JOURNAL /01
Explore our latest thinking on brand, business and creativity, from deeper Studio Papers and original perspectives to observations, stories and ideas from inside the studio.
When it comes to business, there is nothing more important than building and protecting your brand’s reputation. In most industries, people tend to search for a business online or ask for a recommendation from a friend. In both instances, people
While it’s not as trendy, youthful or quirky as Instagram or TikTok, LinkedIn has a lot of value to offer, especially when it comes to benefiting your business, brand, or personal profile. LinkedIn used to be viewed as the ideal
The number of social media followers one has is often recognised as a popularity status or source of credibility. However, there is much more to followers than you think. Value, engagement, reach, following count and influencers are all important to
For a brand to be truly successful and stand the test of time, it needs to be prepared to respond and evolve as the environment around it shifts. In contrast to a rebrand, brand evolution is about small baby steps
“Your brand is a story unfolding across all customer touchpoints.” – Jonah Sachs Most people have some knowledge of what branding is. In this day and age, we are told that even we as individuals are ‘brands’, each telling our
Customer experience is increasingly becoming a priority for businesses large and small. But blending the physical and digital to create a consistent, multi-channel customer experience is often a long way behind. While we traditionally expect a high level of customer
You may have heard of a brand style guide. But, have you ever heard of an editorial style guide? Like an overall brand style guide, an editorial style guide is a comprehensive document that collates and outlines the language associated
Influencers have a big part to play when it comes to the merging of word-of-mouth marketing and traditional paid ads. This hybrid of paid brand awareness may not always be given the best wrap, but if you get it right
Are you starting a new business? Or perhaps your current business is going through a rebrand? Congratulations! – you’ve got an exciting time ahead (by the way, we know a great creative comms agency that can help you out!). When
Attention and brand building aren’t always the same thing.
We believe having a perspective is one of the most important parts of building a distinctive brand. But there’s a difference between sharing an opinion because you genuinely believe it and sharing one because you know it will get a reaction.
Trends can be useful, controversial opinions can start conversations, and reach can absolutely be valuable.
But if the perspective you’re putting out there doesn’t align with what you genuinely believe, how you work or what you want your brand to be known for, what is that attention actually building?
Brand strategy is the long game.
Your perspective should have enough conviction behind it that you’re willing to stand by it long after the views, comments and algorithm have moved on.
Attention might make you visible but it’s conviction that will make you memorable.
We’ve seen some interesting conversations lately about where brand strategy ends and brand identity begins, particularly around whether things like logos, colour and typography are really that important.
Our perspective? They shouldn’t be separated in the first place.
Colour, typography, symbolism, imagery, language and tone aren’t simply aesthetic choices made once the “important” strategic work is finished.
When they’re done well, they’re strategic decisions.
They’re informed by what the brand believes, where it’s going, who it needs to connect with, what makes it distinctive and what we want people to recognise and associate with it over time.
We don’t finish the strategy and then ask, ‘Okay, what should this look like?’
The identity is already taking shape through the strategic process.
Because good brand identity is strategic thinking made visible. Not just decoration!
Posting isn’t dead. Boring content is. 👀
You can still promote your business, your services and what you do, but the way you package it matters.
Create content people actually want to stop, watch and engage with first. Sell second.
Because good marketing shouldn’t always feel like marketing.
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#SocialMediaMarketing #ContentMarketing #OracoAgency
Meet Leanne, Co-founder, Creative Director and the curious mind behind a lot of the brands that come through our studio.
She`s usually the one asking why? (and then asking it another five times), digging into the stories, people and ideas behind a business before working out how they can take shape visually.
Outside the studio, you’ll probably find Leanne painting with symphonic metal playing in the background, halfway through a fantasy novel, out exploring with Toby and Simon, or at a gig.
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Filed by: Oraco Agency
Reference: TF-001
Photo source: @joannaphotography.au
Filed under: #TeamFile #BrandStrategist #BrandIdentity #BrandStory #BrandStrategy
Happy Father’s Day to the dads behind the Oraco team 💛
To our dads, stepdads, partners who are dads, and all the father figures who have supported us, shaped us and made us laugh along the way, today is for you.
And a very happy Father’s Day to all the dads and father figures in our wider Oraco community. We hope you’re feeling very loved and appreciated today x
I’ve always been fascinated by symbolism 🌀
By how a single mark, image, word or gesture can represent something far bigger than itself. Across cultures and civilisations, we’ve used symbols to communicate identity, beliefs, stories, belonging and ideas that sometimes go far beyond what words can explain.
And somewhere along the way, I realised that’s also how I’d started to see brands.
A logo can become a symbol of what a business stands for. A colour can carry years of recognition. A phrase can represent an entire belief. A story can become shorthand for where a business came from and why it exists. Iconography can represent services, philosophies, products or ideas.
What we see on the surface carries meaning because of everything sitting behind it.
Over nearly two decades of working in branding, I also began noticing the same themes appearing again and again in the businesses people really remembered.
Their past, beliefs, future, people, identity, expression, impact and longevity.
Eventually, I gave each of those ideas a symbolic form.
They became Oraco’s Eight Brand Marks, and today they give us a way to look at a business from eight different perspectives and uncover the stories, ideas and meaning that make it distinctly its own.
The strongest brands aren’t built by adding meaning that was never there. More often, the clues already exist.
You just need to know where to look.
Explore the Eight Brand Marks via the link in bio.
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