Branding. What It Is. What It Isn’t. And Why It Matters.
There’s some confusion around the subject of brands and branding.
Bluntly, some business owners think brand work is the “fluffy stuff” of marketing. Nothing could be further from the truth. Branding is meaty. Even in this digital age of big data and machine learning, brand discussions, brand stories, and brand projects remain central to the marketing world for the simple reason that leveraging the power of your brand is the key to creating sustainable business success.
To better understand how and why, we owe it to you to start at the beginning.
What, exactly, is a brand? What is branding? When did it become a verb?
And why should you care?
A Brief History.
In a word, branding is about ownership.
We’ll try not to get bogged down in intricate details, but suffice to say, the act of branding has been practiced for at least 5,000 years.¹ It usually involved burning a distinctive mark or symbol into the hides of livestock. Logic would say those brand marks served not only to identify the animal’s owner, but could also quickly communicate quality associations with that owner.
Already, you can begin to see the value of creating a brand mark or logo. But remember, a brand mark is not your brand. Your logo is just one expression of your brand—a link to your brand’s unique story. Creation and deployment of all of those expressions of your brand constitute “branding.”
We’ll talk about the various elements of branding a bit later, but first, let’s define “brand.”
What exactly is a brand?
Sometimes, to understand what something is, it’s helpful to understand what it’s not. As we stated earlier, your brand is not your logo. It’s not your product or service. And it’s not your website.
It’s easy for business owners to fall into the trap of thinking their brand is the “thing they sell,” when really, their brand is the sum total of all of the intangible assets that communicate what their business is about.
At +Intention, we define a brand as an overall impression that reflects who you are (your identity), what you think (your beliefs), and what you do (your product or service).
How brands work.
We talk about it this way: the collection of associations customers make with your company/product/service actively shapes how they feel about your brand.
Think about it. A brand sends out lots of cues to establish itself in the minds and hearts of the targeted audience. Some cues are subtle, others are not so subtle. These cues include everything from the brand’s name and a visual identity, to messaging, and the products and/or services it provides. Purposeful leveraging of those cues is the act of branding. There it is, in verb form. Even things like customer service practices, employee programs, the design of storefronts and office spaces, partnerships, sponsorships, and the events in which the brand chooses to participate all send messages.
So do customers really stop to think about these things? Sometimes. More often than not, however, brand cues are subconsciously assessed by customers creating an overall net brand impression—or feeling about a brand.
Trust us, we’re not talking about hidden messages. Brand cues are always right there for customers to see, hear, and experience. That’s the point. We want customers to pick up on these cues and process them—but not in that cerebral, all-synapses-firing kind of way. Few think about brands that hard. Thinking requires conscious, cognitive effort. Feeling on the other hand, seems to “just happen.” It’s primal. Controlling emotion is what can feel like work.
Truth: the art of branding is not so much about engaging your customers’ brains as it is their hearts.
Let’s look at a quick example. Many might say personal service is Nordstrom’s most powerful brand cue. Logically, we all understand that Nordstrom is a mass department store. Is every Nordstrom customer special? Of course not. Yet, somehow, most everyone who shops at Nordstrom is made to feel special, like a VIP.
There’s that word again. Feel.
At +Intention, we believe the ability connect with customers on an emotional level is essential to a brand’s success. No matter how logical and rational we may believe ourselves to be, humans are emotional creatures. It is an inescapable truth. And how a customer feels about a brand subsequently drives the decisions a customer makes about that brand.
We assess brands as much as we do people. Upon first meeting, we take in a person’s appearance—clothing, hair, general style—and based on those cues, we make certain assumptions. The same thing happens when we are first introduced to a brand. The brand’s logo and visual identity is often that “first impression” and speaks volumes to what that brand is all about. When we engage in conversation with a person, we assess what they say and how they say it. This is the equivalent of brand language, brand voice/tone, and messaging. And most of all, you will judge a person—and a brand—by its actions. Do they live up to promises made? Because just as people live out their values, so do brands.
You get the idea.
Here’s the other interesting thing about brands: just like people, brands don’t really change at their core. They evolve. They may freshen up their look. Or, to stay relevant in a changing marketplace, they may alter their product offering or service so long as they remain true to their brand mission and values. So when you have a strong, well-defined brand, products or service offerings can evolve.
That’s key. Because that means brands can create “business resiliency.”
For example, a lot happened in 2020. Businesses had to figure out a way to not only survive, but thrive amidst the realities of a raging pandemic with huge numbers of people working from home, new heroes defined, and digital platforms defining our way of life. Strong, well-defined brands—businesses who knew exactly who they were, the value they provided, and why—were able to pivot and did far better than those who didn’t.
Let’s look at Ford Motor Company and one of their well-known taglines, “Built Ford Proud.” Interesting brand cue. When the pandemic hit, auto purchases may not have been at the top of consumers’ priorities, but Ford has never really been just about manufacturing cars and trucks. They have been about America, things that are built to last, and innovation within production—specifically assembly line production. So when the pandemic made things tough for Americans, Ford got tough on the pandemic.² They went back to their roots, leaned into their values, and helped produce much needed ventilators for our country. That’s a far cry from vehicle manufacturing, but a perfect fit with the brand, and an action with the power to strengthen Americans’ love and loyalty for Ford. And, when it comes time for that new vehicle purchase, you can bet Ford will be on the consideration list of many Americans.
Smart branding isn’t about big moves by big iconic brands. And it doesn’t take giant budgets. Sometimes it’s about simply crafting a message that reminds your customers what your brand is about, and why they should care.
June 19, 2020, AdAge published their AdAge/iSpot Hot Spots.³ The world was beginning seeing some light, and there was a sense of hopefulness that some businesses could begin to emerge from pandemic shutdowns.
The article highlighted a Comcast Business spot that posed an interesting proposition: “What if you could come back stronger, faster, better? At Comcast Business, we want to help you not just bounce back, but bounce forward.”
“Stronger, better, faster internet connectivity” sits at the core of the brand’s promise. As a brand that is in service of moving business forward, Comcast Business wisely leveraged their brand promise. As many businesses—especially small to mid-size businesses—struggled to survive, the possibility that a stronger network could help them “bounce forward” rather than merely “bounce back” was a powerful message. Nobody dreams of surviving. They dream of thriving. Hindsight is 20/20. Smart, simple brand moves always seem obvious. That’s why +Intention often reminds clients that the answers to business challenges are often “hiding in plain view,” right there in their brand. The trick is to never lose sight of all you can leverage within your brand.
Here’s why branding matters.
Branding drives business.
It’s through your brand that demand is driven, credibility is established, and trust is built. Whether you are being purposeful about how your brand is conveyed or not, the trajectory of your business is determined by how your offering is portrayed. Good branding is good business.
Isn’t branding something only big global consumer companies focus on?
No.
Whether you’re an iconic, global megabrand like Coca-Cola or a small, family owned business, branding is the key to success. It’s not the size of your budget, but rather the sharpness of your thinking that matters.
The difference between large brands and smaller brands is often just the “starting place” for the work to be done. The challenge for many large businesses is to remain true to their brand. (That often proves easier said than done.) What is essential for many mid-size businesses is to take a moment to better “define and mine” their brands.
Specifically, what issues can branding solve for your business?
It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day executional management of a business. We get that. But taking time to honestly assess where your brand stands, and what you might do to better leverage its power is always a wise investment. Your brand holds the answers to so many questions and can point the way when you’re feeling at loss for what your next business move should be.
Maybe your business has been steadily growing over the last several years, but there’s a good chance your competition has grown, too.
Perhaps the business opportunities coming your way have gotten larger and require a commitment to play on a more visible stage.
Or, maybe you’ve tried various marketing strategies and tactics with limited success, and have traditionally put more money into your offering than toward driving demand.
Or, (this is a big one), perhaps you have a real conviction around the industry/sector you’re in and have always been driven to bring fresh approaches to your customers, but the uniqueness of your way of doing things isn’t always immediately recognized by potential customers.
Any of the above sound familiar? These are just some of the business issues your brand can help solve. A purposefully designed brand has the power to propel a business forward. Put simply, good branding is good business.
References:
Mollerup, Per. Marks of Excellence: the History and Taxonomy of Trademarks. Phaidon, 2013, pp. 27-27.
"Ford to Produce 50,000 Ventilators in Michigan in next 100 DAYS; Partnering with GE Healthcare Will Help Coronavirus Patients." Ford. 30 Mar. 2020, www.corporate.ford.com/articles/products/ford-producing-ventilators-for-coronavirus-patients.html. Accessed 14 Apr. 2021.
Ad Age and Creativity Staff. "Watch the Newest Commercials on TV from Lowe's, Starbucks, Comcast and More." Ad Age, 19 June 2020, www.adage.com/article/hot-spots/watch-newest-commercials-tv-lowes-starbucks-comcast-and-more/2262991. Accessed 14 Apr. 2021.
+Intention is a strategic branding and design studio whose purpose is to help mid-size businesses navigate an ever-evolving marketplace.
Contact us to learn more about how +Intention can support your brand and business.