A Recipe for a Successful Brand

There is a myriad of nuances in creating a brand. There’s the logo, messaging, tagline, design, psychographics of the target audience, and so much more. But what is the secret ingredient in creating a successful brand? Let’s hear what the marketing experts have to say. 

Jared Miller is the Chief Operating Officer at RedPeak. Miller has been in the real estate industry for over 20 years. As COO at RedPeak, he oversees a robust portfolio in Denver, managing the operations and marketing for acquisitions, development, and management. He states, “Successful branding is about developing an image and messaging that invokes an emotional connection on which the product and experience deliver. A consistent experience bolstered by feedback from other consumers is extraordinarily powerful. Consistency is the ultimate reinforcement for any brand.” 

According to Eric Clark, Director of Marketing and Product at TransUnion, “A successful brand is based on truth. For a brand to be memorable, it has to say something, mean something, and convey something to someone. While you can’t hope that your brand will be all things to all people, what you can do is ensure your brand is true to itself. Your brand has to align with your product clearly. It must cohesively and consistently convey your core identity, values, and mission. If you can achieve that, you can create a brand that is true, and that is meaningful.” Clark has driven the success of numerous brands in various industries such as real estate, information technology, and healthcare throughout his career.

As the eCommerce Specialist at ACR Electronics, Jair Nogueira, explains, "There is no one size fits all formula." Nogueira believes, "the key is to create a brand that offers a real solution to the customer's problem. When you leave a conversation with a friend, you will remember how that friend made you feel, not what they said. There are so many options out there, so you will need to offer a brand that is useful and adds value to the customer's life." This philosophy has helped him design and launch digital marketing campaigns that have strategically increased his company's revenue. 

Claudio Urrea Tortolero, who oversees strategy at Sony Music Entertainment, shared thoughtful insights around what he thinks is the most essential aspect of a brand. He said, "When creating a brand, the most critical aspect to consider is the details. In my experience, after making early decisions such as the audience, purpose of the brand, the next step is to humanize the brand from the demographic from a psychographic perspective. With audiences on various channels to connect with, having full visibility of a brand's core components provides marketers with a north star in such a dynamic environment."

Anthony Miyazaki, a renowned Brand Strategist & Marketing Educator at Florida International University proclaims, "The most successful brands resonate with their audiences. They do this by building a meaningful, purposeful, and well-articulated brand identity and then connecting it to their target audiences via shared experiences. These shared experiences form brand connections that incorporate the brand into the target audiences' lives." 

Now, if I were to turn the tables and answer the same question, my answer is simple—all of them. The key ingredient of a successful brand isn’t just one thing. It’s the culmination of numerous necessary elements. As Aristotle once said, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Missing one critical piece will prevent any company from reaping the full benefits a brand can provide. The art and the science of the brand must come together, holistically, strategically, and authentically.

Think of it this way. If you were baking cookies and missed just one ingredient, they are likely to taste pretty bad. Or, at the very least, they would be substantially inferior in comparison to their potential. The same thing goes with branding. But when you are thoughtful and precise with your ingredients, balancing them effectively, you have yourself a brand that rivals your grandma’s chocolate chip cookies.