What is this thing we call ‘branding’?
It’s something that’s been defined and redefined so many times that brand means different things, depending on who you talk to.
This week, I came across …
What is this thing we call ‘branding’?
It’s something that’s been defined and redefined so many times that brand means different things, depending on who you talk to.
This week, I came across this definition and I thought it was rather good:
“A brand is the sum of the good, the bad, the ugly, and the off-strategy. If is defined by your best product as well as your worst product. It is defined by award-winning advertising as well as by the god-awful ads that have somehow slipped through the cracks, got approved, and, not surprisingly, sank into oblivion. It is defined by the accomplishments of your best employee-the shining star in the company who can do no wrong-as well as the mishaps of the worst hire that you ever made. It is also defined by your receptionist and the music your customers are subjected to when placed on hold. For every grand and finely worded public statement by the CEO, the brand is also defined by derisory consumer comments overheard in the hallway or in a chat room on the Internet. Brands are sponges for content, for images, for fleeting feelings. They become psychological concepts held in the minds of the public, where they may stay forever. As such you can’t entirely control a brand. At best; you only guide and influence it.”
I wish I’d written it. But sadly, credit is due to Scott Bredbury in his book ‘A New Brand World’. For me the important part of this definition is the clear assertion that the brand is the sum total of everything you do – the good and the bad. And for all the good planning in the world, brands do have a life of their own in the hearts and minds of the masses we fondly call customers.
For equally good insight on Brand as Experience, check this out.
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