How long does it take to build a brand?

Building a brand is vital for gaining recognition and establishing a competitive advantage in the market. However, creating an identity that effectively communicates your vision and mission can be lengthy. So, the question is: How long does it take to build a brand?

Building a brand is a journey that varies in length based on business size, goals, and market presence. Startups and small businesses typically take 2 to 5 years to establish brand recognition, while expanding or rebranding existing companies may see results in 6 months to 3 years. 

The process can extend beyond five years for global brands aiming for a lasting legacy. Understanding these timelines helps businesses set realistic expectations and craft effective branding strategies.

Let's explore the answer to this question and the factors that can help or impede brand-building.

Brand building involves curating branding elements that represent your company through your logo, colors, fonts, images, etc. It also requires defining your brand's values, personality, and key messaging to communicate effectively with your target audience.

A strong brand can connect with customers, build trust, and create an emotional attachment to your business. But before we go deeper into the brand-building process, it is essential to understand what makes a strong brand.

A brand needs a sturdy foundation to weather challenges and changes and pave the way to business success.

Mission and values

Think of your mission and values as the blueprint that guides all your branding decisions. It tells everyone why the brand exists and what it believes in.

Visual identity

A brand's visual identity creates attraction and interest. It helps people feel confident about a brand's logo, colors, images, and typography.

Brand voice and messaging

Brand voice and messaging are potent elements that shape how you talk to your audience. Whether friendly, serious, or fun, they help people understand the brand and be receptive to its offerings.

Customer interactions and experience

Finally, customer interactions and experiences are how you create memorable moments with your customers. Customers will want to return if a brand treats its customers well and provides a holistic experience. They may even post about you on social media and refer you to their friends and family.

When all these elements work together, you are well on establishing a strong brand.

There are several factors you need to consider when building a brand. 

Business goals and scale

The goals and size of your business can impact your timeline for establishing a strong brand. For example, if a furniture company wants to be known for eco-friendly furniture, it must spend time and effort showing that it cares about the environment.

Building a brand may take less time if the company is a startup because there are fewer decision-makers and products to manage. But a big company with more employees and products might take longer. 

Target audience engagement

Understanding your audience—desires, interests, behavior, values, etc. — is key to knowing what they want so you can provide products and services that fit them. In addition to market research, you can connect with your audience through social media and engage with them to build interest. The sooner a brand creates genuine connections with customers, the faster it can grow.

Budget and resources

Your available resources, including money, can indicate how quickly you can build a brand. A larger budget allows for more spending on marketing efforts like advertising, events, and unique packaging - all of which can help establish your brand. Additionally, having the right skills and experience on your internal team can ensure efficient strategies and innovative solutions to achieve optimal results. 

Market competition 

If many brands compete in the same field, it can be more challenging for a new brand to get noticed. You'll need to find a unique angle or target a niche market. Of course, figuring out how to be different can take time.

Research and strategy development 

Effective brand building starts with thorough research. This involves gathering insights about your target audience, competitors, and industry trends. The goal is understanding how your brand can best serve your customers and differentiate itself.

The research data you collect is crucial in developing a strategic brand plan., which serves as a roadmap for your branding efforts. By grounding your brand strategy in research, you can make informed decisions about positioning, messaging, and marketing to ensure your brand resonates with the right people.

Brand identity design

The next step is to create your brand's look. Your brand identity encompasses your logo, colors, package design, images, etc. While they must be aesthetic, they should reflect the brand's personality and align with its values.

For instance, a brand geared towards providing healthy goods might use green designs related to health. Good design attracts potential buyers and helps people remember the brand.

Brand implementation 

Now, it's time to bring your brand to life. The implementation phase entails launching your brand and sharing it with the world through advertisements, social media, and products.

Consistency is crucial because it fosters familiarity, allowing customers to associate you with your brand elements quickly. For example, a cartoon of an older man with a white beard and a pair of glasses brings KFC to mind, even without the brand name.

Building brand awareness

After implementation, the focus shifts to getting as many people as possible to know your brand. Fortunately, there are many ways to do so, online and offline. You can implement social media marketing and advertising campaigns and launch events to get to know your brand. Businesses with strong brand awareness are likelier to increase their sales and expand their communities of loyal customers.

A brand is recognizable when consumers can identify it through visual and auditory elements, such as logos, colors, mascots, and taglines. It has distinguished itself in the market, creating a strong and effective presence.

So, how long does it take to build a brand and become recognizable?

Startups and small businesses

Estimated brand building duration: 2 to 5 years

Startups need to start from scratch. The branding foundations alone take at least six to 12 months to build. After that, you'll need another year to grow your brand and make it recognizable. If you're in a highly competitive industry, expect to face more obstacles, which can delay your progress. 

Unless you have a substantial brand marketing budget and/or well-implemented campaigns, you can accelerate the process and gain recognition in three years or less. We have seen this happen with brands that grew on platforms like TikTok! 

One example is Lala Hijabs, a small business founded during the pandemic that took TikTok by storm. Offering tie-dyed hijabs, the brand has disrupted the market by offering something different to the Muslim community. In a short time, the brand has reached over a million TikTok users and sold thousands of hijabs.

Expanding or rebranding established companies

Estimated brand building duration: 6 months to 3 years

Rebranding or expanding a brand can be complex, even for established companies. It requires extensive research, planning, and implementation of new strategies, advertising, and marketing campaigns.

However, established companies have an advantage as they already possess branding expertise, an existing reputation to build upon, and knowledge of common branding pitfalls to avoid. They have reliable networks that facilitate local partnerships and co-branding opportunities. They also have larger budgets to strengthen their digital presence and improve the customer experience.

Global brands and legacy building

Estimated brand building duration: at least 5 years

Building a global brand comes with unique challenges compared to a startup or medium-sized business. Established brands like Coca-Cola, Mercedes-Benz, and Chanel took decades to achieve international recognition.

These brands must integrate into diverse local cultures while maintaining a consistent global identity. They also face the challenges of operating across varying economic and political conditions and must invest in large-scale global marketing campaigns.

However, modern technology has made it easier for brands to penetrate global markets. AI and machine learning can accelerate market research and cultural understanding. Businesses can also quickly form local partnerships to build their presence as more companies integrate globalization into their strategies.

Some tech companies like Facebook, Airbnb, and Slack have achieved global recognition in as little as 10 years. Non-tech brands, like Glossier and Peloton, have also rapidly expanded worldwide in recent years.

Maintaining consistency across channels

Inconsistencies can lead to confusion and miscommunication, impacting your brand image. This is a big challenge, especially when talking to several market segments. Hence, you must maintain the same look, tone, and feel when connecting with your audience.

Take Coca-Cola, which has a strong presence across global markets. The brand's consistent logo, iconic red and white font, and uplifting messages have cemented its brand in the worldwide beverage arena.

Adapting to market changes

Branding is constantly evolving due to market changes. Consumer preferences shift as new technology, brand alternatives, and other factors emerge. To remain relevant, brands must adapt. Failure to do so can make a brand obsolete, as with Nokia, a once-leading mobile brand.

A good example of a company that surpassed this obstacle is IKEA. Expanding beyond Sweden, IKEA prioritized integrating into different markets as customer needs and interests evolved. Despite these changes, IKEA maintained its commitment to sustainability without alienating its loyal customer base.

Measuring success and making adjustments

Staying on top of your brand's growth can be difficult, mainly if you sell multiple products or compete in a saturated market. This makes quantifying performance tricky. Hence, it is essential to establish branding metrics before implementing your brand.

This entails identifying key milestones you need to achieve and measure to succeed. Doing so also ensures you can spot flaws that need improvement and market gaps you need to fill. With advanced tech like AI, you can pick up essential insights for creating and implementing innovative real-time solutions. Doing so ensures avoiding branding pitfalls.

1. Co-brand with other companies

Venture into partnerships with other companies compatible with your brand! This is a great way to tap into each other's customers and create something new and exciting for both. For example, if you sell kitchenware like pots, pans, and knives, you can partner with a brand that sells cooking ingredients!

Make sure to co-brand with a company that aligns with your brand ethos and observes trust and transparency.

2. Partner with influencers

Collaborating with an influencer effectively reaches your audience and persuades them to try what you offer. Influencers who recommend products are more believable because they reflect your audience, adding authenticity to their brand.

There are many ways to collaborate with them. You can send them free products to sample and ask for honest feedback. They can post their review online and recommend them to their followers. You can also provide giveaways to their fans or host special events with the influencers.

Like finding co-brand partners, working with influencers who share your brand's values and understand your target audience is crucial. They must also be creative in producing engaging content.

3. Implement a test-and-Learn strategy

A test-and-learn strategy involves experimenting with different ideas to determine what works best for your brand. This process can be divided into three stages: experimentation, feedback, and improvement.

For example, if your brand sells mobile accessories, instead of offering a single design per product category, you could produce multiple variations and let customers try them to identify their preferences. Gathering data and making necessary changes can enhance your brand and products. 

Implementing a reliable feedback loop is crucial for the brand development process. It helps identify and address problems early on, preventing more significant challenges. Additionally, it conveys to customers that you value their opinions, which can earn you goodwill and strengthen their loyalty to your brand.

So, how long does it take to build a brand? It depends on many factors. 

Building a successful brand goes beyond creating a logo and raising awareness. It requires establishing a unique identity, cultivating brand trust, and creating lasting customer impressions. The brand building also involves carefully crafting and communicating your brand's values, personality, and positioning in a way that resonates with your target audience.  

That said, developing a strong brand is a complex and time-consuming process. But, it is doable when you have an A-team of experts and supportive stakeholders in your organization. Take the next step and choose a reputable branding agency to partner with to handle the heavy lifting and guide you through the branding process efficiently.