Your crash course in branding. These are the terms we live by as we shape perceptions and drive connections for our clients — from A to Z.
Alignment
It’s imperative your internal perception and the external perception of your brand are in alignment. In other words, clients should see you as you see yourself. They’ll see that their values align with your values.
Backronym
Initialisms (like IBM) are spoken as letters, which themselves stand for whole words. Acronyms are the same thing, but pronounced like a word — think NASA. Backronyms are like acronyms, but they prioritize the spoken sound and find on-topic words to fit. Did you know WALL-E stands for “Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-class”?
Cacography
A name that is deliberately misspelled, often silly or comical, such as Froot Loops, Krispy Kreme or Playskool.
Differentiation
What separates your brand from your competition: what clear space can you own and capitalize on?
Empty Vessel Name
An Empty Vessel Name is one that has no connection to the product or service, such as Apple, Caterpillar or Starbucks. It’s a brave approach, but the simplest sound is often the most memorable.
Fanciful Brand Names
What our agency calls “coined terms” that bear no semantic connection to the company. While Empty Vessel Names are also unrelated, fanciful brand names are even more abstract — they’re made up words, like Kodak. At Leibowitz, we prefer making Portmanteaus — new terms made by combining two or more terms, like Netflix is Internet and Flicks — because they are mostly free and clear to trademark.
Gap
When things don’t line up or connect. Many companies suffer from the Brand Gap, which is when internal and external perceptions do not align. This confuses your audience, making it difficult for them to connect with you.
House of Brands
A brand architecture strategy where the parent company, or master brand, is the “umbrella” for all its sub-brands, which have their own unique identity and equity. But, the opposite can be true, too. The sub-brands share visual identity elements that tie them together under the strong master brand.
Intellectual Property Law
When naming a company, we insist on working with an intellectual property law firm to make sure the chosen name is free and clear to use. No one wants a cease and desist letter post launch!
Jungian Archetype
A universally recognizable, innately understood character type or role that a brand can embody. For example, a company can base its brand’s tone of voice on the archetype of “The Caregiver” if they want to emphasize the way they handle their clients.
Kaizen
Simply meaning “continuous improvement,” kaizen is a Japanese business philosophy that emphasizes perpetual change in practices, efficiency and performance that lead to organisational growth.
1. Know your customer
2. Let it flow
3. Go to Gemba
4. Empower people
5. Be transparent
A kaizen approach creates lasting brands.
Logo
A logo is usually the first thing your audiences will see, it’s a handshake. Whether it’s a wordmark, a unique type treatment or a graphic symbol, the best logos are distilled down to their simplest essence. As a designer, we ask ourselves, “what can we remove from this logo without losing the concept?”
Messaging
The language a company uses to communicate what it does, who it does it for, and why. Messaging is the heart of all communications from a company. In other words, it’s extremely important!
Naming
A company name is oftentimes just one word, but its impact on your brand is massive. In many cases, finding the right name comes down to feel, so we invite clients to test it out. How would it feel to pick up the phone and say “Hi, I’m So-and-So Doe from NewName Company”?
Objective
Arguably, the first step of any undertaking is to define the objective or goals of the project. All team members must understand and share the objective, so it’s crucial to address this — and nail it down. You never want to hear “You never asked my opinion!” on a foundational detail halfway through the project.
Perception
Our cornerstone — We strive to align how your clients perceive your company as your team perceives it. That’s the mark of a strong brand.
Qualitative Research
Research that focuses on non-numerical data. Paired with quantitative research, qualitative research reveals the ‘why’ behind the ‘what,’ helping brands connect more authentically with their audience.
Rebranding
Do you need a haircut, a new wardrobe or a facelift? To what degree is it necessary to change your brand’s strategic course, vision or value proposition? “Stale” feel, new products or services, new management? Rebrands can tweak or revamp, depending on what the research indicates is the best move.
Suggestive Brand Name
A brand name that alludes to the features and benefits of what a company offers (e.g., Aleve, Facebook, Subway).
Typography
Typography, otherwise known as “fonts”, is all too often overlooked. It makes your brand’s tone of voice unique. Do you whisper or scream? Let the type do the work!
Unique
Fear the herd, be bold and celebrate what is unique about your brand. Your audience will appreciate the clarity and make educated decisions to engage with you!
Vision
It’s fitting that Vision appears close to the end of this series. Vision is the total embodiment of brand identity, including market stance, values, mission, and purpose. How your brand connects externally also factors into Vision, like your desired impact on the world, emotions and transformations your audience will experience when your company’s goals are achieved. Vision is the future of your brand.
Wordmark
A distinct typographic treatment given to your brand name as a standalone representation without a separate logo. Consider Coca-Cola, FedEx, Google, IBM and Visa.
Xenodochial
From Greek, meaning “friendly to strangers,” xenodochial is a highly intellectual-sounding word for being friendly towards those you don’t know yet. Many brands take a xenodochial approach to shaping their prospective clients’ first impressions.
You
A strong brand starts with you. When you put a lotta love in everything you do, it’s contagious. When your brand shows off “the real you,” it makes connections.
Zoom In and Out
At Leibowitz, we liken the process of fine-tuning the nuances of a brand to manually focusing a camera. You have to dial to the right, then dial to the left until you’re in focus. Through exploration, we can be more confident that our solutions are on strategy and on target.