Help! What is My Brand’s Visual Equity?!‍

Equity can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but for most of us in the branding world it refers to consumers’ level of awareness of your brand (and the quality of that awareness: good, bad or somewhere in the middle). As a design firm focusing mainly on consumer packaged goods, we love to talk about the equity that exists as it pertains to a brand’s packaging and branding – their visual brand equity. For a majority of CPG companies, your actual products and their branding &packaging are 90% of your brand’s exposure and interaction with consumers. So this visual representation of your brand carries a lot of weight. From obvious elements such as the logo and brand colors, to more complex details like art style and communication voice, as your brand grows it’s crucial to understand what elements of your branding system are resonating with your dear friend John Q Public.‍

Equity takes time, but you can speed up the process‍

Brands that have the strongest equity are usually among the oldest on the block. As the saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day”, and the same can be said about the impressions engraved in consumers’ minds about your brand. But while that might seem like a disadvantage to up-and-coming brands, it actually presents a wealth of opportunity for challenger brands & startups to be more innovative in their approach to competing with the giants. Be thankful you’re not stuck in a fuddy-duddy world of consistency and brand boredom! While you can’t duplicate the effects of being a staple in every pantry for the past 100 years, you can put up a worthy battle just by making sure you’re seen. Will that be through advertising or just plain old shelf-pop? The possibilities are endless! Either way, repetitive exposure to a brand can lock it into consumers’ memories, and the hope is it will become second nature to pick it up and put in their cart. It might also help that brand equity (beyond the visual kind) can be related to the quality & effectiveness of your actual product. “Oh that stuff really works!” will help solidify your brand as a “must-have.” ‍

Why is equity important for brands?‍

Strong equity gives you a leg-up in the market as it relates to consumer preferences, which can offer a nice advantage. Brands that leverage their visual brand equity are banking on it continuing to strengthen over time as exposure increases. Wouldn’t it be nice to put your visual brand equity to work and reap the benefits of continued exposure as your brand grows?‍

Don’t over think it! (but also, don’t under think it)‍

Determining what or how much equity you have in your branding can be a difficult task. You’ll want to try and take off your blinders and think like a consumer to avoid amassing too much phantom equity – or, so-called equity that can be perceived by someone who’s too close to the brand (you).After decades of interactions with brand managers and marketing teams, we think this is a major problem plaguing the industry. Don’t let phantom equity get in your way of progress. ‍

Ask tough questions and accept truthful answers‍

Do people really recognize your logo? Do they even know your name? Is your brand doing anything right? For this, it might be good to look at sales, ask around, or potentially enlist the support of an "A&U Study" which can be obtained to determine consumers’ attitudes and usages as they relate to your brand. Although a long list of branding elements that bring equity might seem like a home run, more elements might be harder to sift through. A concise focus will help maximize your efforts to capitalize on the strongest equity as you move forward. ‍

The “significant other” test‍

We have a trick that can help you assess your equity and it involves using your imagination (yay!). Imagine you are asking your significant other to buy your brand on their trip to the grocery store, but you can’t remember the name of the product! Is it easy to describe? More importantly, does describing your product sound exactly like 5 other products which could lead to confusion? That might be an indication that a change indirection could be warranted. Otherwise, take note of how you describe your branding (and of how others do too), and you might be able to assess what kind of equity your branding is pulling.‍

SKU specific equity and category-wide equity counts too!‍

If you’ve been selling a certain SKU with a yellow band for 30 years, there’s a good chance you might confuse someone if you change that SKU to red. Consumer confusion is one of the leading reasons that someone will stray from your usually-comfortably-shopped product. There might also be equity that spans your entire segment of the market – such as using familiar colors for certain varieties. While there might be opportunities to shake things up and break out on shelf, sometimes using the right color for the right SKU is a no-brainer. For example, people generally associate chocolate with brown, sugar-free with light blue, and so on.‍

When to abandon equity and think more revolutionary instead of evolutionary‍

One of the hardest decisions to make is whether to abandon elements of your existing brand in favor of a new approach. It might be a difficult pill to swallow, but consider the opportunities. Maybe your brand was thrown together somewhat haphazardly at its inception, or maybe your best friend designed the packaging and it looked cool at the time, but you’re looking for something a little more impactful for your growing brand. If you started small but you think you’re on the verge of a major leap, now’s a great time to reimagine your brand with new goals in mind!  It might be tough to say goodbye to an older iteration of your brand, but as with most of life’s difficult decisions, time can heal that wound (and an increased revenue stream won’t hurt either).‍

When to flex your equity in more of a nurturing way

Of course, there are plenty of times when equity in your branding is strong - things are going well and you might just need to give your brand a new pair of shoes instead of liposuction and a facelift. This is great news! As long as you’re careful and can justify all of your decisions, there might be plenty of opportunity to make incremental adjustments as opposed to wholesale changes. Consider this if you already have a strong brand identity and you’re extending a new product line or expanding your footprint with additional offerings.‍

How to leverage your equity moving forward‍

Building, maintaining, and supporting your brand’s visual equity can help create a strong and healthy brand for many years to come. Strong visual equity can lead to elevated consumer preference, more premium pricing, and a true competitive advantage. Essentially, it's a power move to influence consumer behavior and create long-term value. At the end of the day, consumers are inundated with brands and helping yours be seen in a memorable way will help it stand out and set it up for success. Knowing that, what are you waiting for – let’s see what we’re working with, what we can leverage, and how we can grow your brand together!

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