It’s a tale as old as time.

A business owner feels like something’s amiss with their brand. Their business isn’t as polished, as trendy, as stand-out as they want it to be. So they phone the best brand designer money can buy in hopes of finally feeling like their visuals align with their business potential.

It’s not always a happy ending, though. For many a business owner, all that time and all those smackers still don’t get them the brand they wanted or envisioned in their head. They feel defeated, discouraged, or (worst of all) like their business will never be what they want it to be. 

What happens when the story ends like this? These brands start to take a step back. They stop showing up like they really want to. And they’re not confidently sharing their ideas, their services, their products. 

This story is a real tear-jerker, cookie. 

But you’ll be surprised to know that we’re not blaming the brand designers, branding agencies, or fast branding trends (like fast fashion). We’ve seen it happen when folks invest a pretty penny (and a good chunk of time) into their brand, too. 

The real problem comes from looking at your brand as just one thing. Your brand is an ecosystem of elements, and you have to look at each holistically.

Cookie, meet “holistic branding.” She’s about to change everything. 

WHAT IS HOLISTIC BRANDING?

Holistic branding includes four elements of a brand: The intellectual, the tonal, the interpersonal, and (yes) the visuals. A holistic brand is one that respects each of these elements equally, rather than focusing on just the visuals. 

Each of these elements come together to form what makes your biz unique and undeniably you. And when each of them are reflected equally? That’s when the magic happens.

Need a quick rundown of what each of these elements entails? Here ya go: 

INTELLECTUAL

At Rendezvous Creative, we always recommend that a brand starts with values.

Values are the compass for what your brand does, and the foundation on which you build the other three elements. 

TONAL

Your brand’s tone includes everything from key phrases to sentence structure, the way you talk on video, the audio you choose for Reels or TikToks, and even the trends you decide to participate in.  

INTERPERSONAL

The interpersonal element of your brand is how your brand treats its audience, leads, and customers. Your customer journey, customer service, and client experience are delivered in alignment with your values — and in the tone your brand has defined! 

VISUALS

The most well-known part of the branding process is the visuals. They’re what most people think of when we talk about branding. This is the glitz and glamor, all the sparkle that comes together to visually represent your brand. 

It includes your font choices, photography styles, color palette, and logo and iconography. But it’s important to remember that the visuals only come after you’ve defined what you stand for, how you show up, and the way you engage with your audience. 

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE HOLISTIC BRANDING

Just like the final kiss at the end of an old film noir, holistic branding is the happy ending we’ve all been waiting for. Everything works together to create that one perfect, unforgettable scene. 

Let’s break it down by the elements of your brand (and how it impacts business operations):

INTELLECTUAL BRANDING BENEFITS

Before focusing on the intellectual element of your brand: 

You’ve been struggling to message your offers. You feel like you’re reacting to trends more than you should or “testing” to see what works. There’s so much input, and you’re not sure how your brand can stand out. You also find yourself coming up with new ideas all the time, and feeling deflated when they’re not the crowd-pleaser you expected. 

After focusing on the intellectual element of your brand:

You’re confident in your brand’s uniqueness. You have a clear understanding of which frameworks, pillars, or marketing strategies align with your offers and audience. You know which advice is right for your brand and which isn’t. Most of all, you know that your values will guide future offers, visuals, and systems you create. 

TONAL BRANDING BENEFITS

Before focusing on the tonal element of your brand: 

It feels like your messaging changes depending on the day, week, or even the platform. You see people using slang, you follow brands with voices that are “snarky” or “so funny,” and you wish you had that kind of voice. You’ve also had people say that you are “so different” on discovery calls or that they had no idea you were so passionate about what you do. It feels like you’re not able to show the world what you’re really about.

After focusing on the tonal element of your brand:

People tell you that they love your website, your most recent social post, or that they’d know your content anywhere. You don’t wonder how to say things as much, so content creation time goes way down. And it’s easier to figure out how to share information because you know exactly how your brand “sounds.” You’re not worried about making something more funny, snarky, professional, etc. anymore; everything just sounds like your brand. 

INTERPERSONAL BRANDING BENEFITS

Before focusing on the interpersonal element of your brand: 

Getting a new client is great until you have to deliver everything. It feels like customer service emails never get answered in time, and people get mad. It also feels like you have to be constantly selling to new people, because your audience doesn’t understand how they can keep working with you. And sending invoices? Proposals? It’s all manual and oh-so-messy. Everyone’s experience is so different, and you know it’s impacting your referrals and brand clout. 

After focusing on the interpersonal element of your brand:

Your clients can’t help but be excited by your onboarding process or how smooth the project experience was. Customers are thrilled because they get their questions answered fast. All of the communication you have with leads, clients, and even past clients feels aligned with how you’re marketing your brand today. And best of all? People know exactly what to expect — from you and your team to the people you serve. 

VISUAL BRANDING BENEFITS

Before focusing on the visual element of your brand: 

You’re constantly playing around in Canva, wondering why your graphics never look as good as those other businesses’ feeds do. You have a great idea, but creating an image or other piece of content feels like it dulls the shine. And when you have a new idea for an offer or how to serve your audience? It feels like you’re deviating from the brand standards to have more fun, look more reputable, or share information in a clearer way. Your brand standards just aren’t cutting it — and you’re not sure if it’s them or you. 

After focusing on the visual element of your brand:

You can confidently share ideas on social media, you can quickly add new offers to your site, and you can brand new client or customer assets with ease. People tell you that they can recognize one of your posts in their feed, and you can confidently outsource design now. Best of all, because you know what your brand values, what it sounds like, and how it serves your audience, it’s easier to create visuals that feel truly reflective of the business you’ve built. 

THE LONG & SHORT OF IT

When you focus on holistic branding, you’ll find that things don’t feel disjointed. Your ideas flow and work together seamlessly. You spend less time writing copy, designing graphics, and figuring out how to market your latest offer. It all works.

Not only do things look and feel better to you; they also feel better to your clients and customers. 

Their journey is clearer. They can better see if you’re the right fit for them and what they need to do next. It all comes together flawlessly, and everybody’s swooning! 

WHAT’S YOUR BRAND MISSING, TOOTS?

Realizing that your brand is anything but holistic? You’re not alone.

If you feel that you need to look at each element, we highly encourage you to do so. Start with this blog as a guide! 

If you feel like you have most pieces of your brand down-pat, it’s time to identify which of the elements you’re not as strong with. Maybe your visuals give you the good kind of butterflies, but you’re just not sure how to use them. Or maybe your voice feels a little dull, so you constantly push out writing emails or social posts. It could even be that you’re not attracting the right people, even when your process wows clients who book you.

Whichever element might be missing, we can help you pinpoint it. Take our three-minute quiz to find out! We’ll help you see what’s missing and get you on the road to a brand that finally feels good, from top to tails. 

TAKE THE QUIZ HERE.