Making your brand stand out in a cut-throat industry is tough. Consumers don’t only consider product or service quality when choosing a brand. It’s the whole shebang behind your brand—your branding, corporate identity, and image that reflects your core values and mission. A unique story that consumers can relate to could be a huge deciding factor. Also, creating impactful branding visuals contributes to brand recognition. And no one can do this better than a branding agency. Here’s what a brand identity agency service does and some of the best branding identity agencies in the U.S.
What Does a Brand Identity Agency Service Do?
A brand identity agency helps you craft your brand messaging and offers in a way that resonates with your target audience. Before launching, a branding agency researches, brainstorms, creates, plans, monitors, and manages client brand strategies. This includes marketing and advertising and all your digital assets.
A branding identity agency helps develop a company’s branding, including your brand name, identity, taglines, and logo. However, a branding company goes beyond crafting the most compelling logos or web designs. It shapes your entire brand’s personality. One that your target audience will surely love and relate to. They also help in pointing out your unique value proposition so your target audience will see your competitive advantage.
A branding agency helps brands communicate their values, mission, goals, beliefs and offers visually appealingly. They help shape consumers’ and stakeholders’ perceptions of your brand by showcasing your unique identity.
Roles and Responsibilities of Branding Agency Teams
Working with a brand identity agency may come with a steep fee. That’s because you’ll have a whole team of creatives working with your team. These are the roles and responsibilities of every member of a branding agency:
- Account director: They liaise between the agency’s creative team and client. They are responsible for creating new accounts and working closely with senior managers.
- Account manager: They work closely with the client daily. Account managers monitor client’s projects and ensure everything is right on schedule.
- Account executive: This role is considered the primary point of contact for the client. They look after the daily operations within the account team.
- Creative director: A creative director is responsible for the ideas and concepts of the creative work. They ensure the campaigns are compelling and a brand’s messaging and values are conveyed.
- Art director: An art director manages the visual output of the creative work. They oversee the entire creative process and polish it before client submission.
- Design director: This role is responsible for the client’s advertising and branding design. They ensure the design meets the client’s needs and requirements.
- Designer: Designers, such as graphic designers, are responsible for creating creative visuals for the client.
- Copywriter: The copywriter works closely with the art director to ensure the copy aligns with the branding and advertising visuals. Copywriters must have a knack for words.
- Photographer/Audiovisual producers: These roles tell a brand’s story more accurately and captivatingly. While some brand identity agencies hire in-house, they may also work with third-party services for these roles.
- Brand strategist: They conduct research, analysis and ensure they’re up-to-date with market data trends. They provide reports on current data and information that will help the agency in the long-term.
- Digital strategist: This person ensures that the campaigns are suitable for online promotion. A data strategist may also take on the role of a web developer or designer.
Top Branding Agencies in 2023
When choosing the best branding agency, do your due diligence to check the company’s track record and portfolio. Determine what popular and successful brands they’ve worked with before and what industries. Here are some of the best branding agencies in the United States.
Pentagram offers a unique structure wherein the agency’s owners are also the creatives who work on clients’ projects. It’s an independently owned and multi-disciplinary design studio that will help with your branding and advertising assets. Its work encompasses strategy and positioning, graphics and identity, products and packaging, advertising and communications, data visualization and typefaces, and exhibitions and installations.
Siegel+Gale is another well-known brand identity design agency that believes in the power of simplicity. The company thrives on the adage, “Less is more.” They own it, defend it, and live by it. Founded in 1969, Siegel+Gale has worked with 3M, Metrocard, NBA, CVS, and other successful brands today. Siegel+Gale designed the iconic NBA logo, which is recognized worldwide. They are the champions of simplicity, which is a significant factor in their success. They partner with leading global brands, nonprofits, and organizations and forge deeper client relationships for impressive results.
Lippincott combines bold creativity with strategic rigor to drive growth for clients. Over the last 75 years, Lippincott has worked with iconic brands like Samsung, Starbucks, and Coca-Cola. It’s a full-service branding agency that helps with brand positioning, brand architecture, brand portfolio, identity and expression, names and taglines, management, and governance.
They also drive innovation through growth strategies, venture planning, concept development, and more. Plus, they deal with design, marketing, and experience. Finally, they harness your company’s employees for enduring industry and market impact through employee value proposition, engagement, internal communications, and capability building.
Conclusion
Working with a brand identity agency will propel your company to the top. You’ll see your brand reaching its pinnacle of success through engaging messaging, compelling visuals, excellent customer support, and quality products. Moreover, these branding agencies also help your internal communications and systems to ensure quality and professionalism within the organization. If you want your brand to stand out in fierce competition, working with a branding agency will augment brand recognition and expand your reach.