Branding is how audiences find, connect with and develop relationships with businesses. They put a human front to your company that, if done well, can trigger emotional responses that lead customers to choose your product over your competitors. Take a look at these four branding examples we think have nailed it.
1. AND UNION
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German beer brand AND UNION stands out in a saturated market thanks to their strippped-back branding. Minimal design and textured aluminum cans. Designed in-house with a mission to bust the myth that canned beer is cheap or somehow not as great as bottled or draught alternatives, it catches the eye when you spot it on the shelf.
Each type, from lager to IPA to stout, comes in a different color and is named after a different day of the week—so customers can enjoy “a full week of flavor.” The Sunday Pale Ale, for example, stands out in bright yellow and will make you think twice before chucking it straight into the recycling.
The minimal design also hints that the brand’s pared-back approach to brewing, instilling the idea that each aesthetically-pleasing can is brimming with clean, fresh beer.
Craft beer has had an undeniable come up over the past few years, but few beer brands cut through the noise like AND UNION.
2. The Wieners Circle
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Branding isn’t all about how your business looks. And that’s true for The Wieners Circle. It has developed its reputation on its personality. The Chicago hotdog stand has sat on Clark Street in Lincoln Park since 1983, and over the years its customers have grown loyal to its unique brand of playful banter.
Patrons of The Wieners Circle can expect an insult or two to be hurled at them by servers—which might not sound like a top tip when forging out your brand’s unique selling point (USP). But The Wieners Circle gets the balance of rude and endearing just right.
This just goes to show that while beautiful branding can go down a storm with some customers, others will be more attracted to outspoken political statements and a sense of humor they relate to. Just make sure it’s entirely authentic and doesn’t feel forced—negative attributes like these will push your customers away.
3. Bombay Electric
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High-end Mumbai fashion store, Bombay Electric, outsourced its eye-catching branding to a Parisian designer, Michael Thorsby. His vision was a bright, kaleidoscopic print that feels like you were watching a light show. And while plenty of brands have taken to eye-catching colors to increase the appeal of their product, what Bombay Electric does well is consistency.
In its store, its website, its Instagram page, its packaging, its newsletters… You name it, each element of its marketing materials keeps up this bright branding. The importance of this isn’t just to make it look great, but to remind customers who you are and what you do.
Bombay Electric’s customers won’t need to check the sender or the poster when they come across the store’s branded content in their inbox or social feeds. They’ll know without looking that it’s the fashion store’s signature style.
4. MKBHD
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MKBHD, the Youtube name of tech reviewer Marques Brownlee, has become more than just a social media handle. It’s become his whole brand. Known as one of the best and most reliable tech reviewers online, Brownlee’s red, black and white color palette is consistent across all his videos, social channels and website. Even if the exact branding changes slightly, his colors stay the same.
Regular watchers of MKBHD’s channel will notice that he even tends to wear these three colors. And if you’re thinking, “Why does it matter what colors a Youtuber chooses?” then the answer is simple: recognition.
By using the same three-way palette in all his videos, MKBHD can ensure that his thumbnails stand out to fans without them even needing to check the name of the creator. It doesn’t matter whether or not his fans personally relate to those colors—they don’t even need to like the combination. But it helps his content to stand out in a sea of online competition.
