Branding in Singapore: 6 Questions to Ask Your Branding Agency

Branding is a rather long and laborious process that requires some few months of hard work, sweat and tears. Designing a logo, developing a brand identity guide and the building of brand awareness is only a portion of what you can expect from a comprehensive branding strategy. Bigger brands may see the need to engage branding agencies to devise a strategic brand architecture strategy as well. To fully immerse yourself in an all-encompassing branding process, it is first important to seek out the right partner to execute this project for you. There are many branding consultants in Singapore but which one’s the right one for you? Asking the right questions before engaging them, can land you a competent partner who can both establish your brand identity on the market and differentiate your brand from its competitors. So if you’re looking for a successful agency-partner relationship, go forth and ask these question to find you the perfect one. 

Q1. What is your branding strategic process like?

Managing expectations is an essential task in any agency-partner relationship. This is to get both yourself and your agency on the same page and look forward to the same end enduring results. So if you’re simply looking for a logo revamp, a design agency can do just that for you. But branding is more than just a logo. For us, our entire strategy is built on the basis of these 3 core branding principles —

• Creating a brand story: Telling a story, communicating an idea or sharing experience is all part of your brand story. We craft and narrate your authentic brand story through effective touch points, sound digital marketing strategies and branded interactions. What are your brand values that you stand up for? What are your brand attributes? How do you envision the impact that this brand will bring to the world? All this and more, will be crafted in accordance to ideals and feasibility. In our Brand Alignment workshops, these questions may be included to ensure alignment of all stakeholders and board directors. There are three facets of goal-setting, business goals, brand goals and user goals. 

Some general key questions for the business goals include   include the following.

1. What is the big picture vision or aspiration you look forward to be?
2. What are the key business goals are from now to the next 5 – 15 years?
3. What are the milestones that you’re hoping to achieve?
4. Who are your ideal target audience for this brand rebrand?
5. What are the possible drawbacks that you’ve identified for the project? Could be potentially make the project fail?
6. What are some industry trends you notice emerging in your sector? Are you doing anything about it?

More will be cleared in the 2 hour mandatory brand workshop when you engage a branding agency to handle your branding projects.

• Shaping a brand image: From brand colours to logos and brand identity, we’ve got you covered. How do you want to position your brand? What is your brand positioning? When you attend our Brand Alignment workshop to kickstart the project, we’ll take you through the process of understanding your audience,  your products, your services and more. In order to achieve an effective branded interaction for the long run, all these foundational elements will need to be carefully considered. The last thing you want is to be perceived wrongly by your customers. For example, what personalities resonate with your brand?

Some key questions that we’d ask include.

1. If your brand is a person, what are his/her characteristics?
2. What is his/her psychosocial motivations when purchasing items from brands?
3. Is he/she introverted or extroverted?
4. Is he/she sassy or professional?
5. What are his/her social affiliations?
6. Which aspect of the brand benefits excite them? (e.g. emotional fulfilment, brand association

• Nurturing brand behaviour: An effective brand strategy includes evaluating the ways in which a brand communicates to its consumers and enhancing the brand user experience of the consumer via different interfaces or mediums. In order to apply branding holistically across different branding touch points, strategies will have to be conceptualised per touchpoint.

Understanding your partner’s creative process is key in helping you make the right choice. A good agency will walk you through its strategic process. If you like what you hear, you’re at the right place then!   

Q2. Are you able to execute a campaign focused on brand identity?

For new brands who are looking to create an impactful brand identity right from the get-go, branding agencies are able to execute them for you. If you already have a brand identity guide, then you’ll need to talk to the agency on executing your identity across the different marketing and physical touch points that you may have with your customers. Digital brand campaigns are becoming a norm in this digital age. However, there are situations where physical on-site brand activations are necessary to propagate the right brand message. Let the brand consultancy study the best way to move forward to create the brand awareness that you seek for. 

Q3. What are some of your most successful branding projects thus far?

Knowing your prospective agency’s track record is a good gauge to see if they are a good fit for your brand. By looking at their past works, you are able to tell their forte and inclinations towards design and copywriting, which will be beneficial for you to set your own. Do a quick cursory search on the internet and you should be good to go. Of course, sometimes you just got to rely on your gut feel. When engaging a branding agency in Singapore, you’ll need to jive with the brand strategists as they will be the one conceptualising the brand for you. 

Q4. How can we help as part of the branding process?

As the client, you hold key information to make this branding project a huge success. Despite you having no expertise in this area, it is vital to know that your cooperation and guidance can attribute to making the whole strategy more substantial. In order to do so, it is good to clarify from the get-go how much of your involvement is required before embarking on the project. This sets clear boundaries for the agency and the client before any miscommunications arise. That being said, in our branding agency, we make Brand Alignment Workshops mandatory, to get all key stakeholders from our client’s team to come together for a goal-setting and direction-setting workshop. If necessary, we’ll conduct focus groups as well.

Some of the questions

Q5. How long will it take to get my project completed?

Branding cannot be done in a day, week or even a month. From research to conceptualisation and implementation, the different stages of branding in total may take anywhere from 4. – 9 months. Setting check-ins and important milestones are crucial for both the agency and the client to keep track of the project’s progress. Do also keep in mind the number of deliverables and rounds of changes before agreeing to the given timeline. Always know what you’re in for! 

Q6. What are your success metrics like?

Although everything is up and running, it doesn’t mean the work stops there. Ask your branding agency how they would evaluate and measure the true ROI of their efforts. The time taken to see a brand reaping the full benefits of its branding efforts may take months or even years. But that doesn’t mean the agency can’t take note of the initial reactions and experiences of consumers nonetheless. The three key success metrics should cover 

1. Brand Interaction
2. Brand Engagement
3. Brand Participation

Finding the Straw to your Berry

Choosing a particular brand agency means you’re in it for the long run. But picking the right partner to build your brand also means that your company is able to attract new customers and keep them longer. So asking the right questions before you hire one would definitely help in making sure that the glove fits. Got more questions on what entails a branding process? Come chat with our brand guardians and they’ll be more than glad to walk you through it!