Contrary to what most business experts claim, “branding” is far more than a logo and a catchy slogan.

This is what I thought it when I started my first business 18 years ago!  I went through tons of clip art, designed a logo and a business card that I liked and poof I had a brand!

How naïve I was!

What I’ve noticed in the past 10 years or so is that branding (especially for smaller companies) means a whole lot more because of one BIG reason... 

 Your “brand” is really is an extension of your behaviour, your actions and your thinking.

Your brand is really YOU and YOU are your brand. 

This applies if you own or run a company or not!  So what’s your brand? 

What’s that catchy statement you make?

Can you live up to that statement?

You see your brand is so much more than that logo and tagline. Your brand is really the complete “experience” your customers (or friends, spouse, family…) have when they do business (or interact with you).  See, the way you interact with others really shows them and everyone around (who is awake enough to notice) what you think of “them” and of yourself!

IMHO, most brands are could fall into the “just fit in” or “middle of the road” category.  The same for the buying experience; middle of the road.  Hey – no one will write home or shout out for mediocrity!

So, if you’re up to it, how can you make your brand stand out? (See the secret formula below ;-)  Take a look back – how do you stand out?  How could you stand out?

How could you capture that and bring that into your business or daily interactions with others?

We’re (IMX… Alain, Rob and John) are very, very lucky – our video, branding, websites and graphic designs have stood out from day one!  We didn’t have to build that in! (but we know we have to continuously improve on it).

Take our first "product" NX Files for example, the world’s first on-line action adventure martial arts series.  NX Files started out as a single 5 minute web commercial to promote the opening of NX Martial Arts and Fitness in Orleans, Ontario.

We used a small Sony camcorder, we had no script or equipment and our ninjas had black t-shirts wrapped around their heads.  We just showed up and spent 5 hours laughing, arguing and working out what to do next!  When it went up on the Internet, viewers went crazy over it!  They demanded more (that's more advertising!!!) and it went viral very fast.

Now, because of our insatiable passion for making our work better and better, we (well Rob for the most part ;-) have gone from using t-shirt ninjas, garbage bag walls and simple special effects to creating incredible computer generated backgrounds, Hollywood class special effects and breathtaking visuals.  We now put that neat stuff in all our work… viral videos, graphic designs and sharp professional websites built on leading content management system technologies.

After doing a branding exercise recently, Alain, Rob and I came up with a branding statement that included the words “unique, exciting, fun” and most importantly, “eye-grabbing and attention getting”.  After all, we’re all about getting people and businesses noticed.

Take a look at our product examples, check out the videos on YouTube!

We’d love to help you with your branding, or make you go viral with an amazing video ;-)  But before you get all worked up about your brand, please remember that its more “experience” and less logo.

Cheers,

John