What is A Brand?
What is a Brand?
If you were to ask most people what a brand is – they are likely to respond that it is a symbol or icon of what a business, organization, instition or entity represents. And while this is correct on face value, it does not tell the whole story. A Brand is the heart and soul of the company. The Brand reflects the essence of how the company would like to be known and presented to the world in terms of how it looks, what it believes, its purpose and mission in the world and the impact it hopes to achieve. It is also the lens through which the world forms an opinion in terms of sentiment, perspectives, affinity and/or brand loyalty. It is therefore important for leaders and their organizations to intentionally work towards shaping the image, perception, credibility and trust in the Brand.
More than a Logo
Leaders and communications professionals must understand that the Brand is much more than symbols, icons, logos and colors. The Brand is a tool that enables the development of a positively differentiated presence in the marketplace. The Brand is the platform/vehicle through which an organization interacts with the world through its operations, activities, statements and public appearances. Without a Brand, it would be impossible to deal with an organization or entity in a contractual or meaningful way. The Brand confers legitimacy and establishes the reliability of the entity in the first instance. The way the company behaves subsequently then determines the perception or sentiment that is associated with the Brand on an ongoing level.
Like Human Beings
Brands are actually modelled like human beings. The Brand Name is just a set of words by which the Brand is known, addressed and can be identified. The name is not the Brand but the name identifies the brand in terms of memory recall. But what defines the brand or a human being is their personality, experiences, talents, achievements, values, track record and impact in the world. This is exactly what a Brand is.
The totality of a brand is everything put together. The colors, logos and visual assets are part of the brand’s visual style and presentation – similar to a human being’s dress sense/external presentation and preference for self-expression. And even though someone’s dressing and fashion sense can give some indication about whether they are conservative or bold in expressive style, it does not tell us anything about what they believe on a fundamental level or whether they are trustworthy or credible or people we would like to deal with or trust with our money.
Brand Essence
A human being could be well-dressed and look conservative and trustworthy yet turn out to be the most unethical and untrustworthy person ever. This is EXACTLY how it is with a BRAND. Having a fancy design or a trendy logo does not mean that the Brand will be perceived as being credible. Just like with human beings, it is possible to be deceived by flashy exteriors – creative PR and designs and launch pizzaz but eventually – its the service, consistency, credibility, quality, dependability, standards of the brand that will determine whether they will be perceived as a trusted brand or become positively differentiated in the marketplace.
Why Is This Important?
Building an effective brand is a purposeful activity that requires a strategy and structured implementation plan that establishes a framework and architure for the heart, soul and body of the Brand. Every brand needs to be trusted and in order to achieve this – it must have a clear message about its identity, purpose, values, mission, activities, operations. Its brand story and narrative needs to be clear enough for its target market to receive it and be attracted to the brand’s products, services, initiatives and agenda.
Brand visibility does not happen randomly or spontaneously. It requires clarity about your place and purpose in the world. A narrative is crafted; identity is embedded, values are established, mission is set and all of that is reflected in the brand story which is then presented to the world via a series of colors and symbols. But it is important to note that people do not buy into colors and a logo. They buy into a story. The logo is just a name that helps to connect the collection of stories to that one brand.
These values, mission and narrative is also operationalized in everything the brand does 24/7. The Brand personality is therefore not a PR activity but a business activity. Public Relations and Communications only helps to amplify the Brand personality in the marketplace and in the public sphere. Brand performance is determined by what the Brand does, how it manages its relationships with customers, employees and stakeholders and also by how it communicates with the outside world.
So when you are building a new brand or trying to enhance the visibility or impact of an existing one, you need to think of it as not just an external re-branding but a fundamental re-engineering or re-affirmation of purpose, values, mission and impact in the world. Because the Brand is so much more than a logo, it is the sum total of corporate identity, reputation, purpose, impact, trust and credibility.
Sola Abulu & Associates (SA&A) is a strategy and communications consulting and training firm focused on enabling businesses, brands and organizations to achieve their desired objectives through strategic communications, organizational effectiveness and reputation risk management. Join us in class on September 25 for the SA&A CPDSO-Accredited Brand Strategy and Marketing Communications Course scheduled to hold online via ZOOM from 9am – 4pm WAT.
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