Jewelry ECOMM Tech
Striking A Balance Between Brand Awareness and Brand Identity For Your Jewelry Brand March 13, 2019 (0 comments)
You may have heard the terms “brand awareness” and “brand identity” - but did you know they’re not the same thing?
Awareness and identity are two very specific goals that every jewelry brand should strive to achieve. Once a jewelry brand has created brand awareness and built a strong brand identity, that jewelry brand must continue to check and maintain the balance between the two.
In this article, we’ll explain the difference between brand awareness and brand identity and provide tips for building each one.
First, let’s define brand awareness: it refers to whether or not consumers have heard of your brand. You obviously won’t reach your target customers if they’ve never encountered you before, so brand awareness is an important step in getting your brand in front of the right people. Brand awareness also means that consumers are vaguely familiar with your products or services, even if they haven’t taken the time to shop your products.
Examples of jewelry brands with excellent brand awareness include Pandora (charm bracelets), Tiffany (robin’s-egg-blue boxes), and David Yurman (cable motif). Even consumers who have never purchased a single thing from these stores will probably at least be able to name one product or branding detail, like the colors or logo. If those customers are ever looking for a specific piece of jewelry - like a charm gift or an engagement ring - they’ll be more likely to check these brands first, since they’re already familiar and trusted.
Whether or not these brands have a strong brand identity now is not as relevant as the fact that they did once have a strong brand identity in the past, and that strong brand identity gave them the power to build brand awareness. Their longevity will depend on how long they can maintain a balance of brand awareness and brand identity.
Brand identity means that customers both new and old know your jewelry brand’s mission and unique value proposition within the first few moments of interacting with your brand. You don’t need to have brand awareness to have brand identity, but a strong brand identity will help you build brand awareness. If you’re a new jewelry brand, you will need to start by establishing brand identity first before you can start building brand awareness. In these early stages, brand identity can evolve over time, but it must be set as a foundation.
How can you establish a solid brand identity? Start by knowing your target customers, curating your jewelry collections so they tell a cohesive story, knowing your competition, and creating a clear visual identity (or Look/Tone/Feel) for your brand.
Over time, you’ll be able to build brand awareness, as long as you’re consistently putting yourself in front of your target customers - via social media marketing, content marketing, email marketing, paid digital advertising, and more. Every six months or so, you’ll want to take time to assess your balance between brand awareness and brand identity. If at any point your brand awareness starts to trump your brand identity, then you’ll need to go back to the drawing board and reinforce the foundations of your brand.