Branding is a multifaceted area of marketing that can take your business to new heights with proper implementation.

Branding is about the way you present your business to customers. Thoughtfully planned and executed branding guarantees that your business appeals to your customers’ emotions. This is of utmost importance in creating memorable client experiences and leaving a mark in people’s minds.

Trends in 2021 can be seen as responses to the global themes that emerged the previous year. The pandemic caused an unexpected turn of events in 2020. It forced businesses and branding experts to broaden their horizons and look at branding from a new perspective. They were made to think of inventive ways to overcome current and possible challenges. As a result, new trends were set and some old ones were revived. Trends like authentic brand images, sustainable business operations, minimalistic building signs and consumer-driven approaches are some of the major branding trends that were reported last year.

Let’s take an in-depth look at the collection of branding trends of 2021 we’ve compiled and draw inspiration to stand apart from the competition.

Brand Authenticity

Even though the authenticity of a brand is thought to be its main constituent, it needs to be nurtured. Businesses redirected their attention to this important aspect in 2021. They knew that stating what they believed without proving it is not enough. A brand-customer relationship, like all other relationships, should be driven by real-life actions. Brands should “walk the walk” to gain trust and credibility. This is especially true when it comes to the younger generation of customers.

Gen Z and millennials appear to pay more attention to truthfulness. They’re interested in what’s real. They care about how businesses serve the community and society.

Another crucial factor of authenticity is consistency. Established trust won’t last long if it isn’t reinforced. Businesses need to stay true to their vision, values and strategy to maintain credibility.

Every single action or change in the plan should be well-thought-out. Businesses shouldn’t strive to gain new customers at the expense of their authenticity. Launching a new product or service that’s in high demand has the potential of doing more harm than good if it isn’t connected to the brand. So be faithful to your brand and its mission, and watch the positive feedback flow accordingly.

Sustainable Branding

We can notice a change in customer behavior based on a business’s approach to sustainability. People seem to care about the brand’s familiarity as well as about what it supports in general.

Customers used to put brand name and product price first before the pandemic, but we’re now facing a different reality. Many people have become aware of the impact they have on the environment and taken interest in buying eco-friendly products. According to research, about 46% of consumers are more likely to invest in environmentally friendly products.

Sustainable branding is a trend that is paving the way to a win-win situation. Businesses that incorporate it into their strategies become part of a global movement. This decreases the negative impact on the environment. In some cases this even results in a positive influence which creates a basis to gain customer trust and support.

Minimalism

Minimalism used to be an art movement. Today it has expanded to include many aspects of our lives. People have been moving steadily towards minimalism over the past several years. In 2021, we could notice more businesses following this trend in many business aspects, including branding.

Simple font and logo designs, matching color scheme decors representing brand identity and many other things all gained popularity during the last year. Why is that?

Simpler designs are easier to remember, and thus more appealing and much easier to carry out. In our rapidly changing reality, people are being bombarded with tons of information every day. Processing new things and intricate designs has become more difficult. It’s become time-consuming too. This could push your brand out of the spotlight. You can cut the chances of that happening to a minimum with a minimalistic approach.

Minimalism is one of the trends that might remain popular for a long time. Recently, many top brands started heading in this direction. This can be considered proof that this trend is here to stay for a while. Maybe it’s time for you to give it a try too.

Brand Inclusivity

Inclusivity is another trend that makes customers choose one brand over another. Brands that rank inclusivity among their core values have a greater chance to capture the attention of more people. This is particularly true in the case of the new generation.

Last year many businesses joined this trend in an effort to connect with those who appreciate brand honesty. People started basing their choices on brand integrity. So brands had to take steps towards building and maintaining brand loyalty, in which inclusivity plays a major role.

Showing people that a business cares about its customers as individuals can help strengthen the bond with existing customers. It also attracts new clientele. Inclusivity is vital as it’s a much broader concept. It refers not only to appearance, but to product prices as well. This can make it the brand’s selling metric and help it reach a wider audience. As a trend it shows the brands’ attitude towards the community and raises the chances of establishing a long-term relationship.

Customer-Driven Branding

A customer-driven approach is crucial for a business’s constant enhancement. Realizing this, some businesses pursued customer-driven branding. It created an opportunity to anticipate what customers would want and establish it before they knew it themselves. This makes it as clear as day that data is more than an important element even in branding.

Businesses can use data science and leverage customer information to their advantage. This helps them reap success through their branding. Surveys used to be the main medium through which companies accumulated data. Today, there are more means and techniques available.

Yet, customer-driven branding is much broader than that. It implies customer involvement in the product development and content creation processes. Most people prefer brands that make them part of their creative activities. Why? Simply because it makes them feel like they have a say. As for the brand, customer engagement strengthens existing ties and raises brand awareness.

Conclusion

The branding trends of 2021 described above exemplify the methods many branding experts used to overcome the challenges created by the pandemic. As most of these factors promise to be relevant in the long run, you can use them to build a branding strategy for 2022.

Analyzing and building on these trends can come in handy in different situations. So keep them in mind before you take any action.