By definition, a brand is a mark of distinction or identification.  But in the marketing world, a brand is a powerful commodity.  How powerful?  Just ask Coca Cola®, McDonald’s®, Nike® and Coach®.

Most people are confused about what a brand is, and what a brand does.  Because branding is absolutely critical to industry positioning and presence, it’s important to understand how to leverage this critical piece of your marketing strategy.

A brand is not a slogan, a tag line, nor a logo.  A brand is much deeper than that.  Companies spend millions of dollars developing, launching and reinforcing their brands every year.  Why?  Because every company wants to be considered “the best of breed” in their respective industries.  Companies want to attract customers that will be brand loyal.  

The truth is, I could write a 5-page article about branding, but it really comes down to these 3 words. BRAND IS EVERYTHING.  Now for a closer look at this 5 lettered enigma.

Branding is the tipping point between immediate identification or recognition, emotional connection and pre-determined worth based on expectation. When that moment is properly leveraged, it solidifies loyalty to the company and thus the brand.

Using Nike as an example, think about this.  When you see someone wearing sneakers and you happen to glance down at his or her feet, what happens?  First you immediately recognize the brand – the swoosh gives it away.   That swoosh could appear on a billboard with no other words – just the swoosh, and you would connect with it.  Why?  Because you don’t just recognize a brand, you connect with it on an emotional level, without even realizing it’s happening.  Subconsciously, you run a series of “clips” in your mind about the brand.  In Nike’s case, that swoosh conjures up memories of the first pair you ever got.  The pair you wanted so badly, but never got.

The first time you saw the commercial that ended with the words “Just do it!”  How many kids wanted “to be like Mike”, when legendary athlete Michael Jordan got his own line of Nike sneakers.  Nike wants their customers to feel like they can do anything in life – as long as they’re wearing a pair of Nike’s on their feet.  That’s branding at its finest.

The importance is not on what you spend – although more resources can certainly give you more options.  The emphasis is however, on whether or not what you are doing is effective.  Here’s a prime example. For years Pepsi tried to compete with Coke on taste.  They held nationwide taste tests, numerous contests and even launched a blitz-like tv commercial campaign.

Then just a few years ago, Pepsi took a totally different approach.  Instead of focusing their brand differentiation on taste, they took a gamble – they focused on lifestyle.  Pepsi’s new brand position became “The Pepsi Generation”.  This re-positioned brand (which can be risky for a large, established company) paid off big time for Pepsi.  Arguably, they may still be second to Coke in sales (depending on who you ask, and a closer look at balance sheets), but their brand recognition and their brand loyalty among young adults is so strong that they keep Coke on their marketing toes.

Okay, so that’s great for mega companies, but what do smaller-sized companies, soloists and entrepreneurs do about developing a brand?  We do the same thing as Nike and Pepsi.  We just do it on a scale that is appropriate for our respective budgets.

A brand becomes the differentiation between your company and another company that does the exact same thing.  Your brand must have emotional worth attached to it with which your customers (and potential customers) can identify.  Remember years ago when McDonald’s launched their “We love to see you smile” campaign.  Every mom with screaming kids in the back seat of a mini van couldn’t wait to get to McDonald’s. Why?  To shove a burger and fries in their kids’ mouths.  Moments later – you guessed it – they’d be smiling.

It’s important to note that once you identify what your brand is, you consistently reinforce it in everything you say and do.  You want it to connect with your audience so that people think of you immediately when they think of your brand.  Let’s look at Coach Leatherwear as an example.  To women everywhere, although expensive, Coach handbags with the hangtag dangling on the side, represent decades of a tradition rooted in impeccable workmanship. The Coach brand bares a distinction of craftsmanship to which other handbags are compared.  In your respective industry, you must be the “hangtag” so to speak.

Developing and reinforcing a brand is part of your overall marketing plan, thus the cost of it must be included in your marketing budget.  Effective branding campaigns pay for themselves over time.  You have to believe in and champion for your brand if you want others to do the same.
 

Coach®, Nike®, Coca Cola®, McDonald’s®,We love to see you smile®, Pepsi® and The Pepsi Generation®  are registered trademarks.