Your thoughts on "Branding"

[James Burke]

I just stumbled onto some good info on branding. Here's what I noted from the first few paragraphs:

- A logo is not the same thing as your brand (although it does represent
your brand).

- A brand defines the "DNA" of your company

- Branding is "storytelling", and bringing the DNA of your business to life
by creating perceptions.

- Your brand is your company's "ambassador". It has to resonate in such a
way that anyone can understand who you are and what you do.


Anybody care to add to the list?


JB

 

[rjssigns]

Your logo is an essential part of the brand experience. That is why I am in full BDU(battle dress uniform) whenever I am in the public eye. I believe in the perception statement as an 'ounce of perception is worth a pound of performance".

Not so sure about the DNA bit though as some will buy a brand/logo just because it looks cool. Most could care less about your story. They just wanna be stylin'. That leads to others thinking they must have it to be one the "in" crowd.

Simple question: Do we buy product based on a companies ability to tell a story or it's DNA? Or is it based on it's inherent suitability for the job?

 

[James Burke]

Your logo is an essential part of the brand experience. That is why I am in full BDU(battle dress uniform) whenever I am in the public eye. I believe in the perception statement as an 'ounce of perception is worth a pound of performance".

Not so sure about the DNA bit though as some will buy a brand/logo just because it looks cool. Most could care less about your story. They just wanna be stylin'. That leads to others thinking they must have it to be one the "in" crowd.

Simple question: Do we buy product based on a companies ability to tell a story or it's DNA? Or is it based on it's inherent suitability for the job?

I believe it's an education process, and the story of "who we are and what we do" is usually there...somewhere (sometimes subconsciously). We typically make purchases based on how we've been indoctrinated, or have educated ourselves about a particular product or service.

Public perception also influences our decisions. If the "The Donald" (Trump) drove around in a pimped out Ford Focus, you can bet all the wannabes would follow suit.

I also believe public perception can be driven by us, the business owner. Case in point: do a google search for a "ROM exercise machine". At approx. $14k, it's not even close to reachable by the average consumer, yet anyone who has seen it wants it. I've seen one...the engineering is par excellence, so they have the right to toot their own horn.

Full BDU....yep....image is everything, and further reinforces our message.


JB

 

[p3]

I read this book a few months back and it was a very easy read, but explains branding pretty well along with giving examples and stuff like that.

http://thedesignchimp.com/a-book-for-you-the-brand-gap/

another good one is the 22 immutable laws of branding.

Check those out.

 

[James Burke]

I read this book a few months back and it was a very easy read, but explains branding pretty well along with giving examples and stuff like that.

http://thedesignchimp.com/a-book-for-you-the-brand-gap/

another good one is the 22 immutable laws of branding.

Check those out.

Thanks, I found them on library inter-loan.


JB

 

[signworldusinc]

Branding is extremely important though I agree with you its not all about the logo. Big companies create big brands and charge a premium when items are sold under that brand.

 

[WCSign]

good reads... hey p3! right down the road from u, cheers

 

[James Burke]

I read this book a few months back and it was a very easy read, but explains branding pretty well along with giving examples and stuff like that.

http://thedesignchimp.com/a-book-for-you-the-brand-gap/

another good one is the 22 immutable laws of branding.

Check those out.

I was reading a few excerpts of The Brand Gap on Amazon.com....wow...I think I'll have to add that one to my library, for sure.


JB

 

[bob]

Brands belong on the butts and sometime the shoulders of livestock so the owners can tell theirs from everyone else's. That would be because they're all identical otherwise.

Branding outside of livestock always seems to the the gospel to those selling branding and their wide eyed true believers. Perhaps it's a Good thing, perhaps it's merely and offshoot of the motivational bullcrap that seems too often to permeate the air. Who knows.

I do know that quiet competence trumps motivation nonsense every time. In other words, if you produce journeyman quality work at competitive prices you can do without the hype. At least the most of it. Words to live by.

This particular insight and lesson in life was given to me by a couple of horses, of all things. A long story and probably incomprehensible to anyone that does not compete in various activities involving chasing things that move around independently of you, like cattle and balls. on horseback.

 

[Pat Whatley]

Something always told me you were chasing balls, Bob.

 

[p3]

Glad I could help ya out. If you are ever interested in things like that, the design chimp website (www.thedesignchimp.com) is me. I haven't posted on there recently, but do like to post about books and stuff that I have read.

A couple other good ones that kind of go in line with this are

Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success - This one is about keeping things simple. Make it easy on your customers. Make it easy on you. Keep what your doing easy to understand and what your values are as a company.

One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com - This one actually opened my eyes to more of what customer service is more than anything. Made me realize what our company does now is not customer service at all in the grand scheme of things. Being polite, going out of your way is most of it, but it definitely is only part of it. Really need to focus on making it an enjoyable experience so people WANT to come back, not just when they need to.

I do a lot of reading for work since I do graphic design along with marketing for A Main Hobbies...I know our website isn't the most beautiful or easy to navigate but we have been in the process of changing it all up and changing our strategy...just trying to get all our ducks in a row before we get with it. I digress...I can start giving book suggestions as well for anyone that wants em every so often if you are into reading things like this...

or maybe a thread could be started cause I know there are a lot of good sign books, photoshop books, and things to better hone our skills. Plus a lot of the noObs would have a place to go to get an idea of some information for actual design/building rather than the usual bashing of a design concept LOL. I guess that could be lumped under some of the other threads, just hard to find.

 

[signswi]

Logos are part of Identity. Identity is your company's face while your company's brand is it's reputation. There's a big difference between identity work and branding work, as a business owner identity is something you can have developed externally and wear around, but the brand is something you need to be constantly tending.