Why Branded Reports Matter: Building a Strong Brand Image

Visual branding can help you grow a thriving, well-known business. Many of the largest companies in the world have such a strong brand that when you see their logo, you instantly know who they are.

For example, if you see the swoosh symbol, you’ll know that the brand is Nike.

You must remain consistent with your branding across all channels and at every opportunity. For example, you’ll want to have your brand on:

• Social media
• Invoices
• Reports

If you’re running reports, you should have your business’s branding on them.

What Are Branded Reports?

A brand report includes your media and assets, such as your social media profile or even accounting reports. Your report is considered branded when you add:

• Company logo
• Color scheme
• Company elements

Businesses have many reports that they can brand, including but certainly not limited to:

• Cash flow statements
• Income reports
• Marketing reports
• Invoices
• PowerPoint

Any place where you can add your logo and branding is a good place for it to be. Companies even give away apparel with branding because it works as a strong marketing tool.

Elements of an Effective Branded Report

Visual branding positioning has multiple elements that can be included, but some are not included in your reports. When trying to position your brand, you’ll do so with:

• Target audience
• Personality
• Identity
• Pricing strategy
• USP
• Market category

You'll also need to add in brand differentiation. A brand strategy should be the central focus of marketing teams.

Branded reports are a lot simpler than an entire brand strategy because you can only add so many elements to the report. It's not uncommon for the report to have a logo in the top left or right of the report, but you may also have it centered in the middle or at the bottom of the report.

You'll also want to have your company name, phone number, website and address listed on the report.

Effective branding shows your logo and information to everyone who has a chance of seeing your branding. You need to remain consistent when branding. Otherwise, it will not provide the same benefits that it could.

Inconsistent branding can also lead to consumer confusion, which is never ideal.

Consistency in Visual Branding

Branded reports must be consistent. You can change the placement of your logo and text, but you must be very cautious when rebranding. If your logo goes through multiple iterations in the course of the year, it’s safe to assume that your target audience will be confused.

Visual branding must be consistent in two ways:

1. Consistent in the sense of using the same logo and color scheme across platforms
2. Consistent in the sense of your branding being used in as many places as possible

If you’re consistent with your approach to branding, it’s even possible to tell a story through your data.

Storytelling Through Data

Branded reports allow you to engage in storytelling through data. Reports that include graphs and charts with your branding allow you to convey information at a glance and in a way that’s consistent with your image.

Effective data storytelling is all about communicating insights using visualizations and narratives. Branded reports help you achieve that goal.

Building Credibility with Branded Reports

Visual branding has a major impact on trust and credibility. Branded reports display your data using your brand’s colors, language and logo, allowing you to create a consistent experience.

Branding builds credibility because it creates a professional image. Stakeholders and anyone else who reads your reports will know that the report was created by your company and not a third party.

Measuring the Impact of Branded Reports

With brand reports, you can build credibility, remain consistent and engage in storytelling. But how do you know the impact of your reports?

It’s important to have frameworks in place to measure the impact of branded reports.

• Are they improving trust with stakeholders?
• Are they conveying the message or image you intend?

Having a way to measure the effects of your reports will allow you to make changes if they’re not having the impact that you want or intend.

Conclusion

Building a brand in marketing is important, and branded reports can play a role in that. Make sure that you’re following the best practices for creating reports and implementing systems to measure their impact.