Brand Defined

When it comes to marketing, “brand” is a word that is often misunderstood. It’s like the word “culture” in business. Hard to wrap our arms around. You probably have a general idea as to what it is, but take just a moment now to look at it through a different lens…

Consider this for a moment. What do you think of when you see these logos?

How about these:

And finally, these:

In each of these cases, when you saw these logos, two key things happened.

First, the logo was recognizable to you. As a mark, it made a visual impact the second you saw it. You had some level of awareness of the business behind the logo, and your brain immediately connected that logo to the product or service they offer. The logo was the mark that created that connection. You saw the Apple logo, and you thought of your phone or laptop.

For some of us, that’s where our concept of brand ends, with the logo. An image on a phone, a storefront, or the hood of a car. But let’s dig just a bit deeper…

The second thing that happened when you saw each of these logos, and the key to this conversation about brand, was that a stream of thoughts entered your mind. Positive or negative, factual or biased, you immediately thought something based on each image. Your reaction was likely based on an experience you had with that brand, or possibly something you heard secondhand from someone else. Maybe it came from a commercial you saw or something you heard in the media. Wherever it originated from, seeing each of those logos immediately evoked a feeling of some sort. Your awareness of each brand triggered a conscious reaction.

Let’s take it a step further. Would you have even needed to see the logos? Or, would hearing the name on its own have been enough? Apple. Tesla. Amazon. Likely, the logo was just the icing on the cake, but the name alone would have generated similar thoughts. You know these businesses based on their names alone, and associate certain things with those names.

At its core, that’s brand.

They often say perception is reality, and in the case of brand, they’re right. Those reactions you had when you saw those logos and heard these names are the essence of what brand really is. The logo is simply a mark that creates a visual connection. The rest of the marketing is simply an effort to create deeper, more lasting connections. But brand, if we really dig in, is something deeper.

It’s what they say about you when you’re not in the room.

It’s what they think when they hear your name.

It’s what they tell their friends.

It’s your reputation.

Call-to-Action

Think about your organization for a moment. What’s your reputation? What do people think of when they see your logo or hear your name? What are they saying about you when you’re not in the room? The simple act of slowing down and taking the time to reflect on this is something that should be part of any organization’s DNA. We should always be refining how we do things, how we connect with our customers, and how we’re building our brands, reputation first.