NewStats: 3,264,384 , 8,183,564 topics. Date: Tuesday, 10 June 2025 at 08:52 PM 713h6y

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When branding is considered, many light up over choosing colours, deg logos, stationery and the likes.

However, when we ask questions like 'who is the brand for' and 'why will they buy from you instead of your competition', the excitement quickly fades away; sometimes, to a point where it becomes “oga, all these questions, are you deg or we should take our business elsewhere?”

Quick question.
Does anyone buy anything from someone only because they have a big, shiny logo and business card? No? So do we suddenly feel someone else will do so just because we own the business?

What is a brand?
A brand is PEOPLE'S IMPRESSION of something. It could be of a person, product, service, business, etcetera.

What is branding?
I like to define this as the act of shaping your desired impression in the mind of people.

Design alone will not achieve this and design that does not tie into the process of achieving this is just fine-art.

Successful brands are strategically rooted around a good cause, people and emotions.

The following among others, form the strategy that makes a brand successful;

- A clear purpose of existence centered on a good cause for humanity. [Nike: bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world. *if you have a body, you are an athlete.]

- Expression of benefits offered and how it addresses the concerns of the target audience, not just product features.

- Defined target audience; their pychographics (values, lifestyle, interests, concerns, etc), communities where they exist, defined sales process and loyalty programs to keep them coming back.

- Differentiation from leading competitors.

Now, communicate all of it with outstanding verbal and visual [graphic design] identity design as well as systematic brand communications, then you are building a brand.

But this is all English right?
To create a better (less boring) picture that businesses can easily adopt, I executed the brand development process and created a guide manual for Air Peace on my Instagram page last year. Based on reviews and demand, to serve as guide, I am executing from scratch, the brand development for the fictitious product attached here.

I will share the rest of the project in the future but if you are interested in following the progress as I move along, it's all on my Instagram @thisisyox | www.instagram.com/thisisyox


#ThisIsYox

more images

more images

When branding is considered, many light up over choosing colours, deg logos, stationery and the likes.

However, when we ask questions like 'who is the brand for' and 'why will they buy from you instead of your competition', the excitement quickly fades away; sometimes, to a point where it becomes “oga, all these questions, are you deg or we should take our business elsewhere?”

Quick question.
Does anyone buy anything from someone only because they have a big, shiny logo and business card? No? So do we suddenly feel someone else will do so just because we own the business?

What is a brand?
A brand is PEOPLE'S IMPRESSION of something. It could be of a person, product, service, business, etcetera.

What is branding?
I like to define this as the act of shaping your desired impression in the mind of people.

Design alone will not achieve this and design that does not tie into the process of achieving this is just fine-art.

Successful brands are strategically rooted around a good cause, people and emotions.

The following among others, form the strategy that makes a brand successful;

- A clear purpose of existence centered on a good cause for humanity. [Nike: bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world. *if you have a body, you are an athlete.]

- Expression of benefits offered and how it addresses the concerns of the target audience, not just product features.

- Defined target audience; their pychographics (values, lifestyle, interests, concerns, etc), communities where they exist, defined sales process and loyalty programs to keep them coming back.

- Differentiation from leading competitors.

Now, communicate all of it with outstanding verbal and visual [graphic design] identity design as well as systematic brand communications, then you are building a brand.

But this is all English right?
To create a better (less boring) picture that businesses can easily adopt, I executed the brand development process and created a guide manual for Air Peace on my Instagram page last year. Based on reviews and demand, to serve as guide, I am executing from scratch, the brand development for the fictitious product attached here.

I will share the rest of the project in the future but if you are interested in following the progress as I move along, it's all on my Instagram @thisisyox | www.instagram.com/thisisyox


#ThisIsYox

akinalabi:


Thank you very much.

A lot of people these days have turned the art of branding into something else. They think its about the logo, business cards, colourful polo shirts and other mundane things.

When someone can say something like "I need to change some dollars into Naira" and people can say "go to Mallam Abubakar at Shop 19 in whatever market. You are safe with him. He will give you good rates. You are sure to get your money on the spot. etc etc" then the Mallam has BUILT A STRONG BRAND. Like you said, Relevance, Differentiation, Credibility and Consistency.

He probably does not have a logo.

Nicely simplified

Boomshakala! Hello Nigeria, Africa and every corner of the globe from where you are reading our post. Quite some time. Hope favour, grace and her relatives have been smiling down on you?

You probably can feel the excitement in my tone right? Of course! If not, why would we be giving a whopping 68% discount on a good number of our services? Before I delve into the details of the discount that might be beneficial to you, let me first explain why.

A few days back, we were interviewed by the Punch Newspaper. (Ok, not all of us at the studio, just our creative director but it is only fair we all take a good share of the credit too you know). Punch Newspaper’s aim was to use our success story to encourage young entrepreneurs to spring up and also not give up at what they are doing. You can find the online version of the interview here; http://www.punchng.com/business/young-entrepreneur/mentoring-key-to-early-success-yoloye/

In celebration of this recent development (probably because we are geeks who know nothing about the life of the party), we have chosen not to leave the encouragement duties to Punch Newspaper alone so we are offering a 68% discount on identity design, print of our classy Edge™ business cards, print of letterheads and website development to 10 new or young businesses. For full details and to apply for the special offer please visit www.offer.yoxstudios.com.

We would like to say a special thank you to the 200+ and counting clients who have made us this much of a success story in just above 3 years. As always, we pray, may your competitors be GREEN with envy.

operave:
Pls how much should a person colect for deg a logo for a client

Even though this design and its caption were developed just for laughs (out of a true life situation I must it), like everything else in life, it has generated a lot of debate.

In every debate, there will always be 3 parties. Those against, those for and those who will be neutral. This image has been everywhere; BB, twitter, facebook and nairaland so I’ve been able to gather lots of fors and againsts. First and foremost, brand identity is not a commodity and as such, there is no fixed price for it. The simplest basis for determining a price would be; the maximum the client is willing to pay, the minimum the identity developer is willing to collect and (an influencing factor on the first two) the value of what is given/received (whether actual or perceived). Even the almighty formula cannot generate a constant figure using this basis. I personally have received more than N30,000 for a logo design on some occasions and I have received less at other times.

Having said that, I can now clearly state that the figures in this design were just to make a point while also creating symmetry between both prices 3000 – 30,000.

Secondly, both the fors and against are perfectly right from their stand point. Let’s see it this way; with N300,000 you can buy a car. A Nigerian used 1992 model, manual transmission, Honda civic goes for plus or minus N300,000. If moving from point A to point B is your only rationale for buying a car you’re always going to see spending N22,000,000 on a 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL550 as total madness. Does that make you wrong? Considering your rationale, you’re definitely not wrong.

So if to you a logo is just a combination of shapes and colours which you paste on all materials that goes out of your shop, you should definitely not pay more than N3000 for a logo.

However, if you see and understand a logo to be just a step in the entirety of a brand identity process developed to attract, engage and compel the right market segment to patronize your product/service, you should not be looking for a N3000 logo. The experience required to do this is beyond just practicing with design softwares everyday.

This brings us back to the story of the cars... Continue reading at: http://yoxstudios.com/how-much-should-a-logo-cost

Boomshakala! Hello Nigeria, Africa and every corner of the globe from where you are reading our post. Quite some time. Hope favour, grace and her relatives have been smiling down on you?

You probably can feel the excitement in my tone right? Of course! If not, why would we be giving a whopping 68% discount on a good number of our services? Before I delve into the details of the discount that might be beneficial to you, let me first explain why.

A few days back, we were interviewed by the Punch Newspaper. (Ok, not all of us at the studio, just our creative director but it is only fair we all take a good share of the credit too you know). Punch Newspaper’s aim was to use our success story to encourage young entrepreneurs to spring up and also not give up at what they are doing. You can find the online version of the interview here; http://www.punchng.com/business/young-entrepreneur/mentoring-key-to-early-success-yoloye/

In celebration of this recent development (probably because we are geeks who know nothing about the life of the party), we have chosen not to leave the encouragement duties to Punch Newspaper alone so we are offering a 68% discount on identity design, print of our classy Edge™ business cards, print of letterheads and website development to 10 new or young businesses. For full details and to apply for the special offer please visit www.offer.yoxstudios.com.

We would like to say a special thank you to the 200+ and counting clients who have made us this much of a success story in just above 3 years. As always, we pray, may your competitors be GREEN with envy.

Written by Oluwatobi Soyombo - Intern at www.socialmeep.com

In your effort to boost your brand effectiveness it is important that you have an online platform of yours to communicate with your potential audience. Facebook, twitter and other social networking platforms might not just be sufficient to earn you a great online brand reputation. Unfortunately, many business owners do not know that having a blog earns you trust before your audience.

Interestingly, there has never been a best time for small businesses to have a blog than TODAY. Small businesses have never had an audience as large as this since the time immemorial. Yes, true that! With over 8.2 billion pages of articles, the web is constantly growing and there’s a way business owners and their ventures can benefit from this wave.



Reasons why every small business MUST blog

Cheaper ment:
Now that more people are getting online in recent times, a blog provides a cheap way of advertising your products and services. Compared to traditional marketing means, a blog is far cheaper. While it will take you millions of naira to run a TV advert which might not even captivate viewers; it usually cost less than that to get a professional blog up and running for a year.

24/7/365 Access:
Another great advantage of having your own blog is that your audience have full access to your content any time of the day, month and year. For now, no other ment medium boasts of this great advantage other than the World Wide Web.

Get closer to your Customers:
To a business entity, a blog makes you close to your customers and it keeps your customers close to you. You will achieve this as long as you keep it updated constantly.

Earn Reputation:
keeping a bcreases your reputation both online and offline.

Unlimited Worldwide Access:
Unlike a TV or newspaper ad, a blog has the potential of being seen worldwide. No geographical boundaries of any kind except the one you define yourself.

If the reasons above are not motivating enough, consider the statistics below:

57% of companies with a blog have acquired a customer from their blog.
-HubSot

92% of companies who blog multiple times per day have acquired a customer from their blog.
-HobSpot

79% of online shoppers spend 50% of their shopping time researching products online.
–HubSpot

69% of businesses attribute their lead generation success to blogging.
–HubSpot

78% of companies that update their blogs daily have acquired a customer from their blog.
–Wordpress

Let’s just stop there. An entire book can be written on blog metrics just to convince you to dive into the blogosphere. Whether you agree with others or not, you’ll agree with the fact that a handful of internet s now make a Google search before they decide on which product to buy. The truth then is you are part of them.

Sometimes ago, I wrote a review of my experience of being on the inaugural flight of First Nation Airways from Abuja to Lagos. Being a new airline, people were curious about the new First Nation Airways. Questions like how many aircrafts they have, how safe are their aircrafts, who owns it and the likes sprang up in the hearts of potential engers. Understanding this, I decided to write a review on all that. The aftermath effect of that amazed me. It increased my blog traffic almost 100% in few days. It turned out that people landed on my blog while searching for things like “how to book first nation flight”, “first nation airways website” and all sorts of search queries. Fortunately for me, there was no other post that answered all those queries except my blog. First Nation Airways had a dead website back then let alone have a blog. So, I stole all the traffic upfront. What’s the catch? Imagine if First Nation had (has) a blog to address all these issues? Imagine if they had blog posts addressing their launch and the likes? They would have gotten the traffic they deserve and it’ll have been easy for them to convert their blog visitors to paying engers.



What should your business blog about?

News:
Unknown to you, those little business moves you make means a lot to your customers/potential clients. What’s new in your business? Draft a short but meaningful post on it. It’s a sign of progress to your readers. Got a new office? A new staff ed? Attending a fair? An increase in capital base? Whatever makes business sense blog about it. That is one of the things that differentiate a blog from a static website. This indirectly tells your potential clients that your business still exists and equally progressing.

Help posts:
Web searches have one thing in common – people need help! Truth be told, if customers do not perceive reading your blog worthwhile, they’ll never return and that may affect lead generation. Use Google Analytics keyword tool to check out the subjects people are searching on in your niche and draft cutting-edge articles addressing those issues. Write posts that answer people’s likely questions in your industry.

Pictures:
This is essential if your business is dependent on images – almost all small businesses are. Take for instance, if you run a baking business, you may want to your works on your blog frequently. The truth is that people respond more to pictures than mere words. In this example, a real snapshot of one of the cakes you’ve baked may be the only proof that you’re good at it. The point here is that you share pictures related to your business often – especially real pictures (e.g. your portfolio). If you’re into fashion, for instance, you can’t but post pictures of your designs both on your blog and other social platforms.

Promotions/Deals:
Don’t just distribute flyers and deface walls with posters. Draft a compelling post about your promotions and post on your blog. After all it’s free compared to the posters. Err, who reads posters in this complex world? Few! Who keeps handbills? Few! But your posts remains on the web open to millions of potential clients. As a matter of fact, it is cool to have special deals for your blog readers and social fans.

Reviews:
It’s not enough to blow your trumpet yourself. Let others help you. Irrespective of your type of business, it’s reviewable. Ask one of your current customers to write a review of one of your products. Customers trust themselves more than they trust sales men. Therefore, having a customer review your products can be very effective in boosting your reputation. You can as well interview your customer about his/her experience with your product and post on your blog.

Industry Buzz:
At every point, there’ll always be a phenomenon buzzing in your industry. Blog it! In fact, you want to be the first to post such. Don’t just post it as news; share the opinion of your business on these issues. Tell your readers how it affects your brand. This will also help you SEO wise as those searching for these buzz words might just end up on your website.

Others:
Other types of posts may include release, disclaimers, disclosures and the likes



How busy executives can b 15 minutes

After all said (and not done), I know there are people who are like “Oh yes, I’ve heard all you’ve been saying, but I don’t have time for this thing you call blogging.” Yeah, I understand that blogging can be a pain in the ass for many people especially busy executives. However, there is always a way to manage every situation.

Of course, I agree that time constitute a crucial factor in all of our activities. We’re usually too quick to say “Hey, I don’t have time for that”; yet we get involved in several avoidable time-wasting activities daily. What gets prioritized gets done faster. You will always have time for the things you rank high on your list. The best way to have time for blogging is to simply make it a priority since you now understand it’s importance to your business. So, let’s see how expert bloggers draft their posts within 15 – 60 minutes. YES, 15 minutes!

Think on the move!
You will need to master the art of thinking over your posts on the move before you get on the keyboard. Here’s the catch, decide on what you want to write on. Think about it while having your bath in the morning (that’s killing two birds with one stone). Think about it as you dress up …and so on. The idea is to keep rehearsing your posts (the introduction, body and end) till you are ready to get your hands on the keyboard. As you keep thinking, you’ll keep forming your opinions and the things you want to make in your post. Try this method and see the magic in it for yourself!

Draft on the move!
Now, your post is well thought on. This is actually supposed to be done as you think through your post. As a blogger (or writer of any kind), you should hardly move about without a writing pad or a note taking app on your gadget of choice. , the faintest pen is sharper than the sharpest memory. Don’t assume you’ll when you get on the keyboard. The idea here is to write down those words that drop in your mind, quotes, possible titles and the likes. This helps you save time while drafting your post.

Hit the keyboard!
Now, you’re finally ready to draft your post, all you’ll have to do is put your jottings and previous thoughts together in sentences. Just keep writing everything that comes to your mind. This is how many popular bloggers today draft their posts within 15 – 60 minutes. It works like charm.

I hope to read about your success in the blogosphere soon enough.

- See more at: http://www.yoxstudios.com/wp/cost-effective-marketing-with-blogging/#sthash.mt47tesd.dpuf

Not available

lilianee: The logo that won was a complete joke unless I got it mixed up. That was a poster not a logo

Well, the N1,000,000 in the guys is not a joke. In every endeavor it's not necessarily the best man that wins but who God has blessed. By the way, you should check the portfolio of the guy who won on facebook. His name is Kanso Ogbolu and he owns O.B.K Studios-mastermind behind the popular 'smiling hat'. He is actually a bad guy at this design thing

In continuation to the epistle from our previous post, we’ll be looking at seven major cost effective marketing strategies which we have practical experience and success with (not some superlative grammar we just copied off google). But before we dive into the goodies, let me first intimate you on a very vital aspect of branding titled strategy.

Strategy
As they say, he who fails to plan plans to fail. So also, he who fails to strategize, has strategically set himself up for failure. If you are a small business with limited funds and probably manpower, you need to properly plan how and where to channel your resources from the beginning. Do not be overly excited as to jump on all cost effective communication avenue out there. Just because a particular one worked well for someone does not mean it will work for you.

First and foremost, pick 2 or 3 communication medium that speaks to a large number of your target market, that you have an understanding of and will have minimal difficulty executing efficiently and consistently.
Secondly, draw up a ‘ of usage’. For example, you have to pick specific times to send an email and the subject of the mail. This way, prospective clients will know exactly when to get what from you so they will keep coming back. Also, anyone can use the communication medium on your behalf tomorrow and still generate the desired result.

Thirdly, set and measure results (the other big-English speaking branding books refer to this as ROI). While setting out what you expect to get from a particular marketing campaign, it is good to be optimistic but please be realistic lest you break your own heart. Keep targets at the barest minimum. You will be happier making more than your target.

Finally, based on results in comparison to your set goals, you should constantly restrategise. Increase what gets you positive results and stop or try another approach to those that have little or no effect. Also, if you have gotten a hang of the marketing mediums you are using, you can then add another medium to it.

If you think you’re going to have difficulties with it, and you have the extra cash, a brand strategist to research the market for you, determine where your target market are, determine what marketing medium will best reach them, and map out a strategy that best engages and compels them to demand your product or services. You could also engage the strategist to implement the strategy on your behalf.
That said, we can now proceed to strategies used by my friends and I. They are;

Email:
Gbitse Barrow – CEO, www.learningimpactmodel.com;
Author, Social Media for your small business

Blog
Oluwatobi Soyombo – Intern at www.socialmeep.com

Facebook
Yox the Professor – Creative Director at www.yoxstudios.com

Twitter
Yox the Professor – Creative Director at www.yoxstudios.com

YouTube
Gbitse Barrow – CEO, www.learningimpactmodel.com;
Author, Social Media for your small business.

Blackberry Messenger
Yox the Professor – Creative Director at www.yoxstudios.com

Website
Yox the Professor – Creative Director at www.yoxstudios.com

We’ll start off with Email Marketing next week. No! Not because we think suspense is that fantastic a thing but because it’s a Wednesday morning and you’d probably be too busy with work to read a very very long missive.

See you soon.

PS: A close friend working with one of those big international brand/marketing organization advised that people can easily get discouraged as regards reading a very long newsletter dumped in their email box so it’s best to just leave an introduction there and direct them to a proper website where they can read the rest. Not a bad advice if you intend to employ email marketing someday.

PPS: If you hate waiting like me and will like to get all 7 cost effective marketing strategy right away, GOOD NEWS, they were all copied from the eBook; ‘BRANDICULOUS: the ridiculously simple way to build a profitable business’. You can send a mail to [email protected] to request your copy and you’ll be replied with how you can purchase it right away.

See more at: http://www.yoxstudios.com/wp/maximizing-your-brand-identity-to-increase-your-revenue-part-2/

I was at a good client of mine’s office discussing business in general two days ago and she said something that got me thinking… She said,

[size=18pt]“how do people intend to grow their businesses when they don’t ?”[/size]

Anyway, before I begin my ranting on how you can increase your revenue, (so that the information doesn’t turn out to be useless or ineffective) it’s important I let you know you actually need a GOOD brand identity for the tips to be relevant.

So what is brand identity?

In one word, COMMUNICATIONS.

Brand identity is the way you communicate your brand to the public. Simply put, what you say and what you show. When done professionally, it serves its function of standing you out thus grabbing attention and attracting your intended market. If your communication is perfectly in conformity with what you do, then it is bound to keep those attracted coming back with others. That will definitely have a positive effect on revenue.

In simpler English, if your brand identity is neither outstanding nor attractive, it might depict a lack of professionalism which of course will attract very few (probably wrong) people and that’s definitely not a good identity.

Further explanation on this Brand Identity brouhaha? Alright!

Brand Identity is divided into two major arms;
1. Verbal identity (what you say)
2. Visual identity (what you show)

1. Verbal identity
What you say, how you say it, where you say it and when you say it can make or break your business.

In determining your verbal identity, the bottom line is to ensure you consistently sound like you know what you do VERY WELL. But in doing so, don’t sound like most other businesses who are overly full of themselves and use serious mechanical words like it’s robots they’re talking to; it’s human beings WITH EMOTIONS you’re selling to.

Would have loved to explain further but for fear of boring you to death with an epistle, let me just jump to listing some important elements of verbal identity.

I. Business Name
I know it is the name of your first daughter in whom you are very well pleased however, if it is something only people from your village can properly pronounce, my friend, it has no business being your business name.

Please do not use a name that sounds like something from the mouth of an orangutan from the deep jungles of Africa. It might not be important to you but you should know that the way your name sounds influences people’s willingness to associate with you. Even if ‘kurugbugbaku shoe makers’ make the best shoes in the world, I’ll buy my spouse shoes from ‘Iris Shoe Place’ one million times before I even think of driving past them

Oh! I said I wouldn’t explain anymore and here I am blabbing away again. Sorry! Let’s continue with just listing the elements.

II. Tag line
III. Vision & Mission
IV. Product naming
V. Choice/tone of words.

2. Visual identity (what you show)
Visual Identity simply means design that identifies you. Err, maybe it isn’t that simple. Good Visual Identity must serve the primary function of clearly communicating your brand in an engaging and compelling way (with the addition of good verbal identity above). Design must be aesthetically appealing. In fact, beautiful design is great but anything short of communicating your brand automatically translates to beautiful nonsense.

Some important elements of visual identity are;

I. Logo
II. Colours
III. Typeface
IV. Mascot
V. Pictures

Finally, to ensure your brand identity is communicating the right thing, it must clearly and constantly answer the following questions;

I. What am I branding? (The product/service you offer)
II. Who is it for? (Your target market)
III. My difference (what only you do or something you do better than your competitors)

Now that we know what a good brand identity is, if you’ve got one I’m sure you’re wondering, SO HOW DO I MAXIMIZE IT TO INCREASE MY REVENUE? The answer is marketing.

HOLD ON! This is not the time to run away from this mail!
I too detest the embarrassment of being rejected from office to office and I do not have a treasure chest to finance big budget advertising so what I’ll be revealing to you is 7 cost effective marketing strategy that has worked for me and a couple of my friends (sometimes from the comfort of our bedroom if I might add). But so as not to tire you out by turning this post into a mini textbook, let’s still walk away from the post at this point and continue with it in the next series of rantings.

See you on this blog soon.

PS: If you hate waiting like me and will like to get all 7 cost effective marketing strategy right away including all the other information in italic that I couldn’t elaborate on here, GOOD NEWS, they were all copied from the eBook; ‘BRANDICULOUS: the ridiculously simple way to build a profitable business’. You can send a mail to [email protected] to request your copy and you’ll be replied with how you can purchase it right away.



This entry was posted in Branding at http://www.yoxstudios.com/wp/maximizing-your-brand-identity-to-increase-your-revenue-part-1/ on September 3, 2013

I was at a good client of mine’s office discussing business in general two days ago and she said something that got me thinking… She said,

[size=18pt]“how do people intend to grow their businesses when they don’t ?”[/size]

Anyway, before I begin my ranting on how you can increase your revenue, (so that the information doesn’t turn out to be useless or ineffective) it’s important I let you know you actually need a GOOD brand identity for the tips to be relevant.

So what is brand identity?

In one word, COMMUNICATIONS.

Brand identity is the way you communicate your brand to the public. Simply put, what you say and what you show. When done professionally, it serves its function of standing you out thus grabbing attention and attracting your intended market. If your communication is perfectly in conformity with what you do, then it is bound to keep those attracted coming back with others. That will definitely have a positive effect on revenue.

In simpler English, if your brand identity is neither outstanding nor attractive, it might depict a lack of professionalism which of course will attract very few (probably wrong) people and that’s definitely not a good identity.

Further explanation on this Brand Identity brouhaha? Alright!

Brand Identity is divided into two major arms;
1. Verbal identity (what you say)
2. Visual identity (what you show)

1. Verbal identity
What you say, how you say it, where you say it and when you say it can make or break your business.

In determining your verbal identity, the bottom line is to ensure you consistently sound like you know what you do VERY WELL. But in doing so, don’t sound like most other businesses who are overly full of themselves and use serious mechanical words like it’s robots they’re talking to; it’s human beings WITH EMOTIONS you’re selling to.

Would have loved to explain further but for fear of boring you to death with an epistle, let me just jump to listing some important elements of verbal identity.

I. Business Name
I know it is the name of your first daughter in whom you are very well pleased however, if it is something only people from your village can properly pronounce, my friend, it has no business being your business name.

Please do not use a name that sounds like something from the mouth of an orangutan from the deep jungles of Africa. It might not be important to you but you should know that the way your name sounds influences people’s willingness to associate with you. Even if ‘kurugbugbaku shoe makers’ make the best shoes in the world, I’ll buy my spouse shoes from ‘Iris Shoe Place’ one million times before I even think of driving past them

Oh! I said I wouldn’t explain anymore and here I am blabbing away again. Sorry! Let’s continue with just listing the elements.

II. Tag line
III. Vision & Mission
IV. Product naming
V. Choice/tone of words.

2. Visual identity (what you show)
Visual Identity simply means design that identifies you. Err, maybe it isn’t that simple. Good Visual Identity must serve the primary function of clearly communicating your brand in an engaging and compelling way (with the addition of good verbal identity above). Design must be aesthetically appealing. In fact, beautiful design is great but anything short of communicating your brand automatically translates to beautiful nonsense.

Some important elements of visual identity are;

I. Logo
II. Colours
III. Typeface
IV. Mascot
V. Pictures

Finally, to ensure your brand identity is communicating the right thing, it must clearly and constantly answer the following questions;

I. What am I branding? (The product/service you offer)
II. Who is it for? (Your target market)
III. My difference (what only you do or something you do better than your competitors)

Now that we know what a good brand identity is, if you’ve got one I’m sure you’re wondering, SO HOW DO I MAXIMIZE IT TO INCREASE MY REVENUE? The answer is marketing.

HOLD ON! This is not the time to run away from this mail!
I too detest the embarrassment of being rejected from office to office and I do not have a treasure chest to finance big budget advertising so what I’ll be revealing to you is 7 cost effective marketing strategy that has worked for me and a couple of my friends (sometimes from the comfort of our bedroom if I might add). But so as not to tire you out by turning this post into a mini textbook, let’s still walk away from the post at this point and continue with it in the next series of rantings.

See you on this blog soon.

PS: If you hate waiting like me and will like to get all 7 cost effective marketing strategy right away including all the other information in italic that I couldn’t elaborate on here, GOOD NEWS, they were all copied from the eBook; ‘BRANDICULOUS: the ridiculously simple way to build a profitable business’. You can send a mail to [email protected] to request your copy and you’ll be replied with how you can purchase it right away.



This entry was posted in Branding at http://www.yoxstudios.com/wp/maximizing-your-brand-identity-to-increase-your-revenue-part-1/ on September 3, 2013

So my facebook fan page finally exceeded 1600 fans and I thought 'boomshakalakaaaaaa' let's pop champagne!

However, I ed I don't drink alcohol and to some people "is it because of this common 1600 that I'm making noise" so I've decided to be thankful to all the fans with this design and just comport myself.

You can visit www.facebook.com/yoxstudios to see how it fits nicely on the page. and if you happen to like the page on your landing there, the [+] sign is saying thank you to you too.

#okbye

Alright OKX! My search for a productive marketer continues.

So Acidosis decided to delete his comment after making me spend hours on writing in a bid to demystify his misconception... That speaks a lot.

Even though this design and its caption were developed just for laughs (out of a true life situation I must it), like everything else in life, it has generated a lot of debate.

In every debate, there will always be 3 parties. Those against, those for and those who will be neutral. This image has been everywhere. BB, twitter, facebook and of nairaland so I’ve been able to gather lots of fors and againsts.

First and foremost, brand identity is not a commodity and as such, there is no fixed price for it. The simplest basis for determining a price would be; the maximum the client is willing to pay, the minimum the identity developer is willing to collect and (an influencing factor on the first two) the value of what is given/received (whether actual or perceived). Even the almighty formula cannot generate a constant figure using this basis. I personally have received more than N30,000 for a logo design on some occasions and I have received less at other times.

Having said that, I can now clearly state that the figures in this design were just to make a point while also creating symmetry between both prices 3000 – 30,000.

Secondly, both the fors and against are perfectly right from their stand point. Let’s see it this way; with N300,000 you can buy a car.

A Nigerian used 1992 model, manual transmission, Honda civic goes for plus or minus N300,000. If moving from point A to point B is your only rationale for buying a car you’re always going to see spending N22,000,000 on a 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL550 as total madness. Does that make you wrong? Considering your rationale, you’re definitely not wrong.
So if to you a logo is just a combination of shapes and colours which you paste on all materials that goes out of your shop, you should definitely not pay more than N3000 for a logo.

However, if you see and understand a logo to be just a step in the entirety of a brand identity process developed to attract, engage and compel the right market segment to patronize your product/service, you should not be looking for a N3000 logo. The experience required to do this is beyond just practicing with design softwares everyday.

This brings us back to the story of the cars. You’re going for a dinner that has A CEO in attendance and you’re hoping to give the guy a ride home so you can propose a multi-billion Naira business to him along the way. (Let’s put the fact that he would have come with a car aside) you think he’ll enter a 1992 Honda Civic before a Benz GL550? Seriously? Even if he does, he’ll give a man who seems never to have handled millions a business of billions? You think?

Some of those who argued for actually thought N30,000 was too small considering they’ve either paid or charged more for a logo design. At least I personally know someone who charged N1,000,000 and the company approved it (that doesn’t happen every day though).

As the Benz is beyond just movement but a show of class and prestige, the fors understand good brand identity involves stirring up the right emotions. Something I call RIGHT publicity; achieved through the CONSISTENT use of engaging and compelling designs (which requires a whole lot of research on consumer behaviour in relation to the particular product/service), right choice/tone of words and quality print (for various forms of advertising) to clearly distinguish and differentiate them from their competitors. Based on this rationale, we can perfectly conclude that the fors are also right.

How much should a logo really cost? The figure is totally yours to decide.

This entry was posted in Branding on July 19, 2013 at http://www.yoxstudios.com/wp/how-much-should-a-logo-cost/

The total sum paid is usually never for the logo alone but complete brand identity which sometimes include signage, adverts etc... Below is the case study on BP. You'll see all the $211,000,000 didn't go on logo alone.

http://landor.com/#!/work/case-studies/bp/

I'm sure we've all heard ABC said nobody's design met their criteria so they decided to give free bus tickets to Ghana for their top 5 designers.

I'm wondering if someone will enter free bus and go and sleep under bridge in Ghana. Is it not money he will use to pay for hotel and food?

Buhahahaha!
Calm down everybody, calm down! Lolllz. As we usually say in my local parlance, 'no be who shout de win argument' and 'no be who first call lawyer na hin de win case'.

On a more serious note!

Even though this design and its caption were developed just for laughs (out of a true life situation I must it), like everything else in life, it has generated a lot of debate.

In every debate, there will always be 3 parties. Those against, those for and those who will be neutral.

This image has been everywhere. BB, twitter, facebook (and of course nairaland) so I've been able to gather lots of fors and againsts.

First and foremost, brand identity is not a commodity and as such, there is no fixed price for it. The simplest basis for determining a price would be; the maximum the client is willing to pay, the minimum the identity developer is willing to collect and (an influencing factor on the first two) the value of what is given/received (whether actual or perceived). Even the almighty formula cannot generate a constant figure using this basis.

Having said that, I can now clearly state that the figures in this design were just to make a point while also creating symmetry between both prices 3000 - 30,000. I initially put $3000 there which is about what my international mentors charge but I felt many Nigerians won't see the reality in this joke because $3000 will be an unrealistic figure to them (you can visit the price list on www.justcreative.com and www.imjustcreative.com to confirm this dollar figures are actually charged by people).

Secondly, both the fors and against are perfectly right from their stand point. Let's see it this way; with N300,000 you can buy a car.

A Nigerian used 1992 model, manual transmission, Honda civic goes for plus or minus N300,000. If moving from point A to point B is your only rationale for buying a car you're always going to see spending N22,000,000 on a 2013 Mercedes-Benz GL550 as total madness. Does that make you wrong? Considering your rationale, you're definitely not wrong.

So if to you a logo is just a combination of shapes and colours which you paste on all materials that goes out of your shop, you should definitely not pay more than N3000 for a logo.

However, if you see and understand a logo to be just a step in the entirety of a brand identity process developed to attract, engage and compel the right market segment to patronize your product/service, you will not be looking for a N3000 designer. The experience required to do this is beyond practicing with coreldraw, illustrator and photoshop everyday.

This brings us back to the story of the cars. You're going for a dinner that has A CEO in attendance and you're hoping to give the guy a ride home so you can propose a multi-billion naira business to him along the way. (Let's put the fact that he would have come with a car aside) you think he'll enter a 1992 honda civic before a Benz GL550? Seriously? Even if he does, he'll give a man who seems never to have handled millions a business of billions? You think?

Some of those who argued for actually thought N30,000 was too small considering they've either paid or charged more for a logo design. At least I have a friend who once charged N1,000,000 and it was approved (that doesn't happen every day though).

As the Benz is beyond just movement but a show of class and prestige, the fors understand good brand identity involves stirring up the right emotions. Something I call RIGHT publicity; achieved through the CONSISTENT use of engaging and compelling designs (which requires a whole lot of research on consumer behaviour in relation to the particular product/service), right choice/tone of words and quality print (for various forms of advertising) to clearly distinguish and differentiate them from their competitors. Based on this rationale, we can perfectly conclude that the fors are also right.

Finally, I used to fall for the story of Mr B does the same thing for less till time and experience eventually revealed that the only reason most people usually leave Mr B and come to Mr A is because A offers something B doesn't - No one leaves a product/service they're satisfied with for another that offers the exact same thing in the exact same way and exist almost in the exact same place. So even if A’s prices were exact same as B’s from the beginning (except A suddenly makes things cheaper) it's something else that attracted the client to A (not price) and there’s a very good argument A deserves to charge more for it.

PS: Acidosis hasn’t paid; he has only spoken a couple of his opinion and believes HIS opinion qualifies him for a free logo. If he then pays N3000, we can be sure he is not just going to ask for the type of logo on the left above but might also demand for a share of www.yoxstudios.com. I’m sure this gives insight to the truth wedged between this joke of a design up there.

PPS: OKX, I’m truly impressed by your words because it does give me the perception you’ve got a lot of insight into marketing. You’re probably the man I’ve been looking for. However, I’ve lost money to too many marketing people who cajoled me by sending me fancy marketing copied from google but the only quantifiable ROI I got is a few facebook fans. Such numbers are not cashable in the bank. However, if you or someone you know can guarantee an increase in present monthly profit, I’m more than willing to agree to a partnership deal where such increase is shared on a percentage basis. If you’re interested, you can check www.yoxstudios.com for an overview of the company and you can me at [email protected]. I’m more than willing to work with you.

PPPS: Make una no too vex for my longgggg epistle!

So I was beginning to get tired of people calling me and rudely saying "what is it you're deg that you're charging this? Is it not the same thing Oluwachukwu Adesuileman is deg for N3000?"

Out of the frustration of having to say for the umpteenth time "but I am not Oluwachukwu Adesuileman and i definitely do not offer the same standard as him/her", I had to design this.

...and I'm still not Oluwachukwu Adesuileman or whatever the other designers (I'm being questioned about) names are! Pheeeewwww!

One word; INAPPROPRIATE! Both of them are right? Let’s elaborate to find out if your brand belongs to one and if so, find a solution out of the situation.

A NUN IN A MINI SKIRT.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a nun as 

“a woman belonging to a religious order; especially: one under solemn vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.”

A classic example will be the catholic reverend sister. Does their loooong blue/black and white gown ring a bell in your head? Now imagine them in a mini skirt.

I will be the first to it that a brand’s visual and verbal identity (graphic design and choice/tone of words) are never enough to make the brand successful, however, no matter how fantastic your product/service is, if it is presented to your target market in an inappropriate manner, you’re not going to attract the right people to demand your product/service. Once again, picture a nun wearing a micro mini skirt preaching spirituality to you. “Is she confused?” That’s a possible reaction in your mind right?

Without doubt, with a wrong brand identity you can still attract a great deal of prospective clients but the percentage of them that will pay for your product/service will be very minimal. Why? See it this way. As inappropriate as a micro mini skirt looks on a nun, it will be a perfect identity for a call girl and that of course can be very attractive. Now imagine that all the attracted people rush to the nun with the impression that she’s a call girl and the 1st thing they hear from her is “if you’re a sinner you will go to hell”. You can imagine the greater speed at which those who rushed to her will rush away from her right?

Is your brand identity attracting the right clients to you? Yes? No? Not sure?

Solution
It is expedient you consult an experienced brand identity developer to help you communicate your brand to the public the right way. When done professionally, your brand identity serves its function of standing you out thus grabbing attention and attracting your intended market. If your identity is perfectly in conformity with what you do, then it is bound to keep those attracted coming back with others. That will definitely have a positive effect on revenue.

A THUG IN A 3 PIECE SUIT
From the parable of our adorable nun above you might already have an idea of what is wrong with this. You do right?

In as much as a great brand identity can attract loads of client’s to you, if it’s not built around a great product/service, all that attraction will fade away when people discover what you offer does not meet up to their expectation.

Let’s assume you meet a young man in a nice suit, prim and proper, wearing an expensive perfume and speaks queen’s and king’s English. Your impression of him will be that of a perfect gentleman right? Very attractive isn’t he? The kind of guy the men want to do business with and the women want to fall in love with. Now assume you visit the man’s office and on the wall hang the most inappropriate posters you’ve ever seen and banging out of his speakers are the most ridiculous songs you’ve ever heard. Then he crosses his legs on the table exposing a horrendous tattoo just above his ankle, gives you tattered contract papers soiled with whatever poisonous drink he’s been consuming and as he lights whatever roll he is about to smoke, he mutters the words “can we finalize the deal on me being your public relations manager?”

Are you still fascinated by his 3 piece suit?

Solution
A fantastic brand identity is not good enough. If you want to build a brand that will stand the test of time, you need to offer products/services that are valuable to a target market. You must conduct proper research to find out if there will be demand for what you offer. You need to find out the location, age and sex of the people who are likely to pay for what you offer. If you cannot define who needs what you offer, where such people are and how you are going to get it to them, then your business will not become a brand that a lot of people will easily and lovingly embrace but a commodity hoping that someone somewhere will somehow someday pay for, for a reason even you yourself cannot understand.

Finally, your offerings must be done with fantastic customer service to keep the customers coming back.

This entry was posted in Branding at www.yoxstudios.com/wp on June 24, 2013.

One word; INAPPROPRIATE! Both of them are right? Let’s elaborate to find out if your brand belongs to one and if so, find a solution out of the situation.

A NUN IN A MINI SKIRT.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a nun as 

“a woman belonging to a religious order; especially: one under solemn vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.”

A classic example will be the catholic reverend sister. Does their loooong blue/black and white gown ring a bell in your head? Now imagine them in a mini skirt.

I will be the first to it that a brand’s visual and verbal identity (graphic design and choice/tone of words) are never enough to make the brand successful, however, no matter how fantastic your product/service is, if it is presented to your target market in an inappropriate manner, you’re not going to attract the right people to demand your product/service. Once again, picture a nun wearing a micro mini skirt preaching spirituality to you. “Is she confused?” That’s a possible reaction in your mind right?

Without doubt, with a wrong brand identity you can still attract a great deal of prospective clients but the percentage of them that will pay for your product/service will be very minimal. Why? See it this way. As inappropriate as a micro mini skirt looks on a nun, it will be a perfect identity for a call girl and that of course can be very attractive. Now imagine that all the attracted people rush to the nun with the impression that she’s a call girl and the 1st thing they hear from her is “if you’re a sinner you will go to hell”. You can imagine the greater speed at which those who rushed to her will rush away from her right?

Is your brand identity attracting the right clients to you? Yes? No? Not sure?

Solution
It is expedient you consult an experienced brand identity developer to help you communicate your brand to the public the right way. When done professionally, your brand identity serves its function of standing you out thus grabbing attention and attracting your intended market. If your identity is perfectly in conformity with what you do, then it is bound to keep those attracted coming back with others. That will definitely have a positive effect on revenue.

A THUG IN A 3 PIECE SUIT
From the parable of our adorable nun above you might already have an idea of what is wrong with this. You do right?

In as much as a great brand identity can attract loads of client’s to you, if it’s not built around a great product/service, all that attraction will fade away when people discover what you offer does not meet up to their expectation.

Let’s assume you meet a young man in a nice suit, prim and proper, wearing an expensive perfume and speaks queen’s and king’s English. Your impression of him will be that of a perfect gentleman right? Very attractive isn’t he? The kind of guy the men want to do business with and the women want to fall in love with. Now assume you visit the man’s office and on the wall hang the most inappropriate posters you’ve ever seen and banging out of his speakers are the most ridiculous songs you’ve ever heard. Then he crosses his legs on the table exposing a horrendous tattoo just above his ankle, gives you tattered contract papers soiled with whatever poisonous drink he’s been consuming and as he lights whatever roll he is about to smoke, he mutters the words “can we finalize the deal on me being your public relations manager?”

Are you still fascinated by his 3 piece suit?

Solution
A fantastic brand identity is not good enough. If you want to build a brand that will stand the test of time, you need to offer products/services that are valuable to a target market. You must conduct proper research to find out if there will be demand for what you offer. You need to find out the location, age and sex of the people who are likely to pay for what you offer. If you cannot define who needs what you offer, where such people are and how you are going to get it to them, then your business will not become a brand that a lot of people will easily and lovingly embrace but a commodity hoping that someone somewhere will somehow someday pay for, for a reason even you yourself cannot understand.

Finally, your offerings must be done with fantastic customer service to keep the customers coming back.


This entry was posted in Branding at www.yoxstudios.com/wp on June 24, 2013.

mccooler: I THOT I WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT'S CONFUSED..GOOD LUCK TO THE EVENTUAL WINNERS

Lolz, we are all confused bruv! But loads of people are sending in their designs anyway (many with no relevance to the brief).

By the way, complaints reaching me stated that the email address they gave was rejecting mails and when I went to their facebook page they just responded to one dude asking him to send to another email address. NO PUBLICITY ON THE RECTIFICATION OF THE FAULTY EMAIL!

My crocodile senses tell me these people are just using people to gain publicity.

By the way, has anybody heard anything on the ABC Transport logo competition?

After reading the design brief, frankly, I was tempted to mail them with the question “is it a logo or a 2 hours documentary you guys are looking for?” Below is the hefty design brief (which I still managed to simplify as much as possible) for your reading pleasure.

The Brief
1. Incorporate the universal MultiChoice logo and colours and show the fact that MultiChoice Nigeria is a proudly Nigerian company with pan African roots.

2. Showcase MultiChoice Nigeria’s commitment to entertaining the Nigerian family since we started operations 20 years ago.

I was beginning to worry if it’s my head that is too small to think up how to translate and pack all of the design requirement into a 400 x 400 pixel space logo so I decided to find out what other Nigerian designers thought about the brief and here is what they had to say;

The brief is not absolutely clear to those who think they understand it…

…its so funny cos after you put all d logos and colors you can’t use any Nigerian colors.

The puzzle is like wanting to use your two hands to walk on sea.

Maybe they want a short documentary… Just joking.

The brief is confusing. No. 1 is different from No. 2.

Walahi… This brief na die… Really confusing… I’ve spent days thinking of what 2 do

…they want make we design poster for them ni?

Really confusing. This MultiChoice logo has busy colours already. How many element of this brief can u add that will make it simple?

I must agree that I did feel a bit at ease after reading the opinion of others on the issue but I enjoyed the comic relief the most. Did you also find some of the opinions hilarious? Wait till you read the final one that totally made my day.

Whoever wrote that brief has no fear of God…

Let me know what you also think of the whole MultiChoice Logo Competition brouhaha. Drop your comments at http://yoxstudios.com/wp/my-opinion-of-the-multichoice-20th-anniversary-logo-competition/.

If you missed part 1 and 2, please click https://nairaland.macsoftware.info/1274426/brand-branding-part-2-what to view it.

What Makes a Great Brand?

Four simple factors are involved
Relevance, Differentiation, Credibility and Consistency

Relevance:
The service or product you offer must be able to meet the need of a particular set of people. It has to be useful for it to be desired. It has to be desired for it to be paid for.

Let us once again make reference to Yox Farms. Assuming those residing around Kokiri market are all vegetarians, no matter how palatable they make their cows to look, nobody will buy them. As such, their business is of no relevance to that community.

Before you start a business, do a proper research. Find out if there is a demand for what you are about to offer in the environment you intend offering it. Not all great ideas are good for business.

We are currently on a mission to save our environment from further degradation and because of this, the electric car has been invented. Apart from saving the environment, this wonderful invention will also save our pockets from leaking excess cash on purchase of fuel. This is a great idea and in developed countries, that is good business. Now imagine the cars in a developing country where constant electricity is a challenge.

Differentiation:
No one will dump a service or product they are comfortable with for another one that offers exactly the same thing the exact same way. You have to create a different experience that is attractive to your target market.

If you start offering healthy fat cows, no one will leave the cows of our trusted Yox Farms and buy yours except if your prices are cheaper, your design and messages make ‘beef eating’ more attractive, you deliver the beef to their houses, etcetera. Differentiation doesn’t necessarily mean you have to create one miraculous element that can teleport people to Jupiter and back. A simple thing such as the manner your company answers phone calls or reply mails can make all the difference.

As I always say, in the land of the blind, the one eyed man is a spy. Assuming this book has given you one business eye, the easiest way to differentiate your business is to study your competitors’ shortcomings and improve on it.

Consistency:
Once you have decided how to be relevant and how to differentiate your business, in all your communications and actions, announce it and be consistent with it.

Assuming the price of cow food increases tomorrow, feeding the cow less and reducing their weight is bad business for Yox Farms. It is better they keep the cows robust and healthy as always and increase the price of the cows instead. They should also explain to their customers why they have to do so. They stand a better chance of keeping their customers that way. In any case, their competition has only three options 1: increase the prices of their cows, 2: reduce the sizes of their cows by feeding them less or 3: run the business to death by making loses. All options still favour our dear Yox Farms in the end.

Credibility:
Simply put, kept promises. Do not do a ‘buy one get one free’ campaign only for people to get to your store and hear that they must buy one for their father, one for their mother and one for their great grand uncle who is in heaven before they get one for free-after all, it’s still only one they’re buying. Such a thing will deal a great blow on your credibility.

Let me tell you a true story. I once ordered for a ring from an online store (the lovely ring I used to propose to my sweetheart by the way). The invoice stated 30% payment upfront and 70% on delivery. 3 weeks later they called me to make final payment so they can mail my ring. I said “but your invoice says pay on delivery.” They said I should know that the delivery meant ‘delivery to them.’ Are you kidding me? Delivery to them as in…? Seriously? You tell me, did I read their invoice wrong or they tried to play smart and I have every excuse not to patronize them anymore?

Whatever you say you will do is what should be done. That automatically means people can count on your words and that makes you credible.

Taken from pages of the eBook: ’BRANDICULOUS: the ridiculously simple way to build a profitable business’. www.yoxstudios.com/home.php