So what is branding, anyway?
The glass I am holding sweats, possibly from condensation, but tonight it is in fear, feeling the tension in my hand as I lift the golden ale to my mouth. I look desperately at the bartender, using my eyes to inform her I am in dire need of a distraction. This fails miserably. I can’t believe this is happening again, I think to myself. I find that I am the center of attention in a circle of comrades at a bar on the Upper East, answering a question that I seem to answer on a daily basis, justifying my existence on this planet. “So what is branding, anyway?”
How do I explain this in a completely comprehensible, understandable fashion, to a geometry teacher (or Joe the Plumber for that matter)? “Well, Joe*,” I begin slowly, contemplating how to formulate my next sentence, “think about some brands you know of.”
With this request, I can see the wheels turning as Joe explores the depths of his brain, and gives me a standard answer that I have received dozens of times. Nike. Apple. The efforts of branding agencies, similar to gkBRAND, have created goliaths of brands, and both Nike and Apple have worked tremendously hard to remain in Joe’s consciousness.
“Exactly,” I say to Joe, “now, think about how these brands were created, how they are maintained, grown, and manicured. This is the essence of what I, and our company, gkBRAND, does for others.”
“I understand,” says Joe, “but isn’t that advertising?”
Ah, the other sister, I think to myself. The age-old question of differentiating the art of branding to the innovation that is advertising is a tricky subject – especially without quoting Mad Men. I look around the bar, and then it hits me as a group of twenty-something’s walk in, visibly intoxicated.
“Branding is like pre-gaming before going out,” I begin, “you go to the store, buy a certain kind of lager that suits your fancy, decide what games to play, or games to watch, and you start drinking. Branding develops the foundation of what advertisers use in their work, similar to getting a buzz at your buddy John’s loft before meeting us down here, only to build on your buzz with more brew.”
What I really wanted to say was that branding utilizes a combination of the senses to convey what a brand stands for; it’s values, mission, vision, purpose, etc. but I didn’t want the carrot too far in front of the mule.
Joe seems stumped, “So advertising agencies take the work that you do, and make it better?”
Even though Joe’s comment was a complete bash of my profession and industry, I see where he is coming from. Advertising is sexy, and well – sex sells. Thanks to the perplexing Don Draper, suave Roger Sterling, and quirky Mason McGuire, the general population sees advertising as the “cool” communications profession, slating branding as Robin to advertising’s Batman.
But, branding is equally - if not more - important to a company’s success than advertising, I try explaining to Joe. While advertising is generally aimed at the masses, branding also educates employees of a company’s value system. If a branding initiative is performed correctly, the internal and external brand will work cohesively to convey a unified, strong and hopefully, compelling brand, both to those who work within the company and those outside of it.
“Sounds pretty in-depth” Joe observes.
“Oh, it is, Joe.” I could go on and on about the different aspects of branding; the research, the development of a solid strategy, and the importance of proper implementation, but I don’t want to bore Joe with superfluous details.
I stand back for a moment, gauging Joe’s reaction and determining if I have said enough about the issue. But, it appears I hadn’t as Joe’s mouth opens with the beginning of a new question.
“So take this bar for example. What is this bar’s brand?”
How does a doctor explain open-heart surgery to someone not in the medical field?
I laugh to myself as I begin explaining, “Well, Joe – it’s everything.”
“Everything?”
“Yes, everything. The signage outside, the neon lights in the window, the material on the booths and chairs, on the countertops, the uniforms of the bartenders and cocktail waitresses, the type of alcohol being served and the types of glasses it is served in, the menu design and layout, the wording of the food description, the hostess’ personality, the smell, the lighting, the way employees speak to customers – to each other, the wallpaper, the cologne in the bathroom, and of course, the logo. Everything represents the essence of a brand, and this is all strategically deliberated over for months, if not years, before a successful launch is complete.”
I am exasperated, exhausted, and extremely eager to hear Joe’s remarks. I felt like an auctioneer liquidating the assets of this fabled pub.
“Cool”
Joe is satisfied. I have done it. I feel triumphant as I return to the bar for a refill, nodding at the ‘tender to get another ready for me, until I feel a tap on my shoulder. It’s Joe.
“One more question, Dan,” Joe begins, “so how come you guys get to drink and smoke in your office?”
- Dan Romanow
Daniel Romanow is the Group Director at gkBRAND.
*Names have been changed in the reproduction of this conversation.
What a wonderful piece of creative writing, compelling emotive and elegant.
You covered the Brand Image and Brand Essence (if we subscribe for the moment to Kellogg’s framework underwritten by Philip Kotler),
…but how do we (and I include myself, because I, fail frequently) explain the Brand Scape in the same way?
… how do we say that it is the ‘ground’ from which the figure of the Brand emerges into consciousness, when we do not mean the ground we stand on…
…how do we explain that this emerging is actually gradual re-emergence which grows as well as it destroys to sculpt the ‘figure’ from the ‘ground’.
And how do we say that all of this relies on some sensitivity or understanding of the way in which this magical perception of a brand is produced (actively) in the body-mind of the subject (we used to call audience).
How do we explain that, that is the reason we have to - as far as humanly possible - think of everything in order to control, or reliably predict the outcome of an experience?
Maybe you have already started on that journey. Well done! I salute you!
Thank you for your kind words, Andre. I appreciate that you enjoyed my article, and more so for taking the time to comment back on it. The basis of this article was to educate those with a general scope of branding, but as you have pointed out, there is much more to it than meets the eye.
For instance, you inquire about the brand scape of a product/company/service. In the article, the reader is immersing him or herself with the bar’s brand - as it presents itself to the world (it’s brand image and essence). The brand scape, in turn, is how the bar “lives” within our world. Brand scapes are measured by the contribution the particular brand has made to our lives, our culture, and mind. How has the bar (using the example from the article) been placed into our consciousness, and what type of energy is this bar emitting the world? Positive energy? Relaxation? Excitement? This is the brand scape of a product/company/service, and must be considered.
The brand scape assumes that the brand already exists within our (the consumers) world, and that it holds a physical and mental space. The ground, physically, is the space in which the brand occupies, but in a metaphysical sense, it is also the space in our consciousness in which the brand occupies, and is how one views and conceptualizes a brand. The ground is where a brand is born, as do trees, grass, plants, etc. Brands use the ground, (the foundation as I refer to it in the article), as a starting point only to expand to include much more.
The improvement and caring of the brand, or “re-emergence” as you refer to in your comment, may be of brand maintenance, or simply brand evolution. If a brand remains stagnant through it’s lifespan, that brand is not going to be able to survive in a changing marketplace. Thus, a brand has to be trimmed, molded, and yes – sometimes destroyed and re-built before it can grow again.
The value of a brand, or how the brand enters the “subject’s” mind, emotions, and consciousness is in the hand of its owners, the client and agency. All of the key touch points of a brand need to be carefully considered, it’s uniqueness, mission, vision, purpose and value, in order to enter the “subject’s” mind in the way in which it was intended.
Given all of this, how are we supposed to predict every scenario that our brand may encounter? Well, Andre, this is why we have been in the business for nearly 30 years. This is our joy, our passion, and our profession. We must convey the importance of these factors to clients, and must be able to provide consistent results, year after year. When the brand’s strength and longevity is tested through time, we can determine if we have created a truly successful brand.
Thank you again, Andre, for your terrific questions. I hope I have answered them with the expediency and depth in which you were expecting. As always, please do not hesitate to contact me - or anyone at gkBRAND – with your branding inquiries.
Also, please keep following @gkBRAND for more articles like this one.
I look forward to our future discussions together.
Best,
Dan Romanow
Let’s say that all these aspects of brand creation are working well, and the brand is launched. At that point the “brand” becomes the brand experience of the customer or as some say the brand behavior meaning the way every touch point of company and customer presents itself to the customer.
Is that correct - so the brand creation gurus such as yourself are now out of the picture?
Let’s say it is. That means your work is now in the hands of marketers who have degenerated into campaign pushers in a world where such “messaging” is increasingly seen as fake. We see so many advertisements which indicate some kind of brand promise, perhaps one you have carefully developed, and yet we already know that the promise cannot and will not be delivered.
Social media exposes much of this, thankfully, and is increasingly exposing the paucity of advertising in this way. So I suppose that you would say that the brand depth, or the brand experience, is missing, and the brand promise is a con.
The acceleration of takeup of social media is therefore increasingly undermining your work because companies are increasingly being exposed for their lip service to their brand promise.
Does that worry you, since you are obviously so committed to your chosen work? How do you see the social media in this respect? How do you see the “fake brand promises” and their relationship to the power of social media?
OH, and I did want to test a theory on you - your brand creation is “brand”. Is “branding” the subsequent attempt to convince people of the brand promise - in the way I mentioned - the kind of fake one-way advertising? Let’s say that is the terminology - then would you agree that brand is a asset which will survive but branding will be exposed and stoned to death by social media?
Thanks, Walter Adamson
@g2m
Hi Walter,
I noticed that you did comment on our blog, @gkBRAND, and I value your interest and appreciation, or lack there of, for the industry in which I work. I will post this comment both on LinkedIn and http://www.gkbrand.com/blog in order to keep our conversations updated.
I am sorry that you feel the foundation of branding is pushing “fake promises”, but I assure you, when a branding campaign is reviewed, conceptualized and implemented, it is an agency’s intention to promote an open, honest and enduring brand. A brand must stand behind its message, morals, internal values, and actions in a very succinct and consistent manner, year after year, or all trust and recognition the company has built will be worthless. All aspects of a brand must work as if they are movements in a Swiss watch –in tune with each other for a common purpose, a common end-result. If the end result is to sell something that they cannot physically deliver, this company will not be in business for much longer. It is simple business sense.
Once we develop a successfully functional brand, then yes, we are mostly out of the picture. We can rely on marketers and advertisers to continue the work that we have began, and we can also depend on the brand strategy we have created to remain strong and prosperous throughout the course of a branding cycle. When advertisers develop campaigns that are not aligned with the company’s strategy, you may see some missteps, but never fake promises. Maybe if you buy a pair of Jordan’s, you wont fly like Mike, but is this what we are talking about?
Yes, I do agree with you that Social Media will forever change the way consumers interact with brands, and even the way that consumers think of brands. This is not to say that branding will become non-existent. It is now, more than ever (advertising campaign lingo) that we need branding agencies to assist companies in this monumental and novel task. No longer are companies shielded from the consumers, yet they are immersed within their worlds at a growing rate.
That being said, Walter, it is extremely important to companies evaluate how their brand is being perceived by the public, and how the public is interacting with their brand. Medieval torture aside, consumers have the power to transform a brand, and Social Media has opened up hundreds of portals for this type of interaction. It is vital for companies to monitor the conversations, ensuring that the brand promise is being reinforced, not forged.
Look forward to your feedback,
Dan Romanow