What is branding?
In its earliest form, branding dates back to around 2000BC, when farmers began to brand cattle to set them apart, and craftsmen began imprinting symbols on goods to signify their origins.
Over time, branding has become the way for companies to market themselves and establish a bond of trust with potential customers.
Trust for a brand is reliability + delight. But today, reliability and competence is no longer a scarce commodity. If you can write it down, I can find someone cheaper. The internet easily lets me sort by price.
But what every single worthwhile, or even noteworthy brand HAS, is an element of delight. That thing that people talk about, share and pass along.
How branding has changed?
Over the last 100+ years, branding has evolved:
From “features” — or what it IS,
To “benefits” — what it DOES,
To “experience” — how you FEEL
And eventually to “identification” - WHO you are.
People buy from brands that help them express their ideal self-image.
Brands are like icebergs, floating with only 1/7th of their bulk visible. It’s subconscious. You don’t ask people why they bought something—they don’t know. People don’t just buy attributes anymore—they buy the gestalt or the totality of how you behave and what you stand for.
Brands are stories and feelings that live inside the head and gut of the customer.
What they see in a logo isn’t happening IN the logo. It’s happening in people’s minds. When they see the Disney logo, they don’t think, “that’s a nifty script font.” They feel the family, joy, happiness, and magic therein.
Your brand is what THEY say it is when you’re not in the room. And those feelings can be REAL or assumed. They defy formulaic explanations.
Branding is a vital management tool.
Rebranding is THE best way to tell stakeholders that you understand the future and your place in it. And it’s the most effective way for leaders to signal significant change.
But, as you consider making changes in your brand, it’s important to remember the difference between branding and marketing.
Branding is why > Marketing is how
Branding is macro > Marketing is micro
Branding defines trajectory > Marketing defines tactics
Branding builds trust > Marketing builds a response
Branding is the being > Marketing is the doing
Lastly, let’s talk about categories.
Some argue that people don’t care about brands but about categories. Did people really fall out of love with Kodak, or did they fall in love with digital cameras?
The human mind immediately wants to categorize what they see and start to judge or position it. We seek shortcuts to information, and we don’t want to burn many mental calories getting there.
If I said, I would start a business with a bunch of bedrooms in a building that people could rent for a night or two. You’d say, “you mean a hotel?” Hotel is the category.
If I said I was opening a restaurant called “Provisions,” the first question you would ask likely is, “what kind of food will you serve?” If I said “fancy Italian,” you’re beginning the fill in all the blanks in your head with the emotional shorthand of that category.
If I said “$4 hamburgers,” you instantly create a different set of expectations.
In a nutshell, branding gives you the benefit of the doubt. It’s an emotional shorthand for your reputation. That’s really what a brand is—your reputation on a deadline and distilled for export.
Branding will happen to you regardless of your industry, the size of your company, or the products and services you offer. It exists INSIDE the gut of the market.
You might as well give them something to believe in.
