A Minimalistic Take on Branding

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A Minimalistic Take on Branding

With consumers’ attention spans being compared to those of a 2-year-old, creating a brand with a minimalistic strategy is how successful companies have been able to stay relevant in the ever-changing digital world we live in. A myriad of brands are all competing for consumers’ attention, so it may be tempting to push as much content as possible to gain traction on a target audience. As a content strategist, I won’t argue with trying to create consistent, pertinent, and high-quality content, however by reducing the complexity it often makes for a more impactful and resonating campaign.

Minimalism can mean something different depending on the medium in which a brand expresses it. For example, in minimal visual advertising the use of simple images to convey a brand’s story, product catalog, or ideology with a lack of visual clutter and a single focal point can make an everlasting impression in a consumer’s mind. Simple Words can also have the same profound impact. Consider the impact of a poem that is composed of only a few short words… the human psyche will have a near automatic response in relating the poem’s content to the person’s own personal truth, finding a relationship between the two entities. Minimalistic content strategies provide a similar effect through short, concise posts, articles, or taglines communicating a brand’s message. With multiple digital platforms and consumers always on the go, keeping a marketing message short and sweet is crucial to holding a target audience’s attention long enough for that message to make a profound impact. By cutting through the noise in the digital marketplace, a brand can gain market share. How often do you focus or stick around to hear an entire sales pitch at a conference? The digital audience has the same tendencies that you do, just not in the middle of a conference room with 250 other individuals. When companies utilize minimalistic branding, their goal is to get to the point as quickly and efficiently as possible while entertaining the target audience. Effective minimalistic branding can accomplish several objectives, including, but not limited to: simplifying choices for an audience, establishing and building brand trust, telling a captivating story that the audience can relate to, and providing valuable information and knowledge the negates customer doubt.

There are many brands in the marketplace today that are absolute masters of the minimalist branding strategy. Apple… enough said. Stuart Weitzman… has The Nudist Collection, how much more minimalistic can a campaign get? McDonald’s… the iconic Golden Arches are a prime example of a minimalistic brand logo, it is enough to excite any kid stuck in the backseat of their parent’s car on a long road trip, and just enough to get the parents to make a quick pitstop. These brands have all established a large footprint while staying true to a minimalistic take on branding. Audience impact… I think so.

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