We invite you on a journey into the beautiful world of branding. A short one, as that’s all the time we have.

According to everyone’s friend, Wikipedia, a brand is “A name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers”. The word comes from Old Norse (spoken during the Viking Age, around 1300): brandr, meaning to burn. It referred to the burning of the producer’s mark onto their products (even extending to branding cattle!).

The brand expanded its meaning during the industrialization era, also referring to the trademark. When large consumer goods manufacturers (FMCG) began to face difficulties penetrating markets where familiar products were preferred by consumers, the need for branding arose. This was the process through which a foreign product “befriended” consumers, showing them it was trustworthy. Around 1940, a psychological understanding of the relationship with the consumer began to take place, and manufacturers started attributing a brand personality. Today, brand value is in some cases higher than the value of the company itself (look at your phone: the manufacturer’s brand is an example).Brand

In business, when we refer to a brand, we must think of a multitude of dimensions that truly form it. It’s not enough to just have a logo: it is necessary, but not sufficient. (Although some companies like Muji adopt, for differentiation, the strategy proposed by Naomi Klein, No Logo!)

A brand is created in the consumer’s mind, as they are the ones who decide whether your product is memorable or not. Your goal must be to be top-of-mind for your consumers, meaning your product’s name should be the first on their tongue when it comes to your category.

Furthermore, you will aim to make them talk about you, to recommend you, because word-of-mouth promotion is the most effective method of selling. In the world!

For this to happen, your brand will need to have a personality, to convey certain values that your consumer believes in. Sometimes, those values will be so important to them that your brand will become iconic. Then you’ll be like Apple or Harley Davidson. 🙂

For all of this to happen, you need to know what you want from your product or service, and together we can create a strategy for it, provide it with good brand management. You will have to invest in it, even if results aren’t seen immediately. You will also have to ensure that the promise your brand makes to the consumer is kept and exceeded.

Brand is the first restaurant that comes to mind when you think about where you want to go on a date, the first coffee shop that comes to mind when you suggest an outing to friends, the first drink that comes to mind when the waiter asks what you’re drinking. We are surrounded by brands, and at every moment we make choices between those we like and those that don’t impress us. Your brand needs to be in the top 3 to matter.

Contact us after reading our case studies and what our clients say on the testimonials page; you’ll love working with us.