​Discussing branding is a tricky business. It’s a word that means different things to different people and it's direct relevance to day-to-day business is not always clear. One client recently described it as ‘fluffy’. We prefer ‘intangible asset’.

It’s not just an issue with clients, agency teams often get so immersed in the intricacies of their work that they can lose sight of a business’ real world needs. “Why don’t they get it?” when the five spot colour + emboss print costs get rejected.

At Eat, we realised there was a need to get everyone on the same page, reduce frustration (and hours) and ultimately do better, more effective work for our clients. To do that, we went back to basics.

We encourage our clients to view their business from a customers’ perspective and so we take a similar approach – a brand is an integrated part of a business, it cannot be developed or exist in isolation. We carry out our work in that context, always looking at how it can be truly useful to our client, day to day, in real world situations.

It starts with a purpose.

Any successful business needs a core purpose, a reason for being, which is differentiated and addresses a gap in the market.

You target that gap with your products or services and around this you build a business strategy.

Your brand builds the story and creates your identity and your communication and marketing delivers that story and engages with your market.

Assuming everything is in sync and you deliver what you promise, your business starts to grow and each of these areas gets adjusted accordingly.

Everything is connected. It’s logical. There’s no fluff.

Drill down further and each of these quadrants contain a myriad of elements that need to be considered before we can provide anything useful. Before moving to the left side of the chart, we immerse ourselves in the right.

That involves a lot of listening. Sessions where we learn about the business inside and out, through conversations and discussions with all stakeholders. Not only do we learn a lot, but the client becomes fully engaged and gains ownership in the process.

As the project develops, every deliverable and recommendation can be objectively justified in terms of agreed business objectives. No fluff.