Brand identity is everything these days. In the past, we’ve discussed finding your voice as a brand by defining your brand’s personality. This practice helps build brand loyalty, as users will start feeling connected to your brand as if it has a life of its own. Brand identity has made its way back into the news with Coca-Cola and Under Armour recently. Coca-Cola is looking to “become a brand with a point of view.” Meanwhile, Under Armour is transitioning its spending towards building their brand. While Coke is looking to refine their brand, Under Armour seems to be in need of refining it.
Coca-Cola
For ages, Coca-Cola has been a brand that isn’t afraid to stand for things. In fact, the company’s Western Europe marketing director said “The worst thing that can happen is indifference. We have been around for so long because we have never been indifferent and we will continue not to be.” However, they’re pushing this further than ever before by launching a brand platform and purpose in Europe. This new purpose, “Better when we’re open” is all about being open to understanding other people’s opinions. It ties brilliantly back into their Christmas ad. This already sparked a lot of conversation about the brand, so it’s genius to incorporate this campaign again. Seeing as Coca-Cola has always had a strong brand image that has always stood for social issues, this is a great way to refine their brand identity in a way that makes sense.
Under Armour
While Under Armour has always had a pretty strong brand identity, the company has realized they need to move some spending around to really define it. Under Armour is increasing their marketing spend up to 12% of their revenue. In addition to that, they’re shifting money from its sports marketing initiatives to brand awareness. Statistics show that in terms of brand awareness and brand consideration, the sports apparel falls heavily behind their competitors like Nike and Adidas. This wasn’t the only issue the company faced. They also mentioned that they will be working on a new website, as their current one is “challenged”. The e-commerce platform proves difficult for customers, and they’re hoping to revamp it shortly.
All of this is to say that these companies knew their brands well enough to know when it was time to really focus on their identity. In Coke’s case, they know that people have always supported them in their stance on social issues. Sure, a few people here or there might renounce their love of the soda. But, the numbers have shown that they succeed when they stand up. Under Armour, on the other hand, realized that something was broken in their formula. Somewhere along the way, their brand lost its recognition. What made it stand out began to fade. So they made the choice to fix those broken bits.
Do you need help defining (or refining) your brand’s identity? Reach out today. Let the team at Wolf & Key find you your handpicked Wolf Pack.
