What's A Brand?
In the open-range days of the Old West, everyone’s cattle roamed together, so brands were employed to designate ownership. These became the recognized “mark” of the spread and the concept of the company brand was born. Despite that practical, romantic history, today there is a ton of gibberish we hear in conversations about a company brand. Some of it goes like this:
“I want to build a strong brand for my company.”
(As opposed to a weak brand?)
“I want to brand my customers.”
(Like a herd of cattle?)
“This is a branding campaign.”
(Round ‘em up and put the iron to ‘em. Yippykayaa!)
“I want to build a brand image.”
(A bit indefinite, but I’ve heard this statement before.)
“We’re doing image branding with that advertisement.”
(Image? What’s that have to do with a brand?)
“They are a worthy competitor. They have a strong brand.”
(And, that would be described as….?)
“Next year, we’re going to re-brand our company.”
(Ouch!)
And, so on…..
How do you sort this all out? In my opinion, a brand is really pretty simple; yet how you approach it has far-ranging impact on a business.
A brand is a composition of all the things a company does. It is the company’s history, the history of its founders and employees, of its products or services, of its accomplishments, of its roots in its industry. It is a reflection of the company culture. It includes how it communicates to its prospects, services its customers, deals with its employees, and maintains contact with its market. It is manifested in how it advertises and presents itself to its markets, employees and stockholders. It includes the “elements of a brand” or what we in the advertising world would say are your logograph, position statement, creative platform and advertising tone. But, that’s a narrow view. More broadly, every time a person from your company has a conversation with a stake-holder, he/she is shaping, influencing, or validating your brand. It is this impression that is the brand.
I think the important thing to consider about your brand is this: It will be shaped either by happenstance or by intention. Make a mistake and your brand value is diminished. Do something that goes well, and your brand value is enhanced.
In my experience, organizations that pay attention to their brand and actively work to shape it, will progress much further toward reaching their goals as those who just let it happen. And, how do you accomplish this? You treat it like any other company asset; you manage it. And that suggests that you have a brand management plan, which logically is a part of your business plan.
Your brand management plan sets out where you are today, and what your vision for your brand is in the future. Then you set some guidelines for maintaining the brand. This might be a section in your employee handbook that reveals what the brand is today and what employee actions are appropriate for maintaining what your brand represents. These things might focus on standards of conduct when communicating with stake-holders.
A section of your marketing plan should also deal with the brand: what it is, and how it should be maintained through marketing communications. This helps shape the company culture, which has direct influence on the brand. Advertising can (arguably) be the most effective method of brand maintenance and improvement. In fact, every advertisement will influence what your brand represents in the mind of the consumer. It only makes sense that your advertising supports your brand. But how can it do that if those who are creating your advertising do not know what your brand is and what you want it to be?
So there is your next assignment: Think about your brand. Start writing down what it should mean to your stake-holders. Get input from your key personnel. Once you have that fleshed out, you can judge for yourselves whether you have something of value, and whether its value is worth maintaining and improving.
An historical note: Probably the most recognized “real” brand in America is the “running W” of the King Ranch in Texas, the largest cattle ranch in the US. Gallup polls offer insight on the most recognized consumer brand(s) in America. “Freeze-branding” has largely displaced “hot-iron branding” where humane considerations are a priority. I’ll bet it still hurts, though.
Lee Whitney
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Dan Ryan Says:
Ouch! This whole branding things sounds painful. Isn’t there an easier, pain-free way to success?