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Written by
Scott Bair
Quick, what order are the colors in Google's logo? What about just the capital G? It doesn't really matter, does it?
It could be green, purple, or orange (it's blue), and you'd still feel confident about its search capabilities. Google, like many other successful companies, has moved beyond relying on its logo for brand identity.
The non-visual elements of branding can often have a more profound effect on how customers perceive and interact with a company. There are a million pretty logos out there. Not all of them represent successful brands.
Let’s explore the other elements of branding that are often overlooked or underappreciated.
We have five senses, so why limit branding efforts to aesthetic appeal? Here are some of the non-visual elements that play a critical role in branding:
The brand voice doesn’t mean the actor it hires for commercials (though it can include that). It means the personality and emotion conveyed through any customer communication.
That includes:
It can even include how automated services like chatbots or telephone answering systems speak. A consistent voice and tone help humanize your brand, making it more relatable and trustworthy for consumers.
Tech companies might have voices that convey innovation and clarity, while a luxury brand’s tone may exude sophistication and exclusivity.
One of the most significant non-visual elements of a brand is the set of core values and beliefs that it stands for. They are a framework for consistent behavior, guiding how a company interacts with its customers, employees, and community.
When a brand’s values align with its customer base, it can create a deep emotional connection. An example to learn from is Patagonia, the outdoor clothing brand that publicly embraced a commitment to environmental sustainability.
Their outspoken dedication earned a loyal customer base who shared the same concerns. One thing to remember, though, is that if you declare something a core value, you have to walk the walk.
In 2022, Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard turned down offers to buy the company or take it public and instead transferred his ownership to a specially designed non-profit organization. That ensured the brand would stay true to its sustainability roots even after his retirement (and the end of the Chouinard family’s involvement).
A brand’s promise is a commitment to deliver specific benefits, experiences, and services. It can be an extension of the values and mission, a direct assurance of what customers expect.
A promise isn’t much of a promise if it’s constantly broken. So, this commitment needs to be aspirational and realistic.
FedEx, for instance, has a well-known promise of “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.” That ad campaign was launched back in the late 1970s but remains a true representation of the FedEx brand (even if the logistics of overnight shipping are difficult to pull off in some circumstances).
One of the most powerful ways to improve your brand reputation is through strong customer service. It’s the human side of branding, where customers form personal assessments of the company based on their interactions.
If you can generate a positive experience, they are more likely to return, tell others about it, and believe your future promises.
Ever heard someone say, “Just take it back. Returns are easy at Costco.” That’s branding at work. The company has built a long-standing reputation for customer service and employee satisfaction, offering generous return policies, fair wages, and other minor benefits like free samples or cheap hotdogs.
That reputation keeps shoppers coming back and spending money, knowing that they are protected if something goes wrong or they’re unsatisfied.
The story and history of a brand can be powerful tools for emotional connection and identity, especially in a world where consumers are inundated with choices. The narrative weaves the brand’s past experiences, values, mission, and vision into a compelling tale.
A brand’s narrative can inspire, connect, and engage customers by relating to their experiences and aspirations.
Strava, the social network for athletes, used story to grow a strong, dedicated community. The platform was built around the founders’ love for running and cycling and a conviction that technology can motivate people to lead healthier, more active lives.
Former college athletes Michael Horvath and Mark Gainey had an authentic connection to their target customers and could relate to their need for competition. So, they kept adding more features to pit users against each other in friendly battles, driving engagement and retention along the way.
Think of the best car you’ve ever owned. Now, think of why you rank it so highly. It’s probably due to its performance, durability, or the new features it introduced. The Honda Civic continues to lead top-seller charts worldwide because of the brand’s consistency.
Performance is how well a brand meets customer needs and expectations. It earns a reputation for reliability and quality when it consistently performs well. On the other hand, innovation is about how much it pushes the boundaries and thinks outside the box.
A recent example of both is the rapid rise of OpenAI, a brand synonymous with the artificial intelligence revolution. When ChatGPT was shown to the public, it instantly earned an excellent reputation. Even its early iterations were able to shock people, and the company continues to push past public expectations every few months.
The culture of a brand is often experienced indirectly by the consumer. It is the DNA of a company. It forms the framework that guides how employees interact, make decisions, and represent a brand’s values.
A strong corporate culture attracts talent, retains employees, and builds a genuinely invested team in the company’s success. When employees believe in the brand, their work connects better with customers.
Southwest Airlines is routinely lauded for its fun, friendly atmosphere. They believe that happy employees lead to happy customers. That has resulted in constant press about its strong brand reputation, even in an industry filled with complaints and frustration.
User experience (UX) is about understanding the needs, abilities, and limitations of the end-user and constructing the entire brand experience to suit them. It involves creating products or services that are not just functional but also fun.
By improving the UX of a product, a brand shows that it values its customers’ time and feedback. Spotify, for example, is well-known for its attention to detail. The platform’s recommendation algorithm offers tailored musical suggestions that evolve with the user’s tastes, creating a highly personalized listening experience.
Moreover, Spotify’s commitment to UX extends into customer support channels, with readily available help and an active social media presence for a timely response. They continuously update and test the service to enhance performance and introduce new features that enhance the overall experience.
That UX has built a loyal following that continues to choose Spotify over other emerging streaming platforms.
A brand community represents the relationships and networks that its users build. The social fabric that ties them through shared interests, values, or goals.
Strong brands will engage with people beyond transactions, creating a space where conversations can happen, feedback is welcomed, and members feel like they have input.
GitHub’s entire platform is designed this way, with features that support project collaboration, issue tracking, and hosting for millions of repositories. This community-centric approach nurtured a culture where developers can work together, improve each other’s code, and share solutions.
Strategic partnerships are alliances that brands form with other businesses, organizations, or individuals. They expand reach, enhance value propositions, or consolidate brand narratives.
These collaborations can include things like:
Partnerships often leverage the strengths of multiple brands to create synergy and deliver unique experiences or products to customers. A brand can greatly benefit from its partners' credibility, expertise, and market presence.
An example would be Red Bull, an energy drink company that has become the face of extreme sports and adventure. Through events like Felix Baumgartner’s stratosphere skydive or the Crashed Ice events that saw skaters race down a frozen track, they attach excitement and athleticism to a beverage.
In fact, it didn’t stop at extreme sports. Red Bull jumped into more traditional sports like soccer and Formula 1, and is now one of the most recognized brands in the world.
Branding is more than a logo. The most effective companies understand that shaping their identity through values, promises, service, and story can be just as powerful.
Each non-visual element of branding contributes to the overall narrative of a company. Powerful branding is about consistent messaging and engagement across all platforms, creating a cohesive identity.
While a logo is meant to be recognized, true branding is about becoming unforgettable.
