When you hear the word “branding”. It brings to mind the sign of product.
Product branding is not quite that painful, but it follows along the same principle.
You want to “burn” into the consumer’s mind the image of your brand.
Some examples of recognizable brands include the red, white and blue “smiling” Pepsi logo,
the infamous Nike “swish”, the elegant L-oval of Lexus and the golden arches of McDonalds.
These icons represent established and emblazoned images in our minds.
Brands, on the other hand, would be like an individual’s “character” – it’s who you are, what you are about and what you value. A company’s brand is really no different, it is literally the personality of the company, it manifests the personality of the owner, board of directors, shareholders or even the corporate culture.
Branding takes time, it’s not something easily obtained overnight. Even the advertising Gods are unable to make that happen. And it takes repeated exposure to obtain success. Logos, the visual symbol of the brand, immediately bring an awareness of what the product or service has to offer and what reputation the company may have.
A definition of what branding might be in the context of marketing may sound like: “Branding is a long and persistent attempt to convey an idea, concept or emotion in someone’s mind.” Or put another way “Brand identity should help establish a relationship between the brand and the customer by generating a value, a function, an emotion or a form of self-expression.”
There has been a multitude of studies performed over the last couple of decades to evaluate brand awareness and brand exposure.
Depending on which study you refer to, the average person is exposed to consumer brands and commercial messages anywhere from 300 to 5000 times daily, depending on individual habits. Just think of your drive to work this morning, how many billboards did you pass? What about commercial vehicles with signs? What about the businesses you past and their signage?
Branding is important because the stronger the brand is the easier the communication becomes. It’s like a snowball going downhill… it gets bigger as it rolls and gains more momentum.