Blue Sand Marketing

The Salon, November 2009

Battle of the Brands

Creating an identity for your salon is not just important - it's essential.  The Salon reveals how ...

What do The Coca-Cola Company, MacDonald's and The Body Shop all have in common?  Simple: they all possess a strong brand identity.  You may be wondering why this is important.  Only, it's more than that; it's crucial.  And if your salon's branding isn't well devised, you could be heading towards disaster.

Communicating the message

Creating visual communications to tie in with your service is paramount for delivering a clear and concise message.  Katherine Arbuthnott, director of Blue Sand Marketing (www.bluesandmarketing.com), a company specialising in branding for the beauty industry, believes Innocent Drinks use this to its full potential: "Innocent was set up by three guys who wanted to create a drink that was 100 per cent natural, tasted good and was healthy," she explains.  "They also wanted to have green credentials and to 'give back' by donating to charity.  If you look at the elements of their brand identity, you can see how well these core values are reflected."

Breaking it down, Innocent's logo is hand-drawn and natural while reflecting the honesty behind the brand: "The face with a halo is informal and yet depicts something 'angelic' and good," says Arbuthnott.  Meanwhile, its packaging also continues to reflect the same message by including cheerful hand-drawn images of fruit, handwritten-style text, messages about recycling and an invitation to interact directly with the brand through its 'banana phone' - AKA its customer service line.

But possibly the most prominent part of its brand identity is the way it communicates to consumers as being 'real people', not a corporate business.  "Innocent has always said that its team members are just 'being themselves'," Arbuthnott explains.  "They take their product seriously - but not themselves.  They are trying to deal with huge issues such as ethical sourcing and sustainable packaging, but they've made sure that it doesn't look onerous.  In fact, it's the opposite: fun and it comes naturally - just as naturally as the brand's freshly squeezed smoothies.  Its communication, at every level, is very consistent with these beliefs and behaviours, which makes is a very trustworthy brand."

Creating a brand identity 

So, how can you ensure you deliver your message to potential clients?  Before you start to create any visual brand identity, it's important to consider a few points about your desires and beliefs for the business and the brand.  "Ask yourself things like, 'what will my salon stand for', 'who is my ideal customer', 'what will their needs be and how will the business answer those', 'how will they feel when they walk into the salon' and 'why will they want to return'," advises Arbuthnott.  "It's worth writing down what you believe to be the ideal client journey at your salon, from the moment they first walk in to their next visit, describing it in detail using all five senses - especially their feelings.  Once you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve you can start creating a brand identity to reflect that."

This identity should also be reflected in the culture of your team - so ensure that it behaves consistently with your brand values.  "Give your team some training on the brand rather that just oon the treatments you offer and your customer services standards," Arbuthnott recommends.  "Organise a workshop and ask them what they think the brand values are.  Ask them for feedback and contributions on how to communicate your brand to their clients.  By feeling part of the brand, they wil lbe more committed to its cause."

The product house you choose should also illustrate similar goals: "It's very important that the products you use reflect your brand's core values," says Arbuthnott.  "If your brand stands for natural, hands-on therapy then don't select products that contain too many synthetic ingredients or treatments that require electrical equipment, for example.  They won't be consistent with your brand identity, your customer will become confused and the integrity of your brand will suffer."

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