Do You Know Your Brand Pillars?

By Dyno Creative | October 11, 2022

Developing a brand is not an easy process. However, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Learn how to develop your brand pillars with Dyno Creative.

The Importance of Brand Pillars

It goes without saying – developing a brand is not an easy process. However, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. One of the most important aspects of a brand’s successful development lies in its brand pillars, so we encourage you to take the time to slow down and do it right.

First things first, let’s get down to basics. The terms “brand pillars” and “core values” are often used synonymously to describe the foundational elements that support your brand as a whole. For the purpose of this article, we will refer to these elements as brand pillars.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the term ‘pillar’ is defined as:

(noun) A firm upright support for a superstructure; A supporting, integral, or upstanding member or part
(verb) To provide or strengthen with or as if with pillars

What Are Brand Pillars?

Brand pillars are the foundation of your brand strategy, and they should be reflected in every aspect of your business. A brand pillar should be something that you can always fall back on. Think of it as a guiding light that leads you out of the darkness and onto the path of success.

When developing your brand strategy, ask yourself the following questions:

From there, you can begin to develop your brand pillars. A brand typically identifies 3-5 core pillars (aka values) that act as the foundation of the brand. These pillars act as the DNA that holds the brand together, providing guidance and direction for all future decision-making. Your brand pillars should be timeless and relevant as your brand continues to evolve.

Learn By Example

One of the best ways to learn about brand development is to see it in action. Here at Dyno Creative, our tribe of talented creatives came together to brainstorm the purpose of our brand. By answering the questions mentioned above, we were able to identify four key pillars that encompass all the elements and values of our brand. Check out our thought process and final results below!

Why does Dyno Creative exist?

Who does Dyno Creative serve?

Dyno Creative was developed as a creative solution to drive a wedge between quality custom design and quick-and-easy design. We prioritize building a strong connection between product and customer, allowing your brand to flourish.

We believe our clients are our partners. We are happy to work with any partner who shares the same values we hold.

What does Dyno Creative stand for?

What makes Dyno Creative stand out against its competitors?

We stand for quality and integrity. Our unique illustrative voices are used to represent your brand exactly how it should be. We deliver quality service and design while building productive partnerships with our clients.

To put it plainly, we’re really cool. Not only to we posess dyno-mite branding, illustration, copywriting, and web-development skills, we have a lot of FUN with what we do. To learn more about what makes us so dang special, check out our blog post Developing Dyno Creative: Below The Surface.

Now It's Your Turn!

If you are a sole proprietor, you will most likely do this activity on your own. If you have a team of people who work with you, make sure to gather everyone together so they can provide their input. Every person on your team is valuable and their insight is an important tool needed to help build a cohesive brand.

Here is a brief breakdown of the steps you will complete to discover your brand pillars:

Step 1 – Think about your brand as a WHOLE. List approximately 15-20 descriptive qualities or traits of your brand. It is best if you narrow down your ideas to single-word adjectives. If needed, short phrases are acceptable at this point in time.

Step 2 – Look through your list of 15-20 qualities. In this stage, your goal is to narrow your list down to 5-7 traits. To do this, ask yourself the following question: Can any of these qualities or traits be considered an integral pillar of support and strength for my brand?

Step 3 – Repeat after me: Quality over quantity. At this point in the process, it is important to remind yourself that as you continue to narrow down your list, the traits you are discarding are still important to your brand, they just may not be an integral pillar that your brand 100% relies on to be successful and productive. Now, take a look at your list. Out of these 5-7 qualities that remain, you are going to narrow your list down one more time. This time, your end result should be your final 3-5 values that act as true pillars to your brand. To help you achieve this, ask yourself the following questions:
- Does this value guide my business decisions?
- Does this value embody my brands personality?
- Is this value something I am proud of?
- Is this value the reason I started this brand?
- Is this value non-negotiable?

You're Not In This Alone

The nice thing about developing solid brand pillars is that you don’t have to tackle it alone. If you’re feeling stuck, we’re here to help! At Dyno Creative, we take pride in evolving brands and relationships. We do all the heavy lifting so you can sit back and see all the puzzle pieces come together into one cohesive brand. Ready to get started? Schedule a brief consultation with our team today!