Top strategies for creating a standout brand in 2025

In an increasingly saturated and competitive marketing landscape, having a great product or service is no longer enough to stand out from the crowd. As businesses bombard customers with countless choices, you’ll need a strong brand identity and unique selling proposition (USP) to cut through the noise.

It’s all about creating a brand that aligns with your audience’s values, sparks emotional connections, and encourages customer loyalty from the get-go. 

Why is this so important? Well, according to a 2024 Statista survey, 64% of consumers prefer buying from brands that provide experiences tailored to their needs. 

With that in mind, let me take you through some actionable strategies for creating a brand that stands out in 2025 and beyond.

Define your brand’s core identity

It's easy to get caught up in the pursuit of profit. But to create a brand that truly stands out, you must understand its core purpose. What unique value does it bring to the world? What problems does it solve for customers?

A crystal-clear core identity forms the foundation of a positive brand perception. You can start by defining your:

• Unique selling proposition (USP): Clearly articulate what makes your product or service different from competitors and the specific benefits customers can expect.
• Mission statement: Define your brand’s purpose and its commitment to customers or society.
• Vision statement: Outline your brand’s long-term aspirations. These should be formulated to inspire both your team and your target audience.
• Core values: Highlight the fundamental beliefs and principles that guide your brand's decisions and actions. Your company’s values should be authentic and applied consistently across all aspects of your brand.

Craft a compelling and memorable brand story

Consumers value authentic connections with brands, which brings us to one of the most powerful strategies for creating a brand that stands out. A compelling and relatable brand story connects with your audience emotionally, imprinting your brand on their minds. 

A video story, in particular, brings your brand to life and allows your audience to see the human side of your business. For instance, West Virginia-based Nu-Era Bakery used Animoto to create a professional video brand story that humanized their brand and helped them build deeper connections with their audience. 

By posting and promoting the video on Facebook, they attracted massive on-platform engagement and catapulted to become a national brand, setting up e-commerce ordering mechanisms to ship baked goods across the country.

You can also showcase your brand’s journey, highlight struggles, and reveal the passion behind what you do to create a narrative that feels genuine and relatable. Incorporating social proof such as customer testimonials, case studies, or success stories, will also add credibility and depth to your story, further reinforcing your brand identity.

Build a strong and consistent visual identity

Your brand’s visual identity is the first thing that customers notice, so it needs to be appealing and consistent across all touchpoints.

Why?

Using inconsistent visuals can confuse your audience, dilute your message, and make your brand less memorable. On the other hand, a unique and cohesive visual identity ensures that your brand is instantly recognizable and leaves a lasting impression.

Here are some tips to follow when building your brand’s visual identity:

• Logo: Create a distinctive logo that embodies your brand’s mission and values. Keep it simple yet memorable, ensuring it works well across different platforms and sizes.
• Color palette: Choose a color scheme that reflects your brand’s personality. Stick to a consistent palette across all marketing materials to reinforce recognition.
• Typography: Select fonts that complement your brand’s tone – whether elegant, playful, or professional – and use them consistently in all communications.

For instance, Salesforce used Canva to create a unified look and feel across their marketing platforms. The brand used customizable templates for its social media posts, presentations, and marketing collateral while maintaining consistent colors and typography. 

“We have consistency there now,” says Kyle Legg, who leads brand social media and creative at Salesforce. “It saves so much time across the company, because we’re able to free up our creative teams. I would say I save at least ten hours a month just by not needing to go in and create or edit files, render animations, go through reviews, find and share source templates, etc.”

Collaborate with a network of micro-influencers 

You might be tempted to partner with one or two mega-influencers to enhance brand awareness and recognition. However, working with multiple relevant micro-influencers can have a greater impact since they have highly engaged and loyal audiences.

Collaborating with a diverse network of micro-influencers allows you to reach a wider audience, build more authentic relationships, and strengthen your brand’s identity within niche communities.

All you need to do is find influencers whose values align with your brand, clearly communicate your goals and expectations, and allow creative freedom to ensure their content feels genuine.

Take SkinnyPop, for example. They used Lightricks’ Popular Pays platform to connect with 30 niche creators from a centralized campaign management dashboard. The creators, who collectively had a total following of over 2.9 million people, went on to produce unique, diverse content for different audience segments.

This strategy helped them tap into niche markets and establish a strong, relatable brand image. Founded by two Illinois entrepreneurs in 2010, SkinnyPop was acquired by Hershey a few years later.

Maintain consistent brand voice across channels

Your brand voice is the unique personality that you inject into all your communications. It should be uniform across your website pages, social media platforms, email campaigns, and other marketing channels to reinforce brand identity and build familiarity and trust with your audience.

Here are some tips for maintaining a consistent brand voice:

• Define your tone: Your brand’s tone should align with your target audience’s preferences and expectations – it could be formal, friendly, or playful.
• Create messaging guidelines: Develop a document that outlines your voice, preferred terminology, and stylistic rules.
• Train your team: Ensure everyone involved in communication understands and applies your messaging style guide.

Several tools can help you manage your content calendar and ensure consistent messaging across platforms. For instance, Buffer used Trello to centralize content planning and collaborate on messaging to ensure consistency with the brand voice guidelines.

Final thoughts

To create a unique brand in 2025, it’s not enough to offer high-quality products or services. You need to create an identity that resonates with your audience and sets you apart in a crowded marketplace.

By defining your core identity, crafting a compelling story, building a strong visual presence, collaborating with multiple micro-influencers, and maintaining a consistent voice, you can create a cohesive and memorable brand experience. 

Start implementing these strategies today and watch your brand rise above the rest.