The listening phase of a branding project casts a long shadow on the project itself: taking care of it is already part of the work.

A branding project usually comes with a lot of enthusiasm, but where do you start?

When a branding project lands on Sublimio’s desk – figuratively speaking – we need to exert a certain amount of self-discipline to resist the urge to start working straight away. To be honest, though, it’s the best thing we can do.

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While creativity and technical skills are usually what a branding studio is judged for, listening is an underrated part of the job. But it’s also a vital one: misunderstandings, wrong expectations, misaligned sensitivities can turn a branding project into a tiresome odyssey and squeeze all the joy out of it.

Listening needs a certain dose of humility but also a good amount of structure: knowing what we are looking for usually helps avoid missteps and leads to an outcome we can be proud of.

Meeting or Questionnaire?

Listening can happen in different ways.

A first meeting – physical or virtual – is a good way to kick off the branding project, get to know each other and to get a general vibe. Since every client has time constraints and talks are generally messy, meetings are not the best way to go into the finest details of the projects. It’s rather a good way to establish a general perimeter, unearth the driving desires and preoccupations.

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While a meeting is not always possible, we never skip the questionnaire. Every questionnaire is custom-built based on the project and the client’s preference (shorter, longer, more verbal, more visual). The delivery is digital, so that various people from the client’s side can answer it without influencing each other.

The questionnaire can easily miss emotional cues but it’s a good tool to go into more depth and to guide the discovery phase in a more structured way. While our questionnaires don’t usually take long to complete, they usually provide us with vital pieces of information. 

If they don’t, we don’t shy away from setting up a second round of questions: this is how seriously we take the listening phase. Luckily, our clients are usually happy to fill us in.

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What we listen for in a branding project

Listening is a very wide concept, which covers several different aspects of the work. The more we manage to understand, the better the work.

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Project Scope
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This could sound obvious, but it’s where many projects stumble, especially when it’s branding we are talking about. With so much variability in expectations and terminology, what looks like a very clear request can actually mean two entirely different things to the client and the studio.

Having an agreement about what words imply is vital in the early stages of a project. Does the client expect to get marketing support, too? Do they want a new logo, a logo refresh, a whole or partial identity?

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Client Objectives
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This is quite a different point from the previous, and possibly more important. Beyond what is asked, we need to know why the client is hiring us in the first place.

Branding projects are intensive processes that are usually put in motion for a reason. For a new brand, we need to understand its business objectives, so that the brand we create can act as a tool for success rather than decoration. When it’s a rebranding, the question is why the brand needs to change clothes. Did it do something wrong or did it just get bored? Or maybe the world around it has changed and some adaptation is needed. Projects with the same scope can have wildly different goals.

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Client Dreams & Fears
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Objectives are one thing. They are rational, and grounded in business vision. But the people we work with also dream of a certain kind of outcome and have specific fears, which is totally justifiable for branding projects that touch such deep chords.

Some of these dreams and fears are personal, but nonetheless relevant. We might help hit a business goal and still not have engaged the heart of our client: for us, that’s not enough.

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Product / Service Strengths
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Branding can add so much value that one could be fooled into thinking that a good branding project will lead to success. But that’s just a part of the equation: the product or service needs to be solid and to have potential.

This area of inquiry helps us evaluate a project (to create strong brands we need strong products!) but also amplifies what truly sets the product/service apart. Understanding why our client is excited about going to market is essential to get us hyped as well. Otherwise, we are just sugar-coating.

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Client History and Experiences
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As much as every branding studio would love to create a brand out of nowhere, many clients come to us with some kind of history. It could be a short one, or a strong, decades-long heritage. It could be a series of successes and celebrations, or it could be a long chain of tough battles.

Most importantly, many clients we work with have already communicated their brand in some way, had experiences with other agencies or consultancies. In other words, you are not necessarily their first, and that’s ok. But what were the lessons learned? What should never happen again? 

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Client References and Preferences
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This is a slippery one, to be honest. Clients have their own ideas, they know what they love, maybe some brands they would love to look like. In a good client/agency relationship, this is the start of a healthy dialogue.

The agency can’t ignore this piece of information, but it’s also a professional duty to advise the client on what’s best for the objectives of the branding project.

Can you skip the listening part?

Maybe you are thinking this is just too much. After all, you just asked for a logo and you thought your email was clear enough. We understand that, and the short answer is: yes, you can start a branding project more quickly, without all this inquiring.

Will it affect the general quality of the work? Not necessarily. The brand could also be a nice addition to Sublimio’s portfolio. But it will be the agency project, not yours. And we consider this a major sin in branding practice.

The brand is not supposed to be a nice dress: it’s a business tool. If it’s not getting you closer to your goals, why even bother?

So, get in touch. We are listening.

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