Blog Archive
How to leverage brand to increase awareness – Pt. 1 Green Tech
Author: Issy Cheung | Circa 10 minute read
Green tech represents a huge opportunity and a challenge for businesses. Despite the collaborative nature of the industry, we are in the attention economy, more and more businesses are competing for customers. So how do you stand out from the crowd?
We’ve worked with tech and environmental start-ups and scale-ups for the past 5 years and we appreciate the pressure that you’re under. Being at the forefront of the green revolution means there’s rarely enough time, and developing your brand inevitably falls down the list of priorities. You may be aware of this, but designed well, your brand can be leveraged to increase awareness, attract the perfect customers and secure vital investment funding.
Read on to learn about three proven-methods to help you achieve this.
Communicate visually and build emotional connections
People’s attention spans are short. We’re advocates of using the right balance of design and language, but a picture paints a thousand words – visual communication is proven to build emotional connections that, done thoughtfully, will grab your audience’s attention quickly and resonate with their values.
This challenge is harder for green tech companies – your products are complex, data-driven, or sometimes just purely functional. To stand out you must establish a human connection with your audience and infuse purpose in your marketing and communications. In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, avoiding confusion and making a meaningful impact on your users is integral. You can’t afford to let leads and website visitors slip through the cracks, therefore every touchpoint should be visually engaging and communicate your unique value.
This is where a carefully crafted brand kit makes a huge difference.
Take one of our green-tech clients for example, The Land App – we helped them to develop their brand and elevate their business by embracing visual communication. By distilling their why, how, what, and who – we were able to use illustration, infographics, colour and animation to help make their complex technical solutions more digestible and appeal to a wider range of users. This approach not only enhanced the brand experience and authenticity but instilled a sense of trust too. Remember, the end goal is to convert your customers into loyal brand advocates – who will recommend you to their network, clients, friends and family.
Creating an engaging and accessible brand has accelerated the Land App’s growth. Whether you’re an app, solar panel manufacturer or eco consumer brand – it is crucial to invest time in your brand and use of visual communication, identifying any barriers to ensure customers aren’t passing you by.
“As a small company, it is business critical to clearly articulate your value to prospective customers in a concise and clear way. Working with The Discourse enabled us to focus on our unique value proposition, build awareness and attract the right customers.”
Dan Geerah, Growth and Partnerships Manager @ The Land App
Flip the script: Who said Green Tech has to look green?!
The days of relying on visual clichés in the green business space have gone. Brands in this domain are making investments in bold and diverse brand identities – that transcend the usual tropes associated with ‘eco-brands’.
Through effective research and an awareness of design trends in your industry, you can align your brand with the best of breed ,whilst identifying opportunities to push the boundaries of creativity. We recognise this and work with businesses to find their sweet spot – identifying how all these elements can be measured and balanced. The result? A trustworthy brand that champions your cause, is consistent with your values, and is uniquely, you.
In our previous blog post, ‘Design lessons from the music industry’- we wrote about the importance of identifying your tribe. Much like album artwork, brands and the content you produce do more than just look good. They are eye-catching, yes, but they also show people what they can expect from you.
So to really stand out, do you need to be original? Well, done effectively, originality can still incorporate certain aesthetics that makes you immediately identifiable in your industry. Being original doesn’t mean abandoning everything you’ve ever known, there are plenty of ways to push boundaries with your audience with elements such as: imagery and photography, semiotics, colour, and typography. They all have an impact.
We did just that for another one of our clients, BubbleLife – they’re pioneers in organic plastic free technology. During the creative process we focused on the contemporary aspects of their brand. We wanted to create an aesthetic that resonated with their target audience: luxury hotels, leisure industries, aspirational millennials and impact investors. The outcome was a minimalist look that balanced the scientific and environmental qualities of their product. This in turn showcased the modernism and innovation at the core of their brand. We love how embracing this distinctive yet familiar look allows brands like you to carve out an identity, whilst not alienating yourself from a more traditional “eco-friendly” audience.
“We wanted a brand and website that showed our company was green and scientific, but also as a producer of luxury products. By working with the team at The Discourse we were able to develop a website and company brand identity that truly reflected the company’s ethos and personality. Something that will help to attract the right customers as we bring new products to market”.
Jon McGlashan – Founder, BubbleLife
Showcase the impact of your work, and your ambition
As a purpose driven business, you should use your brand, website and content to showcase your achievements and the path you are forging. It impacts both internal and external perceptions. Over the years we have witnessed first-hand the positive impact that this has on a business…
An effective brand energises your employees and enhances your ability to attract the right investors.
A captivating website and strong social media presence will help you to celebrate your work, highlighting not only your impact and ambitions – but also fostering unity within your team and preparing them for what lies ahead.
An aspirational mindset and long term marketing strategy will help to future-proof your organisation and attract your customers of the future.
Building a brand that can stand the test of time, takes time. It’s essential that it reflects your current identity but also captures the vision of who you are aspiring to be. Being meticulous with how you construct your brand and marketing communications will help you show customers what you bring to the world. Sharing impact stats, reports and customer stories also solidifies your credibility and highlights the positive change you are making.
Prior to an investment drive, we helped CEPRO to align their brand and website with the brilliant work they do in funding, constructing and operating fully managed community microgrids. By creating an engaging visual identity and brand kit – a sense of excitement, cohesion and trust was achieved both internally and externally. We collaborated closely, the efforts put into this proved vital in growing their team and creating a strong application for a national grant which resulted in critical investment funding.
In this instance, leveraging their brand and content proved to be more than just a means of attracting potential clients, it was also a catalyst for attracting the right talent and investors.
‘Our brand and digital transformation has positioned Cepro as a leader in the renewable energy revolution. With an outdated visual identity and marketing channels, we needed a brand that reflected our future ambitions, attracted investors, and effectively communicated our vision.
The Discourse understood our challenges and objectives, and through their expertise and creativity, they delivered a versatile brand kit and website that communicated clarity, built confidence both internally and externally, and helped us to secure essential grant funding.’
Damon Rand, MD & Head of Product @ Cepro
So what to do next…
The power of leveraging your brand to increase awareness is undeniable. And it holds even greater significance within the rapidly expanding green technology space. By ensuring an integrated and impactful brand identity, infused with meaning and purpose, you can capture the attention of your target audience, build trust, and drive meaningful change. As you navigate the path to boosting brand awareness, remember that every touchpoint matters. From your product to your messaging, to your website to your social media channels. Leveraging your brand now, allows you to embrace all the opportunities that lie ahead and get recognition for the amazing work that you do.
At The Discourse, we have been designing incredible brand identities, websites and content marketing campaigns for Green Tech businesses for well over 5 years. We’ve proven that organisations that embrace brand, the web and content are more successful over the long term. Our clients typically spend from £5k to £20k on brand strategy and design, website projects range from £5k to £20k depending on size and functionality.
To take your brand to the next level you can get in contact today via our contact page or by emailing us at [email protected]. We look forward to helping you to define the way the world sees you.
