How Real Brands Are Built: A Clearer Look at the Identity Process
- Michael Bigos
- Aug 5
- 8 min read
Overview
Branding can seem overwhelming for startups, small businesses, and non-profits that have never undergone a full brand identity engagement. This blog demystifies the process, covering essential steps like market positioning, brand discovery, strategic messaging, identity design, and ongoing refinement. It also provides insights into branding costs across different regions in the U.S., helping businesses budget effectively. Whether you’re launching your brand or scaling to the next level, this guide equips you with the knowledge to build a strong, cohesive identity that drives growth.
THE TRUTH:
what we know yet, may not always admit...
Stepping into the world of branding can feel like navigating an unfamiliar terrain, one filled with uncertainty, myths, and the unknown. For startups, small businesses, and nonprofits that have never undergone a full brand identity engagement, the idea of brand discovery, strategy, design, and implementation can seem overwhelming.
Branding is not an enigma reserved for elite corporations. It is the bridge between your offer and your audience—the foundation that positions you for growth and long-term success. Let’s break down the process, dispel the fears, and show you how simple (yet profound) branding can be when approached with the right strategy.
Best Practices for Implementing an authentic Brand Identity System
1. Identifying Where You Truly Belong in the Market
Many businesses launch with an idea but struggle to find their true space in the market. Are you positioning yourself as a premium solution, an industry disruptor, or a trusted community staple? Identifying where you belong ensures that your brand aligns with the right audience and speaks their language. There's already enough competition with very similar products and services grasping for attention and a heap of the market-share. Make it easier for your ideal customer to find you, understand your offer, and eager to spend time and money with you.
To determine your position, consider:
Your unique value proposition – What do you offer that others don’t?
Competitive analysis – Who else is in your space, and how do you compare?
Customer perception – How do your customers currently see you, and how do you want to be perceived?
Finding your true market position is about more than just what you sell—it’s about where you belong in the hearts and minds of your audience. As one of my favorite "brand guys" once put it, "Your brand is what they say about you when you're not in the room?" - Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com
EXAMPLE: Mike Bigos lead Brea's Coffee, a mobile cafe to deeper insights about their unique position in the marketplace. Leveraging discovery, deep insights and the process of extrapolation, Brea's Coffee was able to successfully relaunch themselves with a clear brand identity, messaging and valuable touchpoints which helped to increase sales, engagement and grow their business from year to year.
2. Undergoing a Thorough Brand Discovery Process
Many startups and small businesses rush into the marketplace eager to make an impact—only to find themselves struggling to gain traction. Without a deep understanding of their identity, they waste resources on ineffective marketing, inconsistent messaging, and disconnected branding that fails to resonate with their audience. The result? Confusion, missed opportunities, and a frustrating cycle of trial and error.
Brand discovery is more than just defining your logo and colors; it’s about uncovering the essence of your business. This involves:
Defining your core mission, vision, and values – Your mission is what you do, your vision is where you’re going, and your values define how you get there.
Understanding what sets you apart – Your differentiators need to be clear and compelling.
Identifying your ideal customer’s needs, desires, and pain points – This ensures your branding speaks directly to the people who matter most.
A solid discovery process provides clarity on what your brand should look, feel, and sound like—giving you a foundation for building an identity that resonates.
3. Strategic Positioning, Messaging, Tone, and Voice
Once discovery is complete, it’s time to develop a strategic blueprint that informs every aspect of your brand’s presence. At Mantle Branding, this begins by narrowing your focus—identifying the most authentic adjectives and emotional cues that describe your brand. Through collaborative engagements and workshops, we help clients pinpoint the tone and voice that align with their personality, purpose, and audience expectations.
This includes:
Positioning that clearly defines where your brand sits in the market – Are you offering transformational change, expert guidance, everyday reliability, or premium exclusivity?
Messaging that speaks to your audience with clarity and impact – We use tools like the "One-Liner Method," which helps distill your message into a simple, compelling statement that clearly communicates what you offer, who it’s for, and why it matters.
Values, tone, and voice that create consistency across all touchpoints – Whether your tone is conversational, authoritative, inspiring, or warm, we craft messaging guidelines that ensure consistency—from your website to social media, print, email, and beyond.
Case in Point: Mantle Branding helped Fifth & Bark, a unique dog grooming business clarify their unique value proposition within the pet-wellness sector. Through strategic positioning, they connected deeply with their audience, standing out in a crowded market and have been booked non-stop for over 2 years - which led to them acquiring their first brick and mortar location in the heart of their target market.
4. Designing and Implementing a Cohesive Brand Identity System
A cohesive brand identity is more than just aesthetics—it’s the visual and strategic backbone of your business. It communicates your mission, evokes emotion, builds recognition, and fosters trust. Whether you're launching a new business or scaling an existing one, a strong identity system aligns your visual presence with your brand strategy to create a consistent, memorable experience at every touchpoint.
What Does a Well-Crafted Brand Identity System Include?
Logo Suite with Strategic Variations - Your logo is the cornerstone of your identity. A complete logo suite includes multiple variations (primary, secondary, submarks, iconography) to ensure flexibility across mediums—from social media avatars and packaging to watermarks and signage.
Purposeful Color Palette - Colors evoke emotion and reinforce brand values. A thoughtfully selected palette supports your messaging by aligning with psychological cues (e.g., blue for trust, red for excitement) and ensuring visual harmony across platforms.
Strategic Typography - Fonts play a vital role in your brand’s voice. Whether you’re conveying sophistication, creativity, or boldness, your type system (headlines, subheadings, body copy) must align with your personality and support legibility and accessibility.
Marketing Collateral & Digital Assets - Consistency builds credibility. Branded materials such as business cards, email signatures, social media templates, presentation decks, and merchandise unify your message and elevate your professionalism across all customer-facing channels.
The Stepped Process: From Discovery to Implementation
To ensure the brand identity system is both beautiful and functional, clients typically progress through the following process:
Step 1: Discovery & Strategy Alignment
Step 2: Creative Direction & Moodboarding
Step 3: Logo Development & Typography Exploration
Step 4: Color Palette & Design System Creation
Step 5: Asset Production & Brand Collateral
Step 6: Brand Guidelines Documentation
We wrap everything into a Brand Style Guide (or Brand Book)—a reference manual detailing logo usage, color codes, typography rules, imagery style, and more. This ensures consistency whether you're onboarding internal teams or outsourcing creatives.
Integrating the Brand Identity Into the Business Fabric
Whether you're a startup laying your foundation or an established business scaling to new markets, your brand identity should be deeply woven into:
Operations (from customer service tone to internal communications)
Sales and Marketing (pitch decks, product packaging, website, social media)
Culture and Recruitment (brand-aligned employee handbooks, internal swag)
Partnerships and PR (co-branded materials, press kits, sponsorship collateral)
When consistently applied, your brand identity becomes a language that speaks for you, enabling growth, clarity, and customer confidence.
Impact: My collaboration with WCEM on The Switch Conference delivered a powerful omni-channel experience that went beyond event logistics. By aligning every in-person and digital touchpoint, he helped transform the conference into a deeply impactful, empowering journey for women—fostering connection, growth, and long-lasting inspiration.
5. Understand Pricing and Budget for Success
There’s no one-size-fits-all pricing model when it comes to branding. The cost of branding can range dramatically depending on where you're located, what you need, and who you hire to bring your brand to life.
Region
In large metropolitan areas or countries with a higher cost of living, branding services will typically cost more. This is due to the overhead, market demand, and competitive landscape. On the flip side, working with providers in smaller markets or overseas might lower the cost, though time zone differences and communication gaps can occasionally present challenges.
Scope
A simple logo refresh will cost less than a full-blown brand identity system with messaging, strategy, guidelines, collateral, and website design. The more comprehensive your deliverables, the more time, expertise, and coordination is required.
Engagement Type
This is where the rock-paper-scissors analogy comes into play. Different engagement types—freelancers, brand consultants, and agencies—offer their own unique blend of trade-offs in cost, speed, and support...See below breakdowns.
Freelancers = Scissors
Use When: You need quick design work, a logo, or a basic visual refresh and have a clear vision or internal strategy already in place.
Advantages: Fast, affordable, and flexible. Freelancers are great for straightforward projects, especially if you're on a tight timeline or budget.
Disadvantages: You may need to manage them closely, provide clearer direction, and handle multiple freelancers if your needs expand (strategy, design, copy, etc.). Risk of inconsistent quality or lack of strategic alignment.
Consultants = Paper
Use When: You want to build a brand that’s rooted in strategy and you're looking for a partner to help define and align your message with your visuals.
Advantages: A great middle ground. Consultants offer more depth and process than freelancers and can guide the brand from strategy through to design. They typically bring a wider perspective, strategic clarity, and streamlined communication.
Disadvantages: Slightly higher costs, and while more structured, they may still lack the resources of a full team (e.g., copywriting, animation, UI/UX).
Agency = Rock
Use When: You’re launching a national product, rebranding a complex organization, or need a full suite of services including research, naming, strategy, identity, guidelines, and rollout plans.
Advantages: High polish, robust processes, specialized teams, and accountability. Agencies come with brand strategists, art directors, designers, writers, and project managers—giving you full-service support and top-tier outcomes.
Disadvantages: Highest cost, longer lead times, and sometimes more red tape. You might feel like a small fish in a big pond depending on their client list.
6. Monitor, Refine, and Scale as You Grow
Branding doesn’t stop once the logo is applied. You must ensure you're prepared to maintain momentum, and by doing so, embark on a journey which sets you apart from a vast amount of your immediate competitors. Many startup businesses are focussed on sales and profits, and while that's not a bas thing of course, ignoring your brand's footprint and engagements is a recipe for short-lived impact turned short lived longevity.
In order to increase your probability of ongoing success businesses must:
Track audience engagement and feedback – Monitor how customers respond to your branding efforts. Implement methods of feedback and surveys which can lead to valuable insights and social-proof.
Adjust messaging and design elements as needed – Stay flexible to adapt to market shifts.
Stay adaptable to market shifts – Trends and customer preferences evolve, and your brand should evolve with them.
LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS - Customers undergo various brand-experiences daily, and generally spend their hard earned money with products and services whom they enjoy and who are attentive to their needs. If they take time to share their sentiments with your business, take a moment to listen. While this is NOT a "the customer is always right" endorsement, you can indeed learn valuable insights from your customers whom engage with your business.
Businesses that scale effectively know when to refine their branding to match their next level of growth. Mantle Branding has helped multiple clients evolve their brand identity as they transition from startups to established enterprises.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re launching your brand for the first time or reaching a point where you need to scale to new heights, Mantle Branding, LLC is here to guide you. If you’re a startup or small business looking to define your identity, we’ll help you find your voice and your audience. And if you’re an established business realizing there’s another level to climb, we’ll refine your brand so it grows with you.
Your brand journey starts here. Let’s build something extraordinary together. Go>>
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