brand a clear direction for further development and growth. The worst option is when a team changes, which leads to the brand being built without a solid foundation, or worse, when there are no foundations and the brand is constantly turned on the wind of trends.

Without brand continuity and when all the elements are not aligned, a strong brand cannot be built. This means no longevity, no opportunity to increase prices that will be accepted by the public, no loyalty, and no business stability.

In practice, we encounter situations where only the visual identity is defined or even less than that. In these cases, getting involved in the project and performing a “miracle” that consistently delights our clients is a real pleasure. It’s not enough for your brand to look better than an influencer on Instagram; it needs to be built to evoke an emotion that will make customers choose it and remain loyal.

The part also rests with the brands themselves, related to other aspects of business such as delivery, service, space, etc. This just shows how brand building is a job for all employees, not just the brand, marketing department, or owner.
Since I’m sure you want your brand to be perceived in a way that makes people like it, and I’m sure many of you don’t know what you need, feel free to contact us for consultations. Our website also has simple explanations that will help you clarify your needs and examples of some of our projects.

Contact us to build strong brands together.

Milka Negrović