Branding Is BS…Yup, You Heard Me….Part II
By Abe Kasbo
So I’ve received many reactions to my previous post branding is bullshit…they range from skepticism to outright hostility…either way I stand by my position. Look branding is a powerful thing and we all know it. However, small businesses have looked at branding through the lens filter of Coca Cola, McDonald’s, IBM, and others who have not only been in the market forever, but have the necessary resources to spend on advertising, conferences, public relations, and other marketing communications avenues to deliver and extend their brand. And the usual way of looking at this type of branding is through the filter of advertising – the most visible of any branding element. And that’s where small and middle market companies ($5 million – $500 million in revenue) get into a false sense of what branding really is and how to brand their companies.
It’s fashionable for marketing communications people position themselves as brand champions, or branding companies – not to say that these folks do don’t good work – but it is what the market wants to hear, rather than what the market needs. In essence branding has become a Brand with a capital B. I’ve participated in seminars about brand DNA, core branding, brand extensions, and inevitably at the end of these sessions, participants walk out with the following collective thought “we need better branding.”
But what does that mean? My branding is BS position comes down to these things:
1. Branding has become it’s own brand…it’s easy to understand. Advertising people and marketing types use it because it’s an easy sell and let’s face it, if you do it right, can deliver a sharp competitive advantage.
2. Branding is a mélange of elements that have to be executed over time and is rarely achievable in the near-term
3. Branding is hard work and it may mean anything from exploring cultural phenomena and its affects on your business to your key marketing messages and value to the market place.
4. Branding is a result of what you do, not what you.
5. Branding is about your customers, more than it is about your business.
6. Branding is more about execution of targeted activities than concepts…so draw up the play, but then put the ball in the basket.
7. Branding is about integration of values that you project into the market place and then embraced by your customers, and therefore you must tell a story that forges lasting emotional connections.
So if you’re a small and middle market business, branding ought to be at the forefront of your marketing goals. Be sure to start with an integrated marketing communications plan, and execute against it…only then will you be on your way to brand nirvana.
Tags: Branding, marketing, Public Relations, Strategy
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