What Are Brand Attributes?

A brand attribute is a characteristic of your brand that can be categorized in various ways. Brand attributes harmonize and create the personality of your business. They reveal your brand’s core values and contribute to overall brand perception at a ground level.

Much more than merely a logo and color palette, your brand attributes tell the story of “why you do what you do.”

Brand values are a set of principles that overarch every aspect of your business. They help guide product and service decisions, form the narrative that propels your brand storytelling, and show consumers the beliefs you stand for as a company.

Inevitably, there are moments when tough business decisions enter into the equation. But when you continually refer back to the values aligned with your brand’s mission and vision, making the right decision is more straightforward.

While brand values are the principles that guide your brand’s actions and mission, your brand attributes are the identifiable characteristics and personality traits that distinguish your brand.

What Constitutes a Brand Attribute?

Since your brand attributes are recognizable internally and externally, some are less abstract than others.

“Hard” Attributes

Let’s begin with some hard brand attributes. These attributes are comprised of your name, logo, and slogan, among others. They also include your mission statement and what your product or service looks like; basically, everything you have complete control over.

“Soft” Attributes

Vice versa, soft attributes are a little more fluid, as credibility and consistency can vary. As a result, many branding professionals work to help maximize a brand’s equity by modifying and enhancing specific brand attributes, all in the hopes of differentiating from competitors.

Without factoring in what you do, your brand attributes are what consumers grasp when perceiving your brand as a whole. In a way, you can equate brand attributes to how you perceive a person when you think of them. Subconsciously, their values and characteristics will immediately come to mind. In other words, brand attributes induce emotion and embed a unique feeling.

Why Your Brand is More than Just Your Logo and Color Palette

It is important to understand that your brand does not only consist of graphically designed elements. In actuality, it is your product, your marketing, everything about your business. It includes the experience of your brand.

A brand is not limited to only something you see, but instead, something you can feel, think, and even smell it in some instances.

Although there is an essential consideration of style guides, combining fonts and icons, and designing consistent graphics, the visual components are only one piece of the puzzle.

Advantages of Having Clear Brand Attributes

Establishing a robust array of unique brand attributes will help you set your brand apart from competitors. When a business has well-defined and consistent brand attributes, it is set on a course of growing in brand equity and earning more brand power. More than just a confidence boost to your business, a quality brand increases confidence in consumers’ perception as well.

Apple: A Prime Example

An example used by many, and for good reason, is Apple’s brand. Some keywords that are indirectly related to every aspect of the company’s branding are “innovative,” “inclusive,” “lifestyle,” and “passion.” In their messaging, the concepts of imagination and innovation are essential.

The company focuses heavily on creativity, shaping the technology world to benefit people’s needs, and constantly exploring new horizons.

Everyone on the planet knows the iconic Apple logo. This is an excellent example of a “hard” brand attribute. Although Apple preserves minimalism in its branding, through optical cohesion, the company has managed to create a memorable experience for customers in a variety of ways.

For example, through their clean store design and offering the experience of interacting with “geniuses” at the Genius Bar, customers can feel as though their tech needs are all taken care of.

Maintaining brand consistency is something Apple has succeeded at tremendously. Their brand touches everything from their website to their products. However, they are just one well-known example of what good branding can do for a company.

Brand Attributes and Their Relevance

Once your brand attributes are in place, it is much easier to determine which marketing techniques and advertising tools should be employed to promote the products or services of your business. Similarly, creative artworks and company collateral are then planned and designed according to your attributes as well.

It’s a snowball effect – once those foundation stones are placed, they pave the way for effortless consistency, individuality, and proper positioning. Then, the hard part is over, and you can hone in on increasing your brand equity.

Having a well-defined set of brand attributes is a must for any business wanting to strengthen its brand.