What is a brand? Is it a logo, a product, a name, or maybe even a message?
A brand is a story. Humanity loves stories. They're our most powerful way of sharing our imagination with others. Try giving someone a series of facts and figures and see what they remember without cramming the material. But, you tell someone a powerful story, and see what they remember then. You can change their attitude, their focus, even their purpose for doing whatever it is they're doing.
People connect with brands because of the story behind them; the one the brand itself is telling and the one individuals attach to the brand. Companies live and die by their brand. A company can have the best product, one that solves all kinds of problems, or the best service, one that people are seeking desperately. But, if the company has a bad reputation, or lacks effort made towards it's brand, then no one truly connects with it. Whatever is being sold seems more like those facts and figures instead of a story. The same thing applies to people. You can be incredibly intelligent or have great ideas that could make a real difference. But if no one knows your brand, then you'll be hard pressed in getting someone to notice you.
There are certain elements of creation that go into having a successful brand. At the core, you have to know why you're building the brand, as this will guide everything else. Apple is a great example of a brand that had a leader who was fiercely dedicated to the why, which has been to create products that people don't realize they want yet while making things simpler at the same time. Why do we swipe across our screens instead of tapping it with a stylus or clicking on a physical keyboard? Because the weight of the Apple brand made it so.
Another element is a part of that story that I talked about at the beginning. A brand needs to know who it's telling the story to, which relates to that aspect of getting people to notice you. But, it's important not to try and be all things to all people, or your message can become lost. A brand story has to be relatable and interesting to your target market. This is called a brand image. Again with Apple, their brand story aims at a higher end audience. McDonalds is more aimed at those looking for quick, cheap eats. Adidas tells it's story to those who see the pros playing their respective sports and want to emulate them. Sometimes a brand can try to change it's image, but this often faces resistance. A recent example of this is JC Penney, which attempted to change to an every day low pricing model, away from the big weekend discount sales that their shoppers came to expect. This failed, the CEO with that idea is no longer with the company, and they have gone back to their regular door-buster deals style. This was because, as hard as they tried to tell their customers that they were changing their style, they continued to get questions about when their next big sale would be. Trying to make a radical change like this often just leaves your audience lost, confused, and no longer interested in what you're selling. But, you probably already know this concept of an image that many brands are going for. That's because they've done well in this area and you didn't even know it.
If you think that branding only apply to companies, you're ignoring a large part of our daily lives. Similar to companies, we have our own personal brand, whether we create it with intentional design or not. Your brand is your reputation; it's how others see you and how they guide their interactions with you. Despite me hearing recently that personal branding is such a 'millennial thing', it's not a new concept. Your actions and your interactions with others tell your story, but this more often than not takes Our personal brands largely guide our lives. They can determine who we interact with, where we're able to go, and what it is we're able to accomplish in our lifetime.
So, what is the key to building a lasting brand? Trust. If no one believes your story or if they don't want to hear it for whatever reason, then your brand is worthless. Despite all of our modern conveniences, where we can customize our preferences and quickly move from one thing to the next, gaining trust still forces us to yield and demands the time required. You can try to fast-track the process or say a lot of good things to build your perceived image up, but a weak trust foundation will crumble at the first sign of hardship. Trust that is solid and built to last requires cultivation and the flexibility to grow. Once it has grown, if you do anything to break that trust, it takes much longer to re-build that trust, if you can at all. When you think of Chipotle these days, whats one of the first things that comes to mind? E. Coli perhaps? It's been over a year since the initial outbreak and yet when a well-known restaurant has a health crisis, the trust may never fully come back.
The act of branding may seem like something for a marketing department to do or something that a politician running for office does, but the reality is that we all do it every day, both through our work and in our personal lives. We don't often think of it in this manner, which is good because we would probably drive ourselves mad trying to plan our every action and interaction. But, it never hurts to take a step back and consider your own brand that you're portraying to others. While you're at it, consider the brands of the companies that you spend your money with. Do their brands match the values and messages that you wish to see flourish? If not, have you considered changing your spending habits? Your investments?
Branding has always fascinated me because it shows the power and influence that any one person can have over so many aspects of our lives, and it's a large part of why I studied marketing as one of my undergrad majors. It's definitely a softer science, so to speak, but it has a very real impact on each of us, whether we accept it or not. Just remember though that no matter how big and powerful any brand may seem, they all started with just a thought.
