So What is Branding?
Most companies have recognized for some time that branding is vital to the success of their business. Building a strong brand, it is believed, will make it easier for over-stimulated consumers to make buying decisions. More importantly, it will increase the likelihood that one company's product or service will be chosen over another's. But you may be asking, what exactly does it mean to build a brand?
While there is an overwhelming consensus on the value of branding, most of us struggle to define these concepts in specific terms. When it comes time to plannng and executing an effective branding strategy, one that will lead to the emergence of a consistent, enduring brand in the minds of a business's audience, confusion sets in. That is why it is important to first truly understand the concept of branding before making efforts to setup a campaign.
Lession 1: Branding is Inescapable
One of the most common misconceptions about branding is that it is something one chooses to do, as if it were a project one could start and finish. But branding - the process through which a cohesive, enduring impression of a business, product or service is formed in the minds of your audience members - never ends. Branding is ongoing, a process that takes place constantly in every interaction between a company and its audience come whether a company intends it to or not. This includes interactions between a company truck driver and the woman who passes him on the freeway, a party-goer receiving a hard time from the security as they attempt to get into a party, or even a short conversation between a receptionist and someone who has called the wrong number.
All of these interactions with a company, its products or its services leave impressions. Over time, these impressions - along with whatever associations they bring to mind - accumulate to form a "living memory" in the minds of individuals and a "collective perception" across a wider audience. A brand, then, is the unique sum of impressions associated with a particular company, product or service. If the impressions are overwhelmingly good, if individuals desire a steady affiliation with the brand, the brand will endure and become an important - perhaps the most important -asset to a company.
The Greatest Asset you’ll Never See
Ironically, it is the very intangibility of a brand that gives it so much potential value. While individual experiences with a product or service are usually temporary in nature (indeed, products and services themselves may change or disappear altogether), the brand endures in the minds of audience members in the form of a unique set of feelings and impressions. In this way, a strong brand can remain so even if the product or service fails occasionally to deliver on its promise and meet audiences' expectations. A strong brand becomes a trusted friend, and brand loyalty arises not so much out of rational consideration, but more on the basis of an emotional affinity or personal connection.
For instance, while you may have experienced a flat, warm Coca-Cola at your local mini-mart, you will probably continue to associate Coke, the brand, with a cold, bubbly and revitalizing drink you first guzzled as a kid. The Coca-Cola brand is strong; it endures because one (or two or three) negative experiences cannot displace our overwhelmingly positive impression - our "living memory"-of what Coca-Cola means. This is an example we can all build from. Building a legacy of positve associations for our product. In the music world, the same can be said for Mary J. Blige or Earth Wind and Fire. Throughout decades they have consistently remained relevant by delivering classic music. Whereas many of today’s artist popularity is dependant on one or two hit songs, they are much easier to be replaced and forgotten in this fast-paced music industry.
In conclusion, branding is a by-product of being in business. Whether you focus on building a brand or not, the moment you step in business one is being built. Be sure to make strategic, careful steps as you make your lasting impression on your audience.
….Stay tuned for Lesson 2: Branding begins at home
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