Branding, much like art, whispers potent messages to its audience. This emotional journey crafted through art is paralleled in effective branding, which builds a deep, often unseen connection with its audience. Vincent Van Gogh isn’t merely remembered as the troubled artist who cut off his ear or tragically ended his life; he’s celebrated for the emotiveness of his works. Through every expressionistic stroke and vibrant use of color in masterpieces like ‘A Starry Night’ (1889), we feel the gusts of wind, almost moving with them. Branding combines visual elements such as logo suites, typography, colors, and collateral items with strategic marketing, messaging, and positioning. It is meticulously crafted to evoke feelings and influence decisions—essential in guiding investment choices and consumer behaviour.
Consider the typical brand journey if we define ‘Brand existence’ as internal brand identity structuring and industry / market positioning, then ‘Brand expression’ as the way a brand expresses its strategy and brand personality through communicative efforts on collateral items and marketing channels, attracting and appealing to the desired targeted audience:
BRAND EXISTENCE BRAND EXPRESSION CONSUMER APPEAL CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT CONSUMER ACQUISITION
Brand existence leads to brand expression, which in turn drives customer appeal, engagement, and ultimately, acquisition. It seems in the Western world, businesses understand and leverage this journey for assured success, Yet, in Africa, we witness a staggering 70-80 percent decline in business lifecycles within five years, often due to a failure in maintaining consistent, impactful customer engagement. Branding also lends itself to the political sphere, not because of the origins of marketing which are deeply intertwined with the history of propaganda, as both have evolved to leverage mass media and psychological techniques to influence public opinion and behaviour, often in service of political or commercial interests but rather the local elections that are upon us.
In South Africa, for example, there is a noticeable uptick in the branding budgets of political campaigns, moving beyond traditional media coverage of the virtue-signalling charity events and overstated and creativity-lacking rally merchandise to sophisticated branding strategies using neuromarketing techniques. These strategies employ a psychological spin to create a system of signs that resonate, engage, and motivate onlookers—a subtle yet powerful form of in-the-closet propaganda.
Take the campaign for The People’s Dialogue (TPD), which has evolved into the newly launched political party, ActionSA. This campaign aims to inspire South Africans to envision and choose the future they desire. The strategic breakdown of their brand identity not only captures but amplifies this vision:
Visual Homage to National Pride: The logo subtly mirrors the South African flag, fostering a connection through nationalistic pride and aligning with the party’s name, which includes ‘SA’—reaffirming its commitment to the South African populace.We identify a letter ‘A’ within the logo that is pulled from the ‘A’ in the parties forename ‘Action’. Beyond this we see the ‘A’ manipulated in a manner of dynamic curve to not only showcase the brand (parties) agility and malleability to the nations wants and needs but also to resemble that of a road that progres- sively travels long and far to what looks like a vanish point. This is strategically even embedding the idea in the audience(voters) mind that this party aims to journey with them to the promise land, till the end of the road and even to the unseen but promised future.
Symbolism in Design: The letter ‘A’ in the logo, derived from ‘Action,’ is stylised with a dynamic curve, resembling a road stretching into the horizon—a metaphor for progress and journey. This design suggests that ActionSA is not just a choice but a partner in the long haul towards a promising future.
Complimenting Elements: A circle surrounds the ‘A,’ symbolising unity and wholeness, reflecting the party’s slogan “act as one.” The color green signals ‘go,’ urging voters to take action towards the future they want.
In the theater of politics, as in the marketplace, the brands that master the art of emotional connection are the ones that not only stand out but also stand the test of time. In this case, the branded ballot box, wins the vote. Understanding and harnessing the power of the palette is at the heart of what we do at Hatherleigh Co. Through our work, we aim to educate and transform how brands connect with their audiences, ensuring they not only launch successfully but continue to thrive.
Hatherleigh Co. is a brand identity and marketing agency in Botswana that touches Namibia, South Africa as well as the US.
