Branding Behind the Scenes

Brand Strategy Series

One of the key components of developing and establishing a long-lasting brand is considering your competition, your industry as a whole — and your position relative to both.

At VIA Studio, an industry competitive analysis is part of our tried and true Brand Strategy process and like other elements of our process, this one guides the work in rebranding or developing a brand.

What is it and Why is it Important?

An industry competitive analysis allows us insight into similar organizations. We conduct a thorough audit of our clients’ competitors' messaging to understand how they position themselves.

Understanding the space your products and brand occupy in the market and in the mind of your consumers is critical — and studying your competitor's position helps you understand yours more clearly.

More often than not, your organization has several competitors or organizations that offer similar products. When we conduct an audit of other brands in the same industry, we get one step closer to identifying the brand positioning of the top players in your industry. Our audit turns into something more actionable with insights and recommendations for our clients.

We typically conduct a visual brand analysis in tandem with our industry competitive analysis. Similar to the industry competitive analysis, the visual brand analysis is an audit of all the current branded elements, online and offline, and allows us to analyze competitors’ usage of color, typography, design, and illustration.

Competitor Analysis | Provi

We took our client, Provi, a leader in the beverage alcohol industry, through our immersive Brand Strategy process and the industry competitive analysis we conducted for them early on provides a good look into this work.

At the beginning of our Brand Strategy process, after interviewing their stakeholders, we audited the messaging and brand focus of eight of their top competitors.

After a thorough audit of each competitor one by one from a messaging and visual standpoint, we looked at them relative to Provi. This process allowed us to better understand what aspects and UVPs of Provi we wanted to elevate and lean into — and how we could separate Provi from all of their competition.

Determining the similarities and differences between your brand and your competitors’ or entire industry allows you to think more about how you can reach your consumers more effectively.

Visual Analysis | Provi

Now more than ever, brands are fighting to catch and maintain consumer attention — and all the elements of your brand together affect how users engage with or consume your brand.

Our team considers how messaging and visuals work together to establish your position. We believe that all parts of your brand must support each other and work together.

You could have the most useful product on the market, but without a solid brand positioning, messaging, and identity/design to back it up, it will be harder to see the value and cohesive, clear purpose in what you’re offering — and that’s why we see these audits as necessary. They truly allow us to map out where your brand currently is, and where your competitors are so that together we can determine where you need to go.

See the full case study here.

THE VALUE OF CONDUCTING ANALYSES

The biggest value in conducting these two analyses is that you gain a clearer picture of your brand, your goals and mission, and how to bring those into focus. This process opens the door to pivotal questions that lead you to build an impactful, long-lasting brand.

• What is my position in the industry relative to my competition?
• Do my messaging and visual branding materials convey my product/organization's value?
• What are my UVPs and are they clearly conveyed?
• What UVPs are my competitors leading with and why?
• Do I want to utilize the same colors used by other brands within my industry? Why or why not?
• Do the visuals and illustrations support my overall message and brand

Contact us if you think our approach is a match for your needs.

Other Brand Strategy Series Posts:

• Why Your Brand Deserves a Concept
• Roadmapping Your Strategic Initiatives
• Positioning Your Company for Differentiation