Branding strategy

Useful Resources

• Capture Your Brand Story with Madelaine Anderson, Co-founder of Talus Films

• Your Brand: Your Why, Your Target Customer, Your Positioning with Enhao Li and Katie Doherty, Co-Founders of Founded Outdoors

• Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller - A must-read on brand messaging.

• Seth Godin’s Akimbo Podcast - Insights on marketing and branding.

• The Psychology of Branding - YouTube - A deep dive into brand perception.

• Branding Case Studies - HubSpot - Real-world examples of branding success.

• The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier - A practical guide to bridging strategy and design.

• How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp - A research-backed approach to effective branding.

• Chris Do - The Futur YouTube Channel - Video insights on branding, design, and marketing.

• Simon Sinek’s TED Talk - Start With Why - The importance of purpose-driven branding.

• Maker & Moxie - A helpful branding blog for startups.

• Brand Strategy 101 - The essential elements every effective strategy needs.

• How to Write a Powerful Mission Statement - A guide with a winning template and helpful examples.

• The Power of a Purpose-Driven Brand - Insights on building a purpose-driven brand.

• How to Create a Brand Strategy - A comprehensive guide on developing a brand strategy.

• StoryBrand Framework - A framework to clarify your message so customers will listen.

2. Recommended Tools

• Canva - An intuitive design tool for creating brand assets; also offers a media kit feature to assist with branding and design.

• Brandfolder - A digital asset management tool for keeping branding elements organized.

• Google Trends - Helps track brand interest and market trends.

• Hootsuite - Social media management tool to maintain brand consistency.

• Looka - AI-powered branding tool for logo and brand identity creation.

• Coolors - A color palette generator for branding and design inspiration.

• Notion - A great workspace tool for organizing brand strategies, guidelines, and campaigns.

• Moz - SEO tool to enhance brand visibility and online presence.

• Grammarly - Ensures brand messaging is polished and professional.

• Adobe Stock - Provides web layouts, presentation layouts, mobile mockups, social media kits, etc.

• Adobe Illustrator - A vector graphics editor for creating scalable brand assets.

• Figma - A collaborative interface design tool.

• UnDraw - Offers free high-quality illustrations.

• Free Icons - A vast collection of free icons for various uses.

• 1001 Free Fonts - A resource for free fonts to match your brand's personality.

• Dribbble - A platform for branding and design inspiration.

• Behance - A platform for brand and design inspiration, as well as finding designers to work with.

3. Founded Outdoors Community Tips and Insights

1. Define Your Brand Personality Early: Several founders emphasized the importance of outlining your brand personality from day one. A clear identity helps shape visuals, tone, and customer perception.

2. Authentic Storytelling Works: Many highlighted how sharing personal journeys, challenges, and customer success stories creates deeper engagement.

3. Consistency Builds Recognition: From color schemes to messaging tone, ensuring uniformity across platforms strengthens brand recall.

4. Engage With Your Community: A few members found success by leveraging user-generated content and interactive social media campaigns.

5. SEO and Digital Presence Matter: Optimizing website content and maintaining a strong online presence was a recurring piece of advice from experienced marketers.

6. Be Clear on Your Value Proposition: Some founders stressed the importance of clearly communicating what sets your brand apart from competitors.

7. Visual Identity Should Reflect Your Brand’s Mission: Several marketers highlighted that logos, typography, and color schemes should align with the company’s core message.

8. Customer Experience Defines Your Brand: Providing a seamless and positive customer journey strengthens brand perception.

9. Leverage Partnerships and Collaborations: Many found success in collaborating with complementary brands to extend their reach and enhance credibility.

10. Track and Adapt Your Brand Strategy: Several founders recommended using analytics tools to measure brand engagement and adjust strategies based on data insights.

4. Vendors

• 99designs - Offers high-quality logo and brand design through crowd-sourced competitions.

• Fiverr & Upwork - Great for finding freelancers specializing in branding, copywriting, and design.

• Tailor Brands - AI-driven branding solutions for startups and small businesses.

• Sprout Social - Helps with brand management and social media analytics.

• Crowdspring - A marketplace for custom brand and design solutions.

• 99Logos - Another crowdsource platform for affordable branding and design.

• Adobe Creative Cloud - Industry-standard tools for branding, design, and content creation.