ADVANCE YOUR BRAND MESSAGE, ADVANCE YOUR BRAND
Your brand has evolved. Have you brought your brand message up to speed?
Is your brand wearing shoes that are
3 sizes too small?
Brands are living organisms, and much like humans, they can grow at exponential rates in their early life. So if your brand has grown — in its mission or vision, service or products, costs and revenue, social media channels and followers — it’s time to pause and consider if you’re best reflecting who your brand is today and not who it started out as.
If you want…
→ Get a clear picture of the subtle and impactful ways your brand has changed
→ Reflect on and update the most essential, driving forces behind your brand communications across the board (internal and external!)
→ Break through old patterns and gain insight on growth opportunities you may not have considered
→ Deepen your relationship with your brand audience and convert more followers to customers
→ Revitalize inspiration, motivation, and creative output
Then you want to take some time to advance your brand message.
Sounds like beginner’s stuff — we already have a logo, a vision statement, etc.
I’m sure you do! And it is… and it’s not.
Since your brand is a little older and more capable, it’s also busier. And so are you. When was the last time you took time to deeply reflect on your brand evolution? To dig into all those “basic” things that took so much heartfelt time and consideration, to be sure you’re still walking that talk? Maybe you have more team members, maybe you’ve become so focused on serving your customers that you have neglected ensuring the integrity of your brand communications — you know, those things that attract the right eyes of the right clients, employees, industry partners, and growth opportunities.
Maybe you’ve seen the impact your brand is capable of making and you find yourself wondering: “How can this be expanded? Can this work leave a legacy — how and with whom?”
If you aren't looking to be a shooting star, a company that lives brightly but briefly, wowing people momentarily but ultimately fading from the sky, then this workbook is for you.
CLARITY MAGNIFIES THE MONEY, TIME, AND ENERGY
Clarity is a powerful force. So if you’ve skimmed through the page thus far going, “I mean, yeah, I’m pretty sure our brand mission, vision, values, audience, offerings, and industry haven’t changed even the teensiest, and we definitely represent and communicate them perfectly to all our stakeholders….
Then I’d urge you to think again.
I promise you, the world was a vastly different place when your brand was conceived. It doesn’t matter the industry or the audience, everybody everywhere has experienced transformation recently — some planned and others consequential. And that which adapts in nature thrives. But to adequately adapt to environmental changes, you need all the clarity possible in order to advance intentionally and strategically!
This interactive ebook will help you define — or redefine — a brand persona and brand message with purpose and clarity. We’ll take you through communication strategies we’ve implemented for decades, prompting you to reflect on who and where you’ve been and, most importantly, who and where you are today as a brand. After journeying through this process, you’ll shape your brand communications with more confidence and impact, from last-minute social media captions to momentous stakeholder letters.
Ready to evolve?
Get instant access to 50 pages of step-by-step guidance!
The most successful brands sustain themselves because they know when it’s time to do THIS.
Did you use Instagram back in 2016? Do you recall wondering one day if a new app had downloaded itself to your phone — what the heck is that bright, multi-colored camera icon, you wondered?! It was the mark of a rebrand heard around the world, and it had everyone talking.
1
REFLECT
In May of 2016, Instagram quietly changed its logos, brand assets, and app interface(s) for its 400 million global users. What prompted this colorful logo transformation? Their colorful community. Instagram said the changes reflected how "vibrant and diverse" the community of storytellers using the platform had become. Additionally, their services had changed; they started as a photo-sharing app but had grown to offer much more (Layout, Boomerang, Hyperloop). Instagram had witnessed enormous growth since its birth, and the company was aware and agile enough to pivot accordingly.
2
ADAPT
You know those products or companies that you really do enjoy, but man, it would be great if they just did this or that a teensy bit differently? We love those companies — they listen to us! It can be tough to strike a balance between keeping up with your audience and fatiguing them with changes. Instagram took time to deeply reflect, and made a bunch of changes all at once, as opposed to making a different change every other day. In addition to their logo and app icons changing, they “stripped the color and the noise” from the Instagram user interface. They opted for a minimalist, mainly black and white scheme. Why? Because, “While the icon is a colorful doorway into the Instagram app, once inside the app, we believe the color should come directly from the community’s photos and videos,” according to Instagram's Head of Design Ian Spalter. They made other important user experience changes, too, like making the user process smoothe, faster, and more intuitive and familiar depending on the device being used.
3
EVOLVE
In May of 2016, when Instagram made these changes, they boasted 400 million users who were reportedly sharing about 80 million photos and video a day. By mid-2020, their user numbers soared to about 1 billion users. Their message was this: “The evolution of the community has been inspiring, and we hope that we’ve captured some of the life, creativity, and optimism people bring to Instagram every day. Our hope is that people will see this app icon as a new creative spark — something to have fun with and make their own. We’re excited for where this will take us.” A few months later, they added the Stories feature, which now has over 500 million active users daily. Then came IGTV and Reels. What’s next?!
4
REPEAT
In the fall of 2020, Instagram once again surprised users with some home screen and function updates, but not nearly of the same magnitude as its 2016 overhaul. “We don’t take these changes lightly,” head of Instagram Adam Mosseri wrote in a blog post. “We haven’t updated Instagram’s home screen in a big way for quite a while. But how people create and enjoy culture has changed, and the biggest risk to Instagram is not that we change too fast, but that we don’t change and become irrelevant. We’re excited about the new design and believe it gives the app a much-needed refresh, while staying true to our core value of simplicity.” This marked step in evolution came a handful of years after their big rebrand, a good time for most companies to pause, assess, and readjust (if appropriate).
The Advance Your Brand Message Workbook is an easy-to-follow guide that will help you define — or redefine — a brand message with purpose and clarity. We’ll take you through communication strategies we’ve implemented for decades, prompting you to reflect on who and where you’ve been as a brand and, most importantly, who and where you are today as a brand. At the end, you’ll have the clarity and insight needed to evolve your brand strategically, for the long haul.
$49
Instant download
Bonus
still on the fence? Take a peek at your bonus items
While you will be going through the interactive workbook at your own pace, we don't want you to feel alone! We've got special bonus content that will help you advance your brand message as you go through this process.
Brand strategy Keynote/Powerpoint template
This template will help translate your efforts from the workbook into an organized, actionable brand strategy document (Keynote and PowerPoint files, you pick). You can share it with a team or keep it for your own use.
branded email signature tutorial
We’ll send you an email signature guide where you will learn how to create a custom branded email signature without code.
Additional support
There will be no wondering, "now what?" after you download your workbook! We're going to cheer you on and hold you accountable to your commitment to your brand. We'll follow-up via email with ongoing guidance to help you stay motivated and inspired, while experiencing continued value with additional tools and resources.
About Nicte Cuevas
Nicte Cuevas (Principal, Nicte Creative Design) is an award-winning brand strategist and graphic designer who uses empathy-driven tactics to help evolve, invigorate, and amplify businesses’ unique brand positions. Nicte translates the complexities of color into nuanced, purpose-driven stories using color psychology and intentional messaging tools, ultimately facilitating positive and profitable outcomes. Her work has earned her features in Graphic Design USA People to Watch in both 2015 and 2020. Nicte graduated from the University of Houston with a B.F.A. in Graphic Communications.
Here’s what people are saying about the instructor
Mónica Malavé
CEO at Elevate It Now
She's fantastic to work with and I would hire her in a minute to produce all the branding and design work...
Nicte is one of the most amazing designers I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Her knowledge along with her passion for design makes it for a working relationship second to none. She is fantastic to work with and I would hire her in a minute to produce all the branding and design work for Elevate It Now. A true professional to the end. She was able to translate the vision that I had for our re-branding last spring and I am in love with her and her work!
Ileana VIlchis
Co-Founder at Tu Eco
We obtained clarity for our brand...
Nicte helped us focus in understanding who our client was and how to reach them. We obtained clarity for our brand, how to communicate our mission to the clients or followers and how it important it is to have roles within our company. We fell in love with the colors and the design she came up with for Tu Eco, LLC, we also loved that she was as excited as we were, and it felt like she was part of the team and the dream. By working with Nicte we were able to identify possible confusion with our audience, she guided us to our target client.
Maya Ford
Principal at Ford Momentum!
Her integrity, expertise, and faith in the creative process make her a formidable member of any team...
There are designers, and there’s Nicte Cuevas. Everything Nicte touches breathes authenticity, originality, and inspiration. Her cultural diversity brings a vision that represents a current view of our nation’s ethnic populous. Her integrity, expertise, and faith in the creative process make her a formidable member of any team that needs to win. She quickly earned my trust and loyalty, and is still my favorite go-to brand strategist and designer to date.
HOW LONG WILL YOUR BRAND EXIST FOR?
Having a clearly-defined and well-communicated brand message, no matter how the world or industry changes over time, can largely inform the longevity of a brand. How long do you hope your brand will exist for?If you’re a brand that does more than just sell, if you’re a brand that has a vision to continuously grow your audience, grow jobs, grow opportunity, grow a legacy — this workbook is for you.
advance with intention
Your brand will evolve — from the idea that seeded your beginning to where you are now. Self-awareness is a powerful ally in advancing your brand message. The key is becoming aware and intune of where we need to pivot or refine our message to align with our values, developing company culture, and even the products or services we offer.
I started freelancing in 2004; I founded my business in 2011 — throughout those years, my business made big and small shifts. My brand message isn't what it was when I first started. And I've seen this same evolution when I worked as an in-house designer and with our global clients. This interactive workbook pulls from the shifts we've seen clients make throughout the decades I've been in business and helps you dig deep to elevate your brand message to where you know it should be. I can't wait for you to dig in and advance your brand message!
To your brand success,
© 2006–2022 Nicte Creative Design LLC All Rights Reserved.
