Chapter
2:
What, exactly, is a brand, anyway?
Home > Promote > Marketing
> Branding
by Rob
Frankel
The actual answer is #1, "that thing they burn into cows."
And it makes a whole lot of sense. The term "brand" refers to searing
the hide of one rancher's cattle with his distinctive mark so that it couldn't
be confused with anyone else's. You can't really blame him, either. After all,
if you'd spent a lot of years in the cold, snowy plains driving smelly bovine
across thousands of miles of prairie, you'd want to make sure you were getting
top dollar for your steers, too.
The point, of course,
is that if you work hard to mark your product or service that much better than
everyone else's, you certainly want to make sure that the differentiation isn't
lost on your prospective buyers. In fact, you want to go out of your way to make
sure they don't miss it. In the rancher's case, that means burning the brand into
the hide.
But branding goes far beyond the marketplace. Brands
have been ingrained in our lives for thousands of years. You just never thought
of them that way. Want proof? How about this?
Hmmm. Pretty simple logo with fairly high awareness, wouldn't you say? And talk
about emotional value. One look at this logo tells you all you need to know about
it. It instantly communicates a lot about the person wearing it, too. Their principles.
Their ideals. And on some music video channels, even what they're rebelling against.
Very well-positioned. Extremely clear in its purpose. While it has had the advantage
of several centuries in the marketplace, I'd have to say that this one has all
the qualities of a true brand.
So then, what are those qualities?
What is branding?
Well, I'd have to start with the notion
that branding is indeed about differentiation. Making it easy for people to tell
you apart from the next guy that's trying to pry into their wallets. But it's
more than that. Much more.
