Developing a Strong Brand Identity in the Post-Pandemic Era

Ian Chia-01

“I believe that brands need to be flexible, forward-thinking, and open to the fact that design is evolving and we have to embrace new types of ideation. Brand design is more important in today’s digital landscape as the number of mediums that can be used to disrupt the consumer market has drastically increased,” says, Ian Chia, Creative & Design Lead at Kingscom, in an exclusive interview with TalkCMO.

TCMO Bureau: According to you, what are the design and creative struggles that today’s brands face while trying to connect with their target audience?

One of the biggest challenges that today’s brands face is adopting a well-rounded design system for their brand identity. A good design system comprises of a brand’s visual assets that represent the brand DNA. This is commonly ignored as the business or brand develops. This is because most business owners or key decision-makers are too caught up worrying about the commercial business model and strategy at the operational level.

For instance, the most common situation I encounter is when businesses are satisfied with just having a brand logo. A brand logo is just a visual tool (albeit an important one) used to associate your brand to your consumers. However, to effectively engage your target audience, you are going to need more than just a logo. You need a total design system for your brand.

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TCMO Bureau: How can brands deliver disruptive ads to their customers in an increasingly saturated market?

The key here is to understand what your target audience really wants. Consumers behave in a wide variety of ways throughout the purchase cycle. Consumers do not necessarily have to believe that your product or service is the only option on the market; however, if it makes the consumer feel good about themselves, it leads to your brand gaining traction. To me, disruptive advertising is not all about selling the product/service – that is traditional. It is about making waves, generating buzz, and ultimately getting consumers to believe in something they previously did not.

TCMO Bureau: In this post-pandemic era, what creative approach do you recommend in order to help brands develop a stronger brand identity?

During the post-pandemic era, we have seen a lot of brands innovate their creative approach. I believe that brands need to be flexible, forward-thinking, and open to the fact that design is evolving and we have to embrace new types of ideation. Brand design is more important in today’s digital landscape as the number of mediums that can be used to disrupt the consumer market has drastically increased. With almost all channels going digital, target audience exposure has increased – disruptive and unique creative ideas will win.

TCMO Bureau: How can brands leverage design strategies to incorporate in their content creation process?

One good method I constantly use when coming up with creative concepts is doing a “role-reversal.” Forget who you are for a moment, and imagine you are now the customer. What would you expect to see that would excite you enough to remember what you have seen? Content creation that is effective revolves around displaying information that brings some value to the viewer, and it is our job to define that value.

TCMO Bureau: What UX design practices should a brand focus on to deliver an exceptional experience?

In UX design, our biggest goal is improving user experience when interacting with the business. Any brand should focus on achieving an engaging process that is simple and effective when leading the consumer to the call-to-action (CTA). There are many strategies that the big players use in the industry today.

Also Read: Leveraging Digital Marketing Technologies and Techniques to Survive an Uncertain Marketplace

For instance, a notable trend is gamification (which puts the user in a position of power to decide the next course of action) to enhance the experience. Above all, the priority of UX design is “to improve customer experience, adding emotional value to a brand.” With the huge growth in digital design applications, modern design practices should also focus on retaining customer loyalty by providing an enjoyable experience with efficiency.

Ian Chia is the Creative & Design Lead at Kingscom, managing overall creative & design development for the agency. His expertise lies in brand creative strategy and visual asset design. He has worked with clients across multiple industries in FMCG, Lifestyle/Retail, F&B, Entertainment, Engineering & Consultancy in the APAC region. He is also well versed in UX design practices and employs his knowledge to help brands adapt to an evolving digital landscape.