The term "brand" essentially means "to burn." For most people, branding brings to mind images of cattle being marked in old Western movies. Like then, ranchers today still place a hot iron shaped like a symbol or insignia on cattle as a way to differentiate "brand" their stock from all others.
The branding of goods and services in the world of mass marketing originated back in the early 19th century. As industrialization moved production from local artisans and shops to centralized factories, companies would literally burn their name or logo on the wooden crates or barrels used to ship their products, thereby extending their name into something more; a trademark.
As the methods and means of production increased, and with more goods being produced faster and in greater quantities than ever before, companies needed to sell their products to a wider customer base that were only familiar with local or regional products. In order to convince consumers that their mass-produced goods were just as good and trustworthy as the local products, manufacturers began to brand products and packaging with images and messaging, rather than just on the crates and barrels. Campbell's Soup, Aunt Jemima, and Juicy Fruit Gum were among the early pioneers of this type of branding.
So just what exactly is a brand? Is it name? Logo? Slogan? Package? Commercial? Product? Person? In its most basic sense, a brand is a distinguishing name and/or symbol intended to identify the origin of goods or services. But this is only half of the story.
As mass-production evolved into mass marketing in the mid to late 1900's, manufacturers started to notice that consumers were developing strong relationships with their brands in a social and psychological sense. Products began to develop their own personalities and evoke certain emotions on an experiential level. Branding became as much about the product as it did about fulfilling people's needs for affiliation and identification. Today's branding is much more than just a name or trademark. It is a strong mental image, a powerful psychological perception.
Here's a better definition for what a brand is today: The sum of all product or service characteristics and feelings, both real and perceived, that create an impression with the customer and differentiate the product or service from the competition.
Think of your favorite brands. What comes to mind when you think of Pepsi, Nike, Apple or McDonald's? What is it about their products that cause you to identify so strongly with them; moreover, lead you to purchase or use them? A strong brand identifies three basic elements:
1) The single concept owned inside the mind of the customer.
2) The unique source and benefit of the product or service.
3) The sum total of each customer's experience with the product or service.
Now think of your own company or organization. Can you answer with a degree of certainty how your brand fares with the above three elements? If so, your brand is likely in a good position to continue growing. If not, you probably do not have a "real" brand, in which case you do not have a viable concern that will be around for long.
To be successful in creating and maintaining any enterprise, the function of branding must be put right up with operations and sales as a key component in your strategic planning. Be careful not to confuse marketing activities such as promotions and advertising as branding; they are not. Marketing merely communicates the messaging of the brand to elicit action, such as a purchase, but marketing does not define the brand. Marketing is a function of branding, not vice versa.
Understanding the essence of what your brand is and means to world will increase your ability to be more effective in all other areas of your business. It will drive what you say and do, whom you say it to, when and where you say it, and in what manner, style and tone you will say it. If you know how to do this, you just may have a chance of sticking around for a while. The choice is yours. Are you burning or branding?