Large and small businesses often find themselves spinning numerous plates at once. Finding the balance between capturing the right target demographic and getting the long-term visuals of your brand just right can be tricky to navigate.

In the initial stages, there are a lot of business elements that can be bootstrapped in order to save on costs. However, there is one thing that should never be overlooked, especially in certain industries. Visual branding is a top priority for most businesses looking to stand out from competitors and carve out their own space in a busy market. When it comes to facilitating the growth of your business visuals are everything, especially when competition is high.

In a world where marketplaces are evolving like the speed of light, it’s no surprise that big and small businesses are turning to top quality visual branding to help them gain an advantage. It’s not just a business strategy, rather a “must-have” if you’re hoping to keep up with the competitors in your space. Becoming a market leader would usually be the number one goal of a business, and visual branding has a huge part to play in that. 

When you take a step back and look at the top industries in operation right now, you can see how valuable it is to put money, time and resources into visual branding, as the returns on investment are huge. It’s clear to see that visual branding is here to stay, so let’s delve deeper into some of the industries that truly need it the most.

What Is Visual Branding?

Before exploring the eight featured industries, let’s explore a quick overview of what visual branding means to both businesses and consumers. 

The instant feeling of a shopper or consumer when they come into contact with a brand has everything to do with their visuals. How they portray their products, how their employees are dressed, what the store signage looks like and how the products are packaged could all be categorized as visual branding elements. There are many dos and don’ts of visual branding, and that’s because it can create a long-lasting impression in the matter of a couple of seconds. Visually communicating your brand to your audience isn’t easy, but it can be done using color, graphic, slogans, fonts, brand logos and other imagery.

Now, here are some of the top players on the market when it comes to putting their budget into visual branding elements and seeing the most success.

The Medical Industry 

It’s no secret that the biggest and best pharmaceutical companies are all vying for a place on the top spot on the shelves. Success is not only achieved by trust and longevity, but also by distinct, clear and visually pleasing pharmaceutical packaging. As well as memorable marketing campaigns, it’s also important to reflect the quality of the product throughout the packaging choices. When supermarket and pharmacy shelves have so many different options on offer, the most popular choice is going to be the one with the right visual branding. This is why it’s more important than ever for pharmaceutical companies to put their visual branding at the forefront of their business agendas.

The Fashion Industry

For companies that put visuals and aesthetics first, much like the fashion industry, it’s clear to see why visual branding is so important. Selecting the correct shades, logos and branding stamps will not only convey the identity of the brands, but it can also signify the overall quality of the products on offer. For many fashion conscious consumers, status is an important feature to them, so they will gear towards brands who keep this in mind with their visuals.

Consumers in the fashion industry also favor brands that make them feel a sense of exclusivity when they wear or buy their products. For example, Harrods in London, UK is well-known for their signature shopping bags. Many people go into this high profile store and buy anything they can get their hands on just so that they can be seen with a Harrods shopping bag in public. This shows that visual branding plays a key role in the fashion space.

Food and Beverage

CPG in the food and beverage industry thrive on visual branding and are always trying to outdo their competitors in every way that they can. Good packaging on food and drinks in the supermarket can influence purchasing decisions and build instant brand recognition. Once a customer has made their choice and becomes loyal to a specific brand, it can be very difficult to turn back and switch their brand loyalty. This is why it’s so important to get visual branding just right from the very beginning. By portraying the brand values of the company on the packaging and within the design elements, it becomes even easier to win over the right consumers who are looking for a specific product.

Retail Stores

When you pull up to your favorite retail store, you know what it is before you even read the name on the sign. The visual branding of stores such as Walgreens and Walmart are instantly recognizable due to their fonts, color schemes and shopping bag designs. Inside the stores they even do their best to make their branding mark known so that their consumers know exactly what to expect. For example, the layout of a Costco store is completely different to Walmart, because that is all part of their visual branding strategy. It creates a sense of familiarity for customers so that they know exactly what to expect when they visit these stores.

The Hospitality Sector

When it comes to the world of hospitality, customers want to know that their experience is going to be positive, welcoming and enjoyable. By using visual branding techniques, businesses can help to influence decision making and create a good brand experience from the very beginning. Although it can take some time for customer loyalty to take hold, it all starts from the very moment they come into contact with the brand in question.

Hair, Makeup and Beauty

Much like the fashion industry, the beauty sector also ensures that visual branding is the number one priority and for a very good reason. Usually, these brands are aimed at consumers who take pride in their appearance and will, therefore, appreciate products that look great on the shelves and in their homes. Creating a visually appealing store for the beauty industry is also paramount because it’s a reflection of the service you may be set to receive inside. The beauty products you use can also be viewed as an extension of your personality, which is why it’s even more important to make them visually appealing to that specific target audience.

Vehicles

Choosing a new car can be a big decision for many consumers, so what are the decided factors that actually help someone to make this choice? Visual branding, logos, language and color palettes are key in the automotive industry as it helps to sell their products. Using the right words, brand logos and more they can impact a customers’ choice and steer them towards choosing their brand. Prestigious car companies such as Mercedes and Porsche have done this seamlessly for their brands; car enthusiasts want to drive a car with their signature logo on which shows just how imperative visual branding is for the vehicle sector, especially luxury cars.

Technology

Tech enthusiasts will always be on the lookout for the biggest and best invention that is available, but trust has a lot to do with this. When a brand has a well constructed visual identity, it instantly instills a sense of trust into the target demographic and it boosts customer loyalty. Apple takes its visual branding very seriously and it has clearly worked in its favor when it comes to keeping customers on board with their products.

Final Thoughts

There aren’t many industries that put a considerable amount of thought, money and effort into their visual identity, simply because it carries such huge value when you’re in a competitive market. Having a solid visual branding strategy not only helps to convey your business message clearly, but it also helps your target demographic to resonate with what you’re saying. Having an impact on the right people should never be overlooked in consumer based industries. Aesthetics matter and always will, even if the products inside are exactly the same. A consumer will instantly be drawn to the one that catches their eye visually when it’s on the shelf or on a website.