So, you're building your brand.

It's your baby. You've spent blood, sweat and tears on this thing. Traded countless hours of your life. It's cost you almost everything, and not just in a monetary sense...

Now you're ready to bring it all to fruition.

There's just one problem - uh, how TF do you do that?

Let me guess. You're the kind of person who views themselves as 'business-minded' or 'not creative at all.' You think this branding stuff is a whole alien world you could never understand.

Not to mention there are new brands popping up every damn day, and they're all so trendy and cool. It's super daunting. You don't want to make the wrong decision and accidentally black ball yourself as undesirable or uncool.

No, you want to make an impression. You want to steal the attention away from your competitors for even just a few split seconds.

So how do we know what's hot and what's not?

And is it even really that important?

Well, according to Steve Forbes, Editor-in-Chief at Forbes, 'Your brand is the single most important investment you can make in your business.'

And I'm not just talking about your visual branding. I'm talking about the way you express what your brand is all about.

So, I am here to show you the lay of the land. As someone with absolutely no business experience, let's combine our powers like 'fusion-ha' in Dragon Ball-Z.

I've compiled some of the strongest trends in branding of 2024 thus far so you don't have to. You're welcome x

By personalisation, we mean tailoring messages and experiences to the unique needs and preferences of your customers. This helps your brand build stronger connections and cultivate a more distinct identity.

This can look like messaging, communication, product offerings and customer services made specifically to fit the characteristics and needs of each individual customer.

So start by looking at your data to understand past purchases, behaviors and demographic information. Then use what you find to create tailored experiences.

It can be so simple. Think--Coca-Cola's 'Share a Coke' campaign, where the brand added names to billions of Coke bottles. The tactic generated over 100 million interactions on social media and boosted engagement while millions of people set out to find their name.

Sounds counterintuitive, I know. But we don't need to complicate things here. Mindful use of negative space, a bold font, a striking monochromatic colour palette - mwah, chefs kiss, Bellissima.

When it comes to your visual style, choose one element to make striking and use others to create harmony around it. Take our friends at Flight Coffee as an example. Their canned coffees are the perfect example of simple maximalism done perfectly.

What do you think of when you hear 'ba-da-ba-ba-ba...'? Instantly, 'I'm lovin' it,' right? And then you go on autopilot and regain consciousness in a McDonald's car park with a burger in one hand and a fro-co in the other.

Multimedia branding was bound to happen as the technological age advances, and sonic branding is a powerful example of this. So think about how you can go beyond visual elements and stimulate an auditory association with your brand.

Every time people hear your sound, they visualise your brand. (And no, I'm not talking about sh*tty jingles. We don't need any more of those.)