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Basic principles of branding

Tommi Virkama, Director of Startia, emphasises that the basic principles and values of a brand are the foundation for everything:

– The brand must reflect the core values and culture of the company. This lays the foundation for all communication and marketing. So, first you must figure out what your company is or wants to be, what it looks like, how it speaks and how it acts.

Johanna Hietikko-Koljonen, Communications Manager, adds:

– It is important that brand values are genuinely at the heart of the company's operations. Customers quickly recognise if the values are not aligned with the company's actions.

How is a company's brand defined?

Brand definition begins with clarifying the company's vision, mission, and values. The vision should describe what the company aims to achieve in the long term, while the mission explains how this vision will be accomplished. The values, in turn, guide the company’s daily operations.

– Vision and mission give direction and purpose to the company's operations. They also help employees understand why their work is important, Virkama lists.

The brand’s visual identity and story are often what stick in customers’ minds. The logo, colour scheme and visual appearance are key elements that help stand out from the competition. Brand values and messages are reflected in everything the company does, both internally and externally.

– The visual identity is the first thing customers notice. It must be consistent and recognisable across all channels, especially on social media. It involves not only the logo and colour scheme but also the imagery, encapsulating everything about how the company looks, feels, and the kind of experience or customer feeling it leaves. It encompasses business cards and window decals as much as the style of customer communication greetings and the employees’ work attire, Hietikko-Koljonen lists.