Mastering Branding with the 5-Step Process

Eric Marquette

Welcome back, everyone. Today, we’re diving into something really core to effective branding work—the 5-Step Branding Process. Now, if you’ve ever found yourself overwhelmed by branding jargon, or stuck trying to make sense of an endless to-do list, this process might, well, save your sanity. It's a framework designed not just to organize, but to streamline how brands come to life. So let’s break it down.

Eric Marquette

The process kicks off with research—step one, where agencies gather data and insights that form the foundation. From there, we move to step two, clarifying strategy. This is when you shape the big picture, your brand’s direction, and identity. Then step three, designing identity, where things start becoming tangible, visualizing the brand’s future. After that comes step four, creating touchpoints—things like websites, packaging, logos—all the ways the brand interacts with the world. And finally, step five. Managing assets, which is all about ensuring everything aligns, evolves, and keeps working together seamlessly.

Eric Marquette

Now, here’s what's interesting. While agencies or organizations might give these steps different names—like touchpoints being called applications in one firm or system design in another—the underlying process remains pretty much the same. It’s universal. And this consistency has huge benefits. It sets realistic timelines, builds confidence in your design team, and ensures your project doesn’t spiral out of control. I mean, who doesn’t, doesn’t love a clear plan, right?

Eric Marquette

Speaking of structure, let me quickly highlight something, like, super practical. Coming up this week, there are a couple of workshops—one on social media listening, another on analyzing data on emerging platforms like Bluesky and Mastodon. These sessions are great for picking up tools that enhance your branding research and can really, you know, sharpen how you build and manage your brand. If you’re working with a complex brand or even just starting out, these are worth checking out.

Eric Marquette

And I want to share a quick story here. A while ago, I was working on this branding project under immense pressure—you know, those moments when decisions have to be fast but deliberate. It’s chaotic. But because we had the 5-Step Process in place, we could focus and act decisively. Like, we knew exactly where we stood and what had to happen next. That’s the genius of structured methods. They cut through the noise.

Eric Marquette

Alright, so that, in a nutshell, is the 5-Step Branding Process. Each step builds on the last, like puzzle pieces falling into place. Getting them right is key, but it all starts with step one: research.

Eric Marquette

Alright, let’s dive into step one of the 5-Step Branding Process: research. Now, research is like the backbone of any branding initiative—it informs every decision we make later on. But let’s get specific here. What do we mean by research? Well, it’s typically broken down into two types: secondary and primary research. With secondary research, we’re looking at existing data—things like market reports, consumer behavior studies, or even historical trends about your brand. Primary research, on the other hand, is data you go out and collect yourself, whether that’s through focus groups, surveys, or interviews. And both are, honestly, critical to understanding what’s working and what isn’t.

Eric Marquette

But here’s the catch—no matter how much data you gather, it’s the credibility and focus of that data that really matter. Bad data or irrelevant information? That can lead to poor strategic decisions, and in branding, that’s, you know, a costly mistake.

Eric Marquette

Let’s take an example—this is one of my favorites actually—the National Ballet of Canada. Now, over the years, they’d seen attendance drop by more than fifty percent since the 80s. And it wasn’t because the quality of their performances dipped. No, their production values were still world-class. But the problem was their audience had changed. It was younger, more casual, and, well, expecting something totally different. So, what did they do? They turned to research.

Eric Marquette

They hired an agency to dig deep into who their audience was and what the brand represented. One fascinating insight? A lot of potential customers weren’t buying tickets because they just didn’t know what to expect. There was this, what they called, an “uncertainty gap.” So, the agency decided to tackle this exact perception—and one of the ways they did this was through a rework of their brand identity.

Eric Marquette

Their new wordmark, designed using the Haffer XH font, had this approachable, almost welcoming character to it. And the spacing was intentionally dramatic, designed to make the ballet feel less rigid, less formal. It aligned perfectly with their goal of breaking down that sense of uncertainty among new audiences. I mean, think about it—for something as traditional as ballet, even a font can signal massive change.

Eric Marquette

What their story shows us is how focused research, paired with bold creative decisions, can redefine a brand. It’s not just about looking at numbers or asking questions. It’s about finding the insight that changes how your brand interacts with the world.

Eric Marquette

So now, let’s talk about brand touchpoints and why they’re, honestly, the bread and butter of a successful brand strategy. A touchpoint, simply put, is any place where your brand interacts directly with your audience. Think about it—your website, your packaging, your email campaigns—all of these are opportunities to make or break the connection between what you promise and what your customers actually perceive. And that intersection? That’s where your brand truly lives.

Eric Marquette

Take the National Ballet of Canada’s rebranding, for instance. When attendance nosedived, they didn’t just tweak their marketing; they redesigned their touchpoints to reflect a more modern, approachable identity. Remember that new wordmark I mentioned earlier? It wasn’t just typography for the sake of design—it told a story. It invited people in and broke down assumptions about ballet being stuffy or inaccessible. And that story carried through in every touchpoint, from the digital ads all the way to the experience inside the theater.

Eric Marquette

Now, if you zoom out a little, you’ll see how touching every part of your audience’s experience can create a cohesive story. One great example of this on a larger scale is the city of Melbourne’s branding. They used their research to identify core values like creativity, culture, and sustainability. And these values weren’t just taglines—they were woven into every touchpoint of the city’s identity, influencing how they communicated with residents and visitors alike. The result? A brand that wasn’t just recognizable but deeply relevant to its community.

Eric Marquette

But here’s the real challenge—managing touchpoints effectively. The truth is, every single one needs to align with your brand’s core vision. If even one piece feels disconnected, it can create confusion or, worse, distrust with your audience. Like, imagine you’re engaging with a brand online, and the website is sleek and modern, but then you walk into their store, and it’s, well, completely outdated. That lack of consistency? That’s when people start questioning whether the brand practices what it preaches.

Eric Marquette

So, as we wrap this up, here’s something I want you to think about. Whether you’re managing a single product or an entire organization, how are your touchpoints working together to tell a unified story? Are they capturing the essence of your brand, or are there gaps you need to address? Because, ultimately, branding isn’t just about what you say—it’s about making sure every interaction reflects who you are.

Eric Marquette

And on that note, that’s all for today’s episode. Thanks for spending some time with me as we explored branding through this 5-step process. It’s been a pleasure walking you through research, strategy, design, and, of course, the power of impactful touchpoints. Until next time, take care, and keep creating!