Branding
Branding strategy
Effective branding strategy and branding support
BRANDING: an identification mark on skin, made by burning - originally a symbol to mark, expose or disgrace criminals then used to indicate ownership of animals.
Now, ironically, a brand represents: "... the holistic sum of all information about a product or group of products. This symbolic construct typically consists of a name, identifying mark, logo, visual images or symbols, or mental concepts which distinguishes the product or service. It is useful for the marketer to think of this as a set of aligned expectations in the mind of its stakeholders - from its consumers, to its distribution channels, to the people and companies who supply the products and services that make up the brand" [!!!].
Now brands also have brand values - a brand value reflects how a product's name, or company name, is perceived by the marketplace. Some names: Coca Cola, Virgin, BT, BA, Nike, The Sun.
Each name and image will bring a different association into the minds of prospective and actual customers - but if the company has got it right it will be very close to the one they have spent a lot of time, effort and money promoting.
Which of the brands above can you name - even though the logos are incomplete? What 'memory' do you have of them?
Mental shelf space
A brand is actually a memory. It is everything you remember about an organisation - conciously or unconciously, it is 'feelings' and it is 'instant'; it just happens. For SMEs branding is just as important as it it for large corporations.
This is VERY important as there is little point in investing large sums in advertising and design, if the reality is that employee behaviour undermines those expensive messages.
Too many agencies and companies are so focused on the product and brand promise that they overlook the largest and most important part of delivering a brand - how purchasers and prospective purchasers actually experience it.
So, in creating your brand and its brand identity you are creating anticipation in the minds of prospective and actual customers and the employees who deliver it.
Branding success is no longer about how many consumers recognize or have 'top of the mind awareness' of a brand and its logo and strapline, but by how strongly consumers feel 'connected' to it.
To make branding work it has to tell a story that the consumer wants to hear and can relate to, that can be encapsulated rationally and emotionally in a message that tells the story simply and quickly and that is then supported by the experience of the consumer. All of this requires artistic and creative input but it also requires a GREAT DEAL MORE.
Branding is not just about some 'pretty pictures' and some 'clever copy' - it has to be visceral and more like a really great movie.
Customers no longer let you get away with anything less.
blinklist
