David Ogilvy, the “Father of Advertising,” defined brand as “the intangible sum of a product’s attributes.”
Why is branding so hard to define?
One reason for this is that different brands mean different things to different people. Brands are dynamic in that they don’t follow a strict form of rules – rather they bend and change depending on who, when, and what they are targeting. Brands are about feelings and feelings are sometimes hard to define.
A brand is the way in which a company, organization, or individual is perceived by those who experience it.
Marty Neumeier, author and speaker on all things brand, says “a brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or organization.”
In essence, your company’s brand is its personality. A brand personality is a chosen set of human characteristics. The five brand personalities are comprised of: Sophisticated, Sincere, Rugged, Excited and Competent.
If you begin to think of your business as a person some questions come to mind:
- What’s its name?
- What does it wear? (ie design)
- How does it communicate? (ie positioning)
- What are its core values and what does it stand for? (ie brand promise)
- Who does it associate with? (ie target market)
After you have defined your brand, what is next? Check out my other blog posts about logo design, branding messages, and more!
