Adequate branding gives company a competitive edge

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you say soft drink? Or a sweets manufacturer? Or a building supply store? For the vast majority, a specific product, brand or logo comes to mind.

In the Estonian context we can say that a couple of decades ago mostly manufacturers and companies came to people’s minds. However today the paradigm has shifted and brands created by companies, products, events and applications rise above all else.

Today the elder part of Generation Z already are conscious and knowledgeable consumers who base their purchasing (and non-purchasing) decision largely on brands.
What is a brand? What does it stand for? How does it relate to the consumer? How is it represented? What is its reputation? Brand and branding itself have a direct impact on consumer behaviour, and top-of-mind brands who have made it there, do not need to undertake major campaigns or extensive marketing projects to maintain their position as the preferred provider in their segment.

While everyone knows that a brand must have a distinctive and memorable logo, generally only people involved in the industry know that branding has a wide range of activities and information. There is nothing random or idiosyncratic about branding. Everything is well thought out, considered and purposeful. For example, to maintain a successful brand, you need a style book to set the tone for all advertising which helps you maintain a coherent tone throughout your brand communication. Consistency and coherence help anchor the branding by making it credible and recognisable to customers in every activity. When a company is successful at this, it creates very strong associations and emotions among consumers to associate the brand (organisation, event, product, service) with ensuring a strong competitive advantage whilst increasing the value of its activities.

While at the B2C level everything is largely subordinated to different brands, in the B2B context there is still a lot of company-based communication in Estonia. Perhaps the legal name of the company, the management team and maybe even their financial results are known, but what happens when generations change or you want to conquer new markets? What do you rely on? If an organisation has strong branding and a clear set of values, it will make entering new markets and reaching new clientele much more effective.

La Ecwador works on a daily basis maintaining, developing and building various brands. Thanks to the last year in particular, we are able to bring you successful examples of how an (already) existing activity or company has improved its position thanks to changes in branding.

An event to remember

This March, the BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon Otepää Ski World Cup was held in Tehvandi Sports Centre. IBU Otepää, the organiser of the first major event in the Baltics, recognised that their current, now previous branding and visual language was seriously outdated. We were honoured to be the design partner for the historic event.

Although the initial plan was just to refresh the existing visual identity, we also proposed a new branding on our own initiative, including a new concept, logo, messages and visual language. So what was really behind such a proposal?

The previous branding had a very high sentimental value, especially for the locals and people who know Otepää as a winter sports capital. However, during a weekend when the cameras, eyes and microphones of the whole downhill skiing world were turned towards Otepää, the branding needed to tell a story of Otepää and Estonia to the whole world. The branding of the MK stage had to create a platform to make the event memorable, enjoyable and attractive. Among other things, it had to have a direct impact on Estonia’s image as an organiser of top sporting events.

The outcome was not just a logo. Its use and colour scheme created a brand concept that set the tone for the whole event – from the slogan and style to the signage and social media design. The fruits of a year and a half-long process were seen during four days in March on screens and portals all over the world and, of course, the might of the branding was experienced by everyone in Otepää who attended the event.

In addition to large-scale branding projects, we also help a variety of clients on a daily basis with smaller jobs such as designing layouts and websites that give businesses a distinctive style, differentiation, brand strategy and showcase their best features. Branding doesn’t necessarily mean a very long process and a big invoice when the work is done. Depending on the sector, the material available and the objectives, a proper branding can be completed in a few months. Recently, an attractive and user-friendly web design was created for a new rental company which will help to achieve a solid market position among Estonian car-rental companies. A modern service and a constantly evolving marketing environment also require development of the brand and branding. VANSCAPE fills a gap in the market and with the arrival of the summer, there will be a strong demand for said service. However, the question is how to make the user experience and service experience memorable, so that its use does not remain a one-off event. This is where branding has a huge role to play.

CorpoWear started selling work gloves in 2010 under the name Kindakeskus. Although the company grew rapidly before the worldwide pandemic by tapping into selling tools, workwear and dispensing machines, they became an indispensable partner for their customers during pandemic by selling personal protective equipment. Their older name Kindakeskus needed rebranding to keep up with expansion.
All the more – the company’s strategy was to expand its reach and become the partner by choice in foreign markets to potential new customers.

Although the company had grown rapidly, their brand had not grown with them and no longer expressed their core and essence. During the health crisis, the company gained an even more important position that accelerated the branding process. This set the stage for a process in which we paid tribute to the Kindakeskus brand and developed a dignified, modern and aspirational branding known as CorpoWear.

The CorpoWear brand came into existence with the client’s team. This was due to the time factor, the speed and the principle that behind this brand are certain people who will become daily brand ambassadors. Already in the development phase, the brand went beyond being just a provider of personal protective equipment and a retail outlet, mapping out its product lines, digital services and potential areas where CorpoWear has its eyes set.

With a keen sense of the perceptions and orientations of society, La Ecwador can offer best ways to communicate the nature and value of their business to current and new potential clients. We have extensive experience in both large-scale branding projects and smaller projects such as logo and website design.

If you feel that your company also needs help with a full branding concept or even some smaller tasks, feel free to contact us at info@laecwador.ee.