While hanging out with the people associated to corporate world specifically in the area of promotion and marketing, I come across the word “Branding” a lot. And in fact this is the most frequently asked question I come across with; “What is Branding?”
In many occasions, we frequently misuse the term “brand/ branding” by misrepresenting it with advertising, marketing, name of a product and even design. These misleading perceptions have caused a lot of confusion as to what branding is and how it works. Marketing agencies, advertising professionals, PR firms, graphic/ web designers; each define brand within their own circle of reference and expertise. But, what does it really mean and how does it work? Where did all start and how can it create value? We are going to find that out today.
There could be hundreds of ways to define brand or branding. The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.
For me, a brand is “what sticks in your mind associated with a product, service, or organization — and creates an emotional space in your mind. Resulting, you start to identify and recognize it and in most of the cases, start to crave for it.” Which means, branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as the best or one of the best one that provides a solution to their problem or a product that we seek. To summarize that, the objectives that a good brand will achieve include: • Delivers the message clearly • Confirms your credibility • Connects your target prospects emotionally • Motivates the buyer • Concretes User Loyalty
Experts unanimously agree that the origin and evolution of branding moved from a commodity-driven model to a value-driven model. Rice, sugar, cotton and steel were all strictly commodities at one point. Consumers used the identification system, designed to show ownership, as a tool to navigate their way through vast offerings of these common goods. This allowed them not only to identify the best products available in their market, but empowered them to repeat a favorable purchase.
Economists credit an English artisan by the name of Josiah Wedgewood [1730-1795] with creating the first modern brand. Born into a family of potters, Wedgewood was a pioneer in industrialization who greatly improved the quality of the crockery of his day. Christened ‘Queen’s Ware’ after Queen Charlotte, his goods were of such superior quality, they stimulated demand and commanded a premium price—“Wedgewood” became synonymous with “Quality.”
In 1924, General Motors’ new president, Alfred P. Sloan, began developing different automobile models around customer segmentation. The price and quality of each car was based on what each consumer segment could afford. While this marks a huge revolution in marketing, it wasn’t until May 13, 1931 that Procter & Gamble’s Neil McElroy proposed the modern concept of “branding.” Through an internal memorandum, he proposed a new business strategy called “brand management” and the age of product and brand differentiation was born.
Brand management focused attention on product specialization and differentiation instead of business function. By distinguishing the qualities of each brand from all other P&G brands, each would avoid competition with one another by targeting different consumer markets with a different set of benefits. McElroy’s concept championed by P&G President/CEO, Richard R. Deupree became the foundation of the company’s business strategy. Over the years, P&G and the companies that embraced McElroy’s brand management concept became extremely successful. In the early 1940s, Ted Bates & Company decided to conduct an extensive research study to find out why and reverse engineer the success of these brands. The company researched “successful advertising campaigns,” to see whether they could identify a pattern. What they found was that the most successful brands—those that both lead their category and produced the highest ROI—used what they termed the Unique Selling Proposition or “USP.”
While the concept of brand is ever evolving, its primary purpose is to balance the objectives of an organization with people’s needs and expectations. It does this by building a trustworthy relationship with consumers. In other words, what is promised by the brand owner and what is expected by the brand’s audience become one and the same—It’s that simple and yet complex.
To succeed in branding you must understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects and emotionally attach them with your product(s) or service(s). You do this by integrating your brand strategies through your company at every point of public contact. Your brand resides within the hearts and minds of customers, clients, and prospects. It is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions, some of which you can influence, and some that you cannot.
To understand that, let’s take one or two real world examples that we come across everyday. Think about a logo, and one of the most iconic and widely seen logo is Coca Cola — recognizable the world over, executed in its dramatically distinctive curvy script in white against red. And when you see it, do you imagine the effervescence of a Coke, the dark color or how it tastes? All of those things may run fleetingly through your subconscious mind when you want something to drink.
Sometimes it’s not the logo but another visual that comes to mind — even packaging. For instance, distinctive brilliant white and minimalistic packaging of Apple products. Certain attributes immediately come to mind, such as extraordinary design, minimal yet well crafted luxurious feel to the box and product that’s packed within — that’s what creates a crave and insatiable desire into your mind.
According to some experts, branding is what creates customer loyalty. They say it is what keeps consumers loyal and buying repeatedly.
I would agree with that … but….I’d go deeper. Branding is what helps a prospective buyer call to mind a particular company when it comes time to buy. Branding also helps with awareness.
In a world of extraordinary amount of choices, branding is what makes people remember YOUR product / company is more important than ever.
And it all starts from within. If you are thinking that the process of branding is a set of disconnected plans of actions which circles around a company or individual’s offerings, it will be a wrong idea. Branding is the outcome of a well concerted well planned out process that defines the culture of an entity. Be it an Organization, an Individual, an Initiative or even a Country as a whole.
How do McDonald’s want others to see them or how McDonald’s create a crave for it’s foods. It’s not a one-time stand-alone recipe driven concept or initiative. It’s the company’s culture or target customers, segments or market that defines how it wants to brand itself – as a company and also it’s individual menu items. Same applies to a person. For example, a movie actor; he or she may choose to brand him/ her as a hero, villain or a comedian. And the entire course of plan and set of action including creating the public image, all are designed to achieve that goal.
So to conclude, Branding is not just creating a logo or a catchy billboard or running an amazing TV commercial. Branding is the process of defining your identity; your culture and cleverly passing that on to your audience and to create a permanent impact and have others crave for it. Logo, designs, TV commercials, marketing, packaging all these are just the tools to achieve that broad and bigger long term target. Thank you.
In many occasions, we frequently misuse the term “brand/ branding” by misrepresenting it with advertising, marketing, name of a product and even design. These misleading perceptions have caused a lot of confusion as to what branding is and how it works. Marketing agencies, advertising professionals, PR firms, graphic/ web designers; each define brand within their own circle of reference and expertise. But, what does it really mean and how does it work? Where did all start and how can it create value? We are going to find that out today.
There could be hundreds of ways to define brand or branding. The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.
For me, a brand is “what sticks in your mind associated with a product, service, or organization — and creates an emotional space in your mind. Resulting, you start to identify and recognize it and in most of the cases, start to crave for it.” Which means, branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as the best or one of the best one that provides a solution to their problem or a product that we seek. To summarize that, the objectives that a good brand will achieve include: • Delivers the message clearly • Confirms your credibility • Connects your target prospects emotionally • Motivates the buyer • Concretes User Loyalty
Experts unanimously agree that the origin and evolution of branding moved from a commodity-driven model to a value-driven model. Rice, sugar, cotton and steel were all strictly commodities at one point. Consumers used the identification system, designed to show ownership, as a tool to navigate their way through vast offerings of these common goods. This allowed them not only to identify the best products available in their market, but empowered them to repeat a favorable purchase.
Economists credit an English artisan by the name of Josiah Wedgewood [1730-1795] with creating the first modern brand. Born into a family of potters, Wedgewood was a pioneer in industrialization who greatly improved the quality of the crockery of his day. Christened ‘Queen’s Ware’ after Queen Charlotte, his goods were of such superior quality, they stimulated demand and commanded a premium price—“Wedgewood” became synonymous with “Quality.”
In 1924, General Motors’ new president, Alfred P. Sloan, began developing different automobile models around customer segmentation. The price and quality of each car was based on what each consumer segment could afford. While this marks a huge revolution in marketing, it wasn’t until May 13, 1931 that Procter & Gamble’s Neil McElroy proposed the modern concept of “branding.” Through an internal memorandum, he proposed a new business strategy called “brand management” and the age of product and brand differentiation was born.
Brand management focused attention on product specialization and differentiation instead of business function. By distinguishing the qualities of each brand from all other P&G brands, each would avoid competition with one another by targeting different consumer markets with a different set of benefits. McElroy’s concept championed by P&G President/CEO, Richard R. Deupree became the foundation of the company’s business strategy. Over the years, P&G and the companies that embraced McElroy’s brand management concept became extremely successful. In the early 1940s, Ted Bates & Company decided to conduct an extensive research study to find out why and reverse engineer the success of these brands. The company researched “successful advertising campaigns,” to see whether they could identify a pattern. What they found was that the most successful brands—those that both lead their category and produced the highest ROI—used what they termed the Unique Selling Proposition or “USP.”
While the concept of brand is ever evolving, its primary purpose is to balance the objectives of an organization with people’s needs and expectations. It does this by building a trustworthy relationship with consumers. In other words, what is promised by the brand owner and what is expected by the brand’s audience become one and the same—It’s that simple and yet complex.
To succeed in branding you must understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects and emotionally attach them with your product(s) or service(s). You do this by integrating your brand strategies through your company at every point of public contact. Your brand resides within the hearts and minds of customers, clients, and prospects. It is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions, some of which you can influence, and some that you cannot.
To understand that, let’s take one or two real world examples that we come across everyday. Think about a logo, and one of the most iconic and widely seen logo is Coca Cola — recognizable the world over, executed in its dramatically distinctive curvy script in white against red. And when you see it, do you imagine the effervescence of a Coke, the dark color or how it tastes? All of those things may run fleetingly through your subconscious mind when you want something to drink.
Sometimes it’s not the logo but another visual that comes to mind — even packaging. For instance, distinctive brilliant white and minimalistic packaging of Apple products. Certain attributes immediately come to mind, such as extraordinary design, minimal yet well crafted luxurious feel to the box and product that’s packed within — that’s what creates a crave and insatiable desire into your mind.
According to some experts, branding is what creates customer loyalty. They say it is what keeps consumers loyal and buying repeatedly.
I would agree with that … but….I’d go deeper. Branding is what helps a prospective buyer call to mind a particular company when it comes time to buy. Branding also helps with awareness.
In a world of extraordinary amount of choices, branding is what makes people remember YOUR product / company is more important than ever.
And it all starts from within. If you are thinking that the process of branding is a set of disconnected plans of actions which circles around a company or individual’s offerings, it will be a wrong idea. Branding is the outcome of a well concerted well planned out process that defines the culture of an entity. Be it an Organization, an Individual, an Initiative or even a Country as a whole.
How do McDonald’s want others to see them or how McDonald’s create a crave for it’s foods. It’s not a one-time stand-alone recipe driven concept or initiative. It’s the company’s culture or target customers, segments or market that defines how it wants to brand itself – as a company and also it’s individual menu items. Same applies to a person. For example, a movie actor; he or she may choose to brand him/ her as a hero, villain or a comedian. And the entire course of plan and set of action including creating the public image, all are designed to achieve that goal.
So to conclude, Branding is not just creating a logo or a catchy billboard or running an amazing TV commercial. Branding is the process of defining your identity; your culture and cleverly passing that on to your audience and to create a permanent impact and have others crave for it. Logo, designs, TV commercials, marketing, packaging all these are just the tools to achieve that broad and bigger long term target. Thank you.