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Fashion Branding and Brand Protection.

I am definitely having a pleasant weekend, I got a notification that the Africa Fashion Law has been selected as one of the top twenty-five Nigerian Fashion Blogs on the web by the Feedspot Blog Readers, the news was exciting as well as inspiring.

The Africa Fashion Law is here to make an impact, to create a change in the fashion businesses in Nigeria and in other countries in Africa. The fashion industry has so much value and potential and to maximize this value it is primary that the legal and business aspect of a fashion brand is properly catered for and that is why the Africa Fashion Law is here to stay.

To my amazing AFL readers, I am sure you all have missed me so much and to my new AFL readers, welcome on board!  So far, this month has been filled with so much activities for me but with all the personal activities, the AFL team is always working to give the Africa Fashion Community the very best as regards to the legal and business aspect of the fashion industry.

I will be starting a very exciting topic, researching was totally fun and I decided to bring what I learnt to you all, time for me to get serious. not necessarily. During, the Africa Fashion Law Online Class on the protection of a fashion business which took place on the final days of February the facilitators, Victoria Watkins and Sandy Chiu enlightened the participants about brand protection and I definitely learnt a lot from the class. After the class with all I learnt I had to make a research on branding and BAM! I discovered so much. By the way in case you missed the previous Africa Fashion Law Online Class, there is a mini guide on the Protection of a Fashion Business available for you, all you need to do is place your order.

So, for the rest of the month, the primary gist would be about “fashion branding and brand protection.” The first thing I hear from people when I talk about branding is “hey Annie, I have a logo.” A brand is so much more than the logo, under branding, a logo is a vital accessory which needs a total outfit plus a footwear.  Branding covers so much more than just the logo, it covers;

the customer perception, the brand loyalty, the brand image, the brand identity, the brand association, brand culture, brand voice, brand position, social media presence, the brand colors, the brand logo, brand advertisement, brand marketing, brand perception and so on

Basically, your brand is how it shows up in the market place, the energy/vibe it gives to a potential client, how it tells it story, what people say about it behind your back, the recognition it gets. The attention it does not get. How it is positioned. How well it communicates. The total picture and existence. The vision and mission.

According to Steve Forbes, “your brand is the single most important investment you can make in your business.” The standard you set for your brand will determine the quality of your clients you attract, FACT!

So quick question; what message does your brand send out to its clients and potential clients? Because at the end the primary aim of every business is to create value, make an impact and make money and to make money, you need people and in order to get people you need to understand people and know what they want.

What perception does your brand create for its clients? Subconsciously, consumers remember the feeling associated with a brand even if they do not remember the name or advertisement of the brand. Let’s play a rhetorical game, I will make a list of brands and you give yourself a single word expressing how you feel about the brand;

  • Coca- Cola
  • Louis Vuitton
  • Mercedes Benz
  • Rolls Royce
  • Apple
  • Zara
  • Mai Atafo
  • Tiffany Amber
  • Your brand

I hope you had fun playing the rhetorical game and I am sure you get my point!

A brand can send a message across to the public with just a product backed by a solid brand identity.  Two products or service might be very similar but what can differentiate the two products would be the brand identity and with a solid brand identity one brand product can cost so much more than the other.

In fashion branding, everything matters down to the little details. As a fashion entrepreneur, in investing in your brand, you are creating value for your business, value from which you can make more money and it is primary that this value most be protected. As a start up fashion entrepreneur, do the needful and invest in your branding. As the owner of an existing fashion business, invest in your brand and if you feel your brand has no structure or identity, it is never too late to push the re-branding button.

What story does your brand tell? Let’s continue the gist in the comment section

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