Personal Fitness Professional - October 2008 - (Page 29)

logo can also be utilized eﬀectively in your visual identity, but the trick is not to over-do it — again, your logo must have its own importance. Picking complementary colors schemes and using them in a regular manner will allow your overall branding to start evolving. 3. Use graphics wisely — Compelling graphics can deﬁnitely help build and delineate your brand, although they are not an absolute necessity. Your intended audience should dictate the kind of imagery you choose, and every graphic should be relevant to your message. You don’t have to use the same pictures over and over again, but consistent and well-thought-out usage of a good picture or two will help establish your business’ branding and visual identity. Other critical things to consider in the process are taglines, jingles or theme songs (if you advertise on television and radio) and where you want to actually advertise. The key is simply to be consistent. If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed by branding minutia, consider hiring an agency or experienced designer to at least start the initial development process. Once the criteria are established and several pieces of advertising and marketing collateral are in place, it may be easier for you to implement on your own. A word of caution, however: Just as I couldn’t be somebody’s personal trainer because I’ve learned a few things from mine, you should not presume to think you can take over branded advertising eﬀorts and be eﬀective just because you’ve picked up some pointers. If your budget allows, your best bet is to stick with a professional. Measuring the Non-speciﬁc Advertising says, “If the customer has heard of us, we’ve done our job.” But good branding says, “If it made the customer think of us, we’re doing our job.” The value of branding is extremely diﬃcult to calculate because, quite frankly, good branding won’t make your business one single dollar. It will, however, create a visual identity for your company that is positive and readily identiﬁable, position your company in the marketplace, compel people to remember you and think about your services and promote loyalty. And all those things together will add up to — you guessed it — increased revenue. Message, type, color, imagery, taglines… branding is the big picture, so to speak. Small companies — even mom-and-pop shops — can beneﬁt from developing a brand for their businesses. It’s not rocket science, and it doesn’t take a small fortune to have good branding. But it does take vision and consistency in implementation. You’ll know your eﬀorts are successful when someone comes up to you and says they saw or heard something and it reminded them of your business. Kind of like an old best friend. Mona Nuckolls’ 25-year career in the advertising and design industry encompasses everything from graphic designer to equipment consultant to senior creative director to business owner. Having won numerous awards over the last 14 years, her company, Contemporary Communications, Inc., has done branding campaigns for a variety of businesses around the US, including the ﬁtness and wellness industries. She can be contacted at 817.578.3300 or mona@contemporary-communications.com. ● OCTOBER2008 · WWW.FIT-PRO.COM 29 http://www.ptmgr.com http://www.ptmgr.com http://WWW.FIT-PRO.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Personal Fitness Professional - October 2008

Personal Fitness Professional - October 2008 Contents Letter from the Editor, Writers Current Controversies Combating with Obesity Pilates and Yoga for Athletes New! The Balancing Act The Top Prize Building a Base of Special Populations Datebook The Success Image The Anatomy of a Fitness Assessment Branding Training Ruts Product Profile New on the Market

Personal Fitness Professional - October 2008

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