Beyond The Obvious: The Finer Points of Your Brand

Stop for a moment and think about three ways you could answer this question: Who are you?

Unless you’re remarkably (and I mean remarkably) shallow, you probably didn’t answer that question with a description of the clothes you picked out this morning. Sure, your wardrobe helps you represent the personality you’ve been cultivating and evolving since seventh grade, but it’s not the alpha and omega of your identity.

The visual elements of your brand are a lot like your company’s clothes. They’re the first thing people notice when they see you, so they have to look sharp and project the image your company wants to project, but they shouldn’t be the image itself. Your brand runs much, much deeper than a logo and a color palette, and we’re always working with our clients to develop ways to communicate their identities.

Customers base their behavior on far more than impressive logos and clever taglines, and your brand should effectively communicate just what they can expect when they set foot in your store or office.

A great brand encapsulates many of your organization’s most fundamental elements:

Your Values: What makes your company tick? Are you interested in aligning yourself with the biggest and most important folks in your industry or do you have a soft spot for startup culture? Are you a risk taker or are you more conservative? What’s your standard of service? Be Honest. If you’re not honest with yourself about what your organization stands for, your brand will never be able to paint an honest picture of it.
Your Unique Selling Points: You provide an excellent product and great customer service at a good price. Guess what? Everyone else says that. That’s just the cost of doing business. Think of something more specific to your company. Think “Every customer receives a dedicated CSR” instead of “great customer service.”
Your Vision: “Over One Billion Served” may be a great tagline if you’re a fast-food restaurant slinging hamburgers. It’s not so great if you’re a boutique marketing agency or a community bank or a garden center. You probably know where your sweet spot is – your ideal size, customer type and service level. Your brand, if constructed correctly, will encapsulate those ambitions, help communicate them to potential customers.
Your Voice: Barack Obama, Jimmy Fallon and Marshawn Lynch all speak very differently – and you understand them better for it. Your brand voice is another important way to differentiate yourself, and help customers immediately understand you. Are you formal, reserved and traditional, or fast-moving, fun-loving and quirky? A polished brand voice will help your customers know instantly.

We love a good logo and color scheme. (I mean we love it!) That’s not the limit of your brand, however, and we’re ready to help you find or strengthen your brand. Remember: Every aspect of your company’s communications speaks volumes about your brand, your company and your products or services.

Is it saying what you want your customers to hear?

Back to All Insights

Brittany Mathisen

2023-09-27

OTM has been a wonderful marketing partner for the last four years. We have shifted marketing plans over time and they are very open and explained all the details as we moved forward with new plans. They have done everything from help design and update offices, managed social media, planning marketing events, and many more things. The Hear for Holidays Event that we do each year is one of my favorite events that we work on together. Rachel and the whole OTM team have brought my marketing vision to life and I love everything they have done for my business. I look forward to what the future holds as we continue to work together.

Yvonne Myers

2023-07-30

I worked with Old Town Media (OTM) on a quick grant project that had a 6-week timeline. They were very thoughtful about whether they could meet the grant expectations and needs before accepting the work. The team at OTM then completed extensive research and facilitated focus groups to ensure the product they created met the needs of the end-users. They met all of the grant deadlines and far exceeded our expectations of the portal they created for us! I would not hesitate to use their services again and highly recommend them to others looking for a professional, high quality, and FUN team to work with.

Julie Dokoupil

2023-07-18

OTM is a locally owned firm that I have worked with for over 13 years. They are an amazing team of people who know and understand current marketing technology and strategies. My husband and I are starting a new business and they have helped us out even with small details to get our business going.

TunDesign

2023-06-20

I have seen a significant increase in community engagement which has helped bolster our brand presence, exceeding the expectations of the entire team. Carrie and her team provides consistent communication through slack and emails which has led to an effective and trusted partnership. Truly appreciate how hard-working, agile, and driven everyone on the team is. Thanks again for eveything your team has done for our company.

David Haase

2023-06-07

OTM has done a fantastic job bringing the Fort Collins Peach Festival back to the public! OTM is dealing with several volunteers on a committee and keeping everyone informed, best in business advice and a platform that will serve us for years. We didn't know what we needed and were presented with choices and educated about each before implementation. Kerrie and Brianna have done great work for us! Dave Haase Committee Chair Fort Collins Peach Festival

Dana Sednek

2023-03-15

Using their Path to Growth Model, OTM not only gave me a path forward, but they helped me clarify my strategy, direction, and actions for how to set and launch my business. I was able to launch quickly and I see the flywheel ahead that is necessary to accelerate customer intake and revenue building. Thrilled with the outcome!!!

Liza Adams

2023-01-13

As the Head of Marketing at Encompass Technologies, I considered Old Town Media an extension of our marketing team. OTM worked closely with us on rebranding and repositioning, multiple industry-first product launches, key industry events, and integrated demand generation campaigns while we grew our marketing team and acquired new companies. With the help of OTM, we grew our pipeline and bested industry benchmarks for Software as a Service (SaaS) sales and marketing efficiency metrics. We came to rely on OTM for tactical execution to augment our team but where they added the most value was in our rebranding strategy and market positioning efforts. OTM played an integral role in conducting research and deeply understanding our market dynamics, ideal customer profile, customer challenges, competitive landscape, products and innovation, key differentiators, vision, and mission. This was no easy feat with a highly complex ecosystem, multiple segments, wide variety of audiences, and a broad array of products. Armed with market insights, OTM helped us develop a compelling brand, an inspirational story reflecting our vision and strategy, a unique and defensible market position, and messaging that was relevant to our target audiences. I appreciated that the team was respectful and empathetic, intently curious, insightful with their observations and recommendations, and candid with their feedback. OTM set realistic expectations about deliverables/scope, level of effort, roles, timeline, and cost. The team was responsive, highly collaborative, and open to suggestions. OTM plugged our expertise and resource gaps which allowed us to break the compromise between doing good work and doing it quickly. On top of that, they were fun to work with. OTM was truly a partner of the business.

Eric Dengler

2023-01-11

Great team! Small company service. Big firm power and expertise.

zach fulton

2023-01-06

Simply put, OTM is a well oiled machine! Thanks for all you do

Beyond The Obvious: The Finer Points of Your Brand

Growing a business
is hard and finding the
right partner matters.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Our Location

Quick Links