What is a brand?
Your logo is your brand!
Yep, that just about sums it up. Everyone knows that your company logo encompasses everything you stand for, your past, present and future, your ethos and vision. That’s why it’s so essential that your logo commands as much real estate as possible on your website and every facet of print advertising you generate.
Unfortunately this pretty much sums up what many people still consider as ‘a brand’. For those of us working in the creative industries, whether it be advertising, logo design, graphic design, online and especially those specialising in branding; this frustrating notion plagues us on a regular basis. I don’t need to even bother linking to the ‘Make the logo bigger’ sites, videos and memes that have floated around the web for years – we’ve all seen them, we’re all aware of the issue.
Branding, however, can be difficult to define. Explaining to clients that their brand is far more than a logo, colour scheme and slogan can be daunting and a trifle difficult, not because the concept itself is that hard to understand, but because the misconception has been drilled in for years. Although I’ve personally only encountered a few instances where I’ve had to struggle to convince clients that their logo does not need to dominate half the browser window, I tremble with fear at the thought of the day I’ll have to stand in front of a boardroom of ignorant corporate bigwigs and explain why their logo doesn’t need to be enlarged further.
Defining a ‘brand’
I’d love to craft a beautiful definition of what a brand is, but I’ve already been beaten to it by, among many other great minds, Eric Karjaluouto of ideasonideas. In his new book, Speak Human (which is proving to be a fascinating read by the way), he effectively addresses the question of what a brand is and how immensely important a solid, focused brand is to businesses.
I think what sums it up for me is the idea that “a brand is all aspects of the organisation; it’s the body, mind, spirit, character, sounds, smells, and feelings we have for them”.
It is the complete experience.
It may indeed seem that the term ‘brand’ is then a catch-all for anything to do with your company; a loose term thrown around odds and ends in some attempt to classify their relevance to the business. It couldn’t be further from this.
For example, when you’re dealing with your phone network provider – every interaction you have with them forms an imprint on your mind of who they are. Their logo, TV adverts, billboards, radio ads, magazine spreads and pricing schemes are only a tiny portion of the equation. What about every time you visit their website, log in to your account to check your statement, every email, SMS and print correspondence, their customer support when you phone up. Do they go out of their way to provide an enjoyable experience – do you feel like you’re appreciated as a customer. Do they listen to you?
The experience – your audience is part of your brand
Every possible channel through which you communicate with a company or even individual provides you with a impression of their brand experience. And in these days of mass social, connected lifestyles, it can take only one poor experience, one ruffled customer and word can spread across the web in a matter of minutes – “you suck”.
There’s absolutely no way to combat this. You can’t, you’d be a fool to try. You can’t put a ’spin’ on negative news and feedback, you can’t cover it up – you have to embrace it and use such feedback to improve your product – improve your customer’s experience.
We’re moving very rapidly into an age where companies can no longer talk at their customers, but must engage in a dialogue with them. In fact, we’re not moving there – we’re already here, and we’ve been talking about this for quite a while now. The massive implementation of social media and networking tools on a near constant basis means that your customers are very probably talking about you whether you like it or not. Word-of-mouth is the new(old) marketing, people are talking and people are listening.
So it’s your job as business to ensure that your product is so brilliant that people want to talk about it and it’s your job as a designer, advertiser, marketer etc to ensure that the part of the brand experience you’re crafting for your clients, whether it be their website, mobile app, TV adverts, brochures, customer services, product design and development etc is equally brilliant and compelling; because it is indeed part of that product, part of the experience, part of that brand. So try not to screw it up!
How do you percieve a brand?
I could rant on for ages, but unfortunately I have work to do. I think Eric sums up what a brand is nicely with the following analogy:
“My perception of the Coca-Cola brand isn’t limited to a wordmark, Pantone colour, or ad campaign. It’s also not their tagline, the crisp “snap” upon cracking a can open, the bubbly carbonated dance on my tongue, or the caramel aftertaste. It’s all of these things and more. It’s an idea, a belief, and a feeling. It is organic and transforms daily. It is a part of our individual personal histories whether we like it or not.”
Agree, disagree? Feel free to discuss below!
- Share:
-
Jin said:
A brand is simply the psychological association people have with the company’s service or products.
The logo is the easiest visual association, but it’s not that important in the grand scheme of things.
I agree brand is the whole experience.
ali said:
nice article, enjoyed here and it was first time been on this site.
Brian said:
This information here is genuinely useful.
I am definitely bookmarking it as well as sharing it with my friends.
Brian said:
Point taken!! and agree fully.
Anna said:
Corporate identity starts with the logo for definite, i think colours can often get forgotten when people are designing a logo, the colours used are so important as they pretty much set the tome for your whole identity. Colours have an impact on your would be clients also they can put them at ease, instill confidence and energies a person. There are some great tools for looking in to different colour combination. adobe Kular is a favorite of mine.
Liminal Graphic Design Cornwall said:
Great little article, I’ve always liked the Wally Olins books on branding but will take a look at the ideasonideas one.
Not sure if business degrees teach graduates about branding but it really shouldn’t be the designers job to teach clients that its not a logo.
For colours try colourlovers.
Ryan
Nathan said:
@Anna – colour, logos.. the visual side is only a small part of branding. I don’t believe that corporate identity starts with the logo at all. Corporate, or any brand identity starts with clear objectives and goals, a defined message. Empathising with your customers and crafting a business model and ethics suited to providing the best possible experience for them.
At the end of the day the product or service your selling should have a higher priority than a logo or colour scheme.
Eddy said:
I think this is what called a perfect definition of a BRAND. Brand itself defines its identification as a great aspects of the organisation what it is for! A logo is a BRAND as indicated the specific identification of the organisation.