Brand assets are parts that make up your brand identity. You can look at them as the molecules that make up your brand DNA and work together in an interconnected fashion to build your brand's identity.
This article will get into the key points of branding assets and how they influence your business. From defining brand assets to the best examples and practices from industry leaders, let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
What Are Brand Assets?
Brand assets are the core elements of your brand's identity; it's what your company uses to represent itself. A strong brand has a clear identity and personality, so having all your assets in one place is necessary.
Branding assets should be used consistently throughout all marketing materials, so people can easily recognize them. This builds trust with customers and clients because they know what to expect when they see anything branded with your logo or other unique identifiers.
When we say brand assets, we mean:
Brand Name
A brand name is the most crucial brand asset. It is the name that people use when they refer to your company, product, or service.
You can include your brand name throughout your marketing materials, including print advertising, social media posts, website pages, emails, and more. You may even want to consider trademarking your brand name to protect against copyright infringement by others who might use it without your permission or authorization.
A good brand name can last for many years with little change. For instance, the Coca-Cola Company has been using its brand name since 1886.
You can use tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner or Keyword Tool to find popular keywords associated with your services and use those words in your new business name.
Logo
Logo assets are visual representations of your brand. Brands use logos on business cards, signage, packaging, and more.
The logo design may not always be visible, but it's still part of your brand identity. As part of your visual assets, it represents what your company stands for and what consumers should expect.
Tagline/Slogan
A tagline is a snappy catchphrase that summarizes what your company does. Brands often use it in advertisements, social media platforms, and other marketing materials.
Taglines or slogans help customers understand what distinguishes you from your competition and why they should choose your product over another.
Product Features
Product features are physical attributes of your product or service that set it apart from similar products and can help consumers make buying decisions based on their preferences. These include the size, color, shape, materials, and other product characteristics.
Color Scheme
Colors are another important part of your visual assets. They often have emotional meanings — like how red is associated with passion while blue symbolizes trustworthiness.
Using color psychology in marketing can help increase conversions and conversion rates. The easiest way to do this is by creating a color scheme that matches what you're trying to convey through visuals like photos and illustrations.
Brand Promise
The brand promise is what consumers expect from your product or service based on their experience with previous ones from your company or other companies in your industry segment. It's perceived value because customers don't always know what they want until they've tried it out. Your brand promise should be short, memorable, and consistent with your overall brand strategy.
Customer Service
Customer service refers to how well you treat your customers when interacting with your business. This brand asset includes everything from how employees answer questions to the quality of customer service training manuals and policies. Customer service is also crucial in ensuring your customers have a positive experience with your brand.
A customer service experience that drives buy-in from employees and customers alike will help you build a lasting relationship between them — one that transcends any single purchase or interaction. In short: It builds loyalty.
Top 5 Brand Assets Examples To Inspire Your Business
Brand assets are any material thing that represents your brand. Brand assets include everything from the clothes you wear to the logos on your website to the products you sell.
The best brands in the world have a unique brand asset. Whether it's a logo, slogan, or character, these brands have a way of connecting with people on an emotional level. Here are some examples:
1. Netflix
As of 2023, Netflix was the ninth most valuable brand, with a brand value worth $24.1 billion.
The company has one of the most straightforward but memorable logo assets: the red letter ‘N’ against a black backdrop. The Netflix logo has changed throughout the years, but it has always retained its simplicity. Even today, that is exactly what makes it one of the best visual assets. The bold ‘N' pops up when you open the app or play a movie, accompanied by its signature sound effect, immediately making you think of the brand Netflix™.
2. Apple
There isn’t a person on Earth who hasn’t heard about Apple. In 2024, Apple is the most valuable brand, with over $516 billion in brand value. Apple's simple yet elegant logo is one of its most recognized brand assets. It's striking, remarkable, and resonates with the brand.
3. Amazon
In 2023, Amazon ranks fourth among brands worldwide, with a brand value of $469 billion. It’s all thanks to Amazon’s distinguishable brand identity that sets it apart, from the Amazon smiley face and orange arrow to the simple typography. These all work together to create one cohesive brand identity.
The Amazon smiley face has been around for a long time, but it remains relevant today because of its fun and inviting nature. The signature arrow is also used on every product page, guiding customers through their shopping experience.
4. Mailchimp
According to the last Mailchimp report in 2020, Mailchimp has more than 14 million users worldwide. MailChimp's brand assets are all about color and simplicity. It has a distinct color palette, typography, and graphics throughout its website and marketing materials. By blending yellow and black and presenting the brand's mascot, Mailchimp is one of the most easily recognizable logo assets.
5. HubSpot
Even if you've never heard of HubSpot, you probably recognize them from their orange logo and color palette. HubSpot has more than 216,000 customers worldwide, including Yamaha, GE Lighting, Calm, and Hamilton Beach.
It has cohesive assets that build a strong brand identity as you can see the same visual elements such as colors and fonts on its website.
4 Ways To Identify Your Brand Assets
Since brand assets are what set a company apart from the competition, therefore, it’s crucial to growing a successful business. To identify your branding assets, here are 4 things you can do: .
1. Review Your Company’s Strengths
Assess your company's strengths with these guide questions:
- What do you do better than other companies?
- What sets you apart from your competitors?
- What are the core values of your company?
- What are the products/services that your company offers that are unique?
By identifying your unique selling proposition (USP), you’ll know which aspects of your business to highlight in your brand assets to win over customers.
2. Conduct Research
Research and learn more about different brands and what they use as brand assets. By reading articles and books on branding, you can become more familiar with the other brands and their visual assets.
One method is to conduct brand equity research. It helps determine how to best leverage your branding assets. It also assists with how to maintain/increase brand equity and how to maintain brand equity through the life cycle of your brand.
3. Talk to Experts
A branding strategy agency can help you determine the strengths/weaknesses of your brand. This way, you can better manage your brand assets and create an identity that will resonate and stick with your customers.
4. Brainstorm
Once you understand the different brand assets, you can brainstorm ideas for your company. Start with the most critical assets, and work from there.
How To Manage Your Brand Assets: 7 Best Practices
You've worked hard to create a brand that's unique and eye-catching. Now you need to keep it consistent and cohesive by managing your company's branding assets.
Here are some best practices to follow:
- Keep Your Brand Assets Consistent
- Create Brand Guidelines
- Monitor Your Assets Regularly
- Have Everyone Involved in the Process
- Have Everyone Understand What They're Doing
- Use Asset Tracking Software
- Make Sure All of Your Assets Are High Quality
1. Keep Your Brand Assets Consistent
Ensure that all your images, logos, and videos are consistent with your brand identity. If they're not, it can confuse customers or make them question whether they're dealing with the right business.
2. Create Brand Guidelines
Brand guidelines consist of rules and standards that ensure consistency within a brand. For instance, it shows how to use a logo or what colors are associated. Brand guidelines can also include photography, video, and other visual elements.
To learn more about brand guidelines, check out our guide on how to create a brand book.
3. Monitor Your Assets Regularly
Use up-to-date versions of your logo assets — in images or videos — so that they don't look outdated in marketing campaigns. This will also help customers remember your brand.
4. Have Everyone Involved in the Process
You don't want just one person managing everything — you need people who are familiar with each piece of content so they can make sure all brand assets are always up-to-date and accurate.
5. Have Everyone Understand What They're Doing
Ensure all employees know what constitutes good logo assets or a branding style to use in their department's projects. This helps them avoid accidentally creating something that doesn’t fit the brand’s guidelines and submitting it for review.
6. Use Asset Tracking Software
Use tools such as Google Analytics on your website, blogs, social media accounts, and other online platforms. These tools allow you to track how often each brand asset is being downloaded, viewed, or liked, which ones need more attention, and what type of content performs best with your audience.
7. Make Sure All of Your Assets Are High Quality
Ensure all brand assets have excellent quality, both visually and technically speaking. Any issues with them — be that an image or video clip — need to be fixed immediately, so they won’t negatively impact the user experience.
Brand Assets: Takeaways
Brand assets are powerful tools for building your brand and gaining market share. It's not just about creating a logo or color scheme that looks good; it's also about creating an identity that resonates with consumers.
These visual assets help you define who you are, what makes you unique, and how people should perceive your company or product and relate to it. The most effective way to use branding assets is by understanding what they mean and leveraging the ones that offer the most significant potential for success.
Professional branding companies can also help you with this process, so we advise looking for the right agency to partner with for your project.
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