What Makes up a Brand?
Branding is made up of tangibles and intangibles. The tangible aspects are the functional characteristics of a brand, the unique and identifiable symbol, association, name or trademark which differentiates competing products or services.
A logo in itself is not and never will be a brand. It is simply an icon that indicates its existence, a system used to indicate a clear and consistent voice for your product or service. It doesn’t change who you are; it just provides a visual link that can express how you are perceived by others. Your identity in conjunction with your brand helps people understand who you are and what you offer.
The intangibles aspects, arguably as important or in some cases more important, are the emotional characteristics of a brand which is the sum of an organisation’s attributes including it’s; name, history, reputation, personality, culture, full sensory customer interaction or experience, packaging and advertising, in short all forms of communication.
A brand can be described like a living entity in the sense that all touch points, both physical or the more elusive sensory or cultural experience, must be congruent with core brand values and positioning. Being a familiar name takes you miles closer to closing a sale. People like to buy from companies they’ve heard of. They make decisions, rational and irrational, based on emotional connections.
People are the critical wild card in the transaction process because they can be unpredictable and irrational. Do they like somebody or not in order to do business with them or buy from them, assuming the product meets the basic prerequisites of functionality, market need, quality and service. These intangibles can never be under estimated and should be carefully managed and nurtured.
Contradictory as it may seem building a strong brand is both an art and a science, and therein lies the challenge. Branding is a complex process. It’s not just a logo, advertising, websites, brochures or packaging.
It’s highly strategic and should always be driven from leadership level.
It’s market distinction, cultural and multi-sensory experiences, stories that spread, its editorial content or blogs, it’s high-quality videos and engaging informal clips, it’s company events, seminars or trade show presence, it’s clever direct mail communications and point of sale. It’s creating movements, using engaging humour or emotion and surprising people, it’s the brand ambassadors of your company, how your executive team leads and shows up internally and externally, staff engagement, how the people representing an organisation dress and behave, communicate and represent the brand, it even includes sound, vocal intonation, interactions and facial expressions.
When someone stands up in front of a crowd at a political rally, in a seminar or in a church, they’re marketing their brand. Politicians and celebrities market their brand offering every time they speak up at a press conference or in an interview. Clever branding delivers consistently across all communication channels, amplifies brand personality, reinforces confidence and converts clients and customers into loyal advocates while building even stronger emotional connectivity every day.