Visual identity & omnichannel approach in 7 steps

The advice that is most often heard in advertising is “Be present at as many touch points as possible with the user”. 

This implies that we follow our  user on every step –  from getting to know our brand (product/service/company) to buying our product.

On such a path, there are many different formats through which we have to find a way to always communicate the same story but from multiple angles.

The most common sentence of brands planning advertising is “But our brand is specific and has a special audience”. It is true, each product/service is specific in its own way, but the principle is always the same.

In this post, I will use the example of Cortex Thrill – a brand known in electronic music circles. It is a team of music producers who have been creating for 30 years and this year they are the winners of the Ambassador Award for the Best Dance and Contemporary Electronic Music Album,

7 steps are:

  1. CREATE YOUR VISUAL IDENTITY
  2. APPLY YOUR VISUAL IDENTITY ON SOCIAL MEDIA
  3. ADVERTISE IN PLACES WHERE YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE IS PRESENT THE MOST
  4. PLACE YOUR AD IN THE TV INTERVIEW
  5. ENSURE VISUALS AT THE POINT OF SALE
  6. APPLY VISUAL IDENTITY  TO ADVERTISING MATERIALS
  7. PREPARE A BOOK OF GRAPHIC STANDARDS 

STEP 1- CREATE YOUR VISUAL IDENTITY

Let’s start with the basic terminology : Visual identity is a set of definitions of the visual presentation of a company or product in print and digital media. It is necessary to coordinate the appearance of all materials so that they consistently communicate the same values, messages and benefits of products/services to the target audience. In this way, a positive and professional impression of the company or association is ensured.

For every designer, the most difficult part is to create a master – the main visual motif that will be transferred to all formats. Many imagine a designer as creative energy flows through his body out of the blue and thus receives magical inspiration from which he creates a genius design. The reality is actually much different – the designer gathers as many inputs as possible to narrow down the field of possibilities to what will give the best answer to some of the following questions:

  • How to differentiate from other similar products/services?
  • How to convey the message of our mission/vision and basic values?
  • How to appeal to the target group?
  • What colors, motifs and fonts convey the desired emotion?

In this example, we are talking about an album that marks 30 years of creation, the colors are typically masculine and the background is associated with the atmosphere in a club where the lights are dimmed and the focus is only on music that affects the senses to the point of causing goosebumps. The composition has a large static motif with many small particles that create the impression of movement. The blueness is associated with the depths of the sea, because the sea is a great source of inspiration for these producers.

Picture 1 – master

Visual Identity Case study Cortex Thrill

Picture 2 – master visual application on vinyl and album cover

STEP 2 – APPLY YOUR VISUAL IDENTITY TO SOCIAL MEDIA

Visual identity on social networks consists of several elements:

  • Cover image
  • Profile image
  • Post image

We can see that in this example of Cortex Thrill:

Today, there is an increasing number of people who follow social networks exclusively via mobile phones, so it is important to think first about how a certain visual will be seen on a mobile phone, and only secondarily how it will be seen on the big screen.

Figure 3 – Visual identity on Facebook – cover and posts

“Being where the users are” for music producers means being and enabling their own music to be used as background music for the Story format on Instagram.

Figure 4 – Consistent visual identity through music on Instagram story

The information about the award-winning album was announced using marine motifs as a background for the good news about the award, while the news about the pre-sale of the limited edition vinyl was also done following the main design.

Figure 5 – Posts published by the Bonzai Music label also respect the visual identity

Fans like to see how a certain product is created, so it is advisable to show that process in one post. Such a post creates a feeling of trust that the product is real and that it is produced in the best possible way.

Figure 6 – Post showing how vinyl is produced

In addition to Facebook and Instagram, it is important to be visually consistent in a place where playlists are created, such as Beatport.

Figure 7 – Beatport

STEP 3 – ADVERTISE IN PLACES WHERE YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE IS PRESENT THE MOST

Today, more and more web portals have standardised banner formats, but you should also be prepared for various specific formats. When we talk about portals, designers face 2 challenges: 

  1. Most people have developed “banner blindness”, i.e. blindness to banners – we simply ignore everything which we know is found in typical places where ads are.
  2. Banners are a very small place where the message must be short and yet clear.

In this example, the designer decided to go for a static banner, on the front page of one of the leading music portals, klubskascena.hr. The focus was on showing the specific design of the album, and placing the name in the centre. At that moment, the goal was not sales, but only branding.

STEP 4 – PLACE YOUR AD IN THE TV INTERVIEW

When you have a quality and award-winning product, be prepared to be invited to TV shows. In this example, you can see how the vinyl visual is highlighted in an interview at CMC – Croatian Music Channel.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgoP-q66TK0 

Figure 8 – a video animation of the album was played during the interview

STEP 5 – VISUAL AT THE POINT OF SALE

Picture 9 – Presentation of the pre-sale album

STEP 6 – APPLICATION OF THE MAIN MOTIF TO ADVERTISING MATERIALS

In the world of music, it is known that a large part of the income is generated through the sale of concert souvenirs such as t-shirts, hats, scarves, pendants and other items that music lovers like to remind them of that unique experience. Sometimes they simply order an item online because they know it will be a great gift for a big fan who hasn’t had the chance to hear the artists live. Even if it is a limited edition and you have no intention of selling such materials, it is important that you take care of the visual identity and do not leave it to chance.

Here is an example of how this brand would look if applied to advertising materials:

Application of visuals to clothing and other unique materials for promotion.

Figure 10 – mock up application of the main motif on the sweeter

Figure 11 – view of the application of a recognizable motif on caps

STEP 7 – BOOK OF GRAPHIC STANDARDS 

Every brand goes through several stages of its life cycle. In the beginning, while the brand is growing, own visuals are created bit by bit and are often inconsistent unless you are lucky enough to work with a quality designer who knows how to apply one visual solution to many formats. As the company grows and has a need for more and more visual material, it often hires additional designers as reinforcement. There is the challenge of how the first designer conveys all the details of the visual identity without other designers starting to impose their style. For this, it is necessary to have a book of graphic standards in which all the rules that designers must follow when applying visual solutions to different formats are clearly defined.