branding 101

Been thinking about all this branding hype that's been going around lately. And the branding issue is something which I think is clearly misunderstood.

For me, branding or brand building is made out of 2 components... your products / services and your users. First is of course your product... you go out and hire a fancy branding specialist and he develops a identity for your product / service by giving your product / service a savvy new name, new packaging design, some clever designed brochures and does a PR launch and then tells you.. YOU NOW HAVE A BRAND!

So what's next? Well the part that I think most brand specialist do not focus on is the part of your consumers.... The point is that, you can develop a new look for your product or service with some fancy PR and claim you have a brand but you don't really have a brand until and unless your consumers acknowledge it!

What do I mean? Think about it? would Mac really be considered a branded product if nobody talked about it? Would Dockers or Levi's be a hit if the people who wore them didn't acknowledge that they did?

So in essence, my opinion is that the crucial part of branding is not the new look or identity but its about gaining consumer recognition or your product or service. An example of a company who has done this brilliantly is Apple.... Think about it, the Ipod is just a MP3 player. Do other brands like Sony or Creative not have MP3 players? Why the Ipod?

Well, its a case of great branding. Its about getting your consumers and turning them into fans which Apple has done an incredible job... In essence its getting consumers to talk about your products/services, rave about it and ultimately if possible swear by them!

As such, don't be deceived by people who mention great branding is about just building an identity for your product / service. There is a 2nd part and the most important part, getting consumers to acknowledge and ultimately live your brand.



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A New Beginning

First of A Happy New Year to you! A new year in many aspects represents a new beginning. So what is your New Year's resolution? Could it be to take your company's brand more seriously?

There's no better time to do that than in the year 2009! As markets become harder and more difficult and as recession effects become more apparent, its clear that the companies with a good brand base would find it easier to survive.

If you have spent time building your brand, you will already have a consumer base or fan base with which to roll out your branding activities for 2009. If not again I urge you there would be no better time than to start now.

So, 2009 should be a great opportunity to build brands the only question remains is are you ready to do it?