Branding

"A brand is a customer experience represented by a collection of images and ideas; often, it refers to a symbol such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme. Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the accumulation of experiences with the specific product or service, both directly relating to its use, and through the influence of advertising, design, and media commentary."[1]

Branding, we’ve all been privy to it in some way or another. Whenever we think of corn flakes one name comes to mind- Kellogg’s®, cameras we think of Kodak® or Nikon®, online shopping we think of Amazon.com® by now you get where I am coming from. Brands are a part of our everyday life.

In the Bahamas we experience brands daily. For instance, when a Bahamian woman is pregnant or planning a wedding everyone expects her to register at Kelly’s Department store. Whenever Bahamians want to get anything Apple® related the first place they call is Custom Computers. And so on and so forth for insurance, groceries, electrical supplies, shoes, clothes etc. We have been ‘brand washed”.

There is nothing wrong with brands and the companies with the brands both locally and internationally spent lots of time building their brand. And it is worth it because many people refuse to buy certain brands because they are comfortable with another. The question one (especially a smaller company) may ask is why do I need a “brand strategy”?

Branding is all about identity. It identifies you from the herds of other competitors both locally and internationally. You want people to know who you are & the standards your company has. Picture with me the Wild West Slaughter House where there were thousands of cattle ready for slaughter and ten owners arguing over who brought the best cows and in the most abundance. How did they solve this? By branding their animals beforehand a whole lot of disagreements were stopped. The slaughterhouse couldn’t say that Owner B’s cattle were Owner A’s because the brand differentiated whose it was.

Whose company is yours? What quality does your company have? Your product is quality- if you want to be differentiated you have to market your company’s brand in a way that no one can confuse you for your competitor. This is how you find & form your niche market- by branding.

The first and biggest aspect of branding is your reputation. This can make or break your company. Recently I heard a friend complaining about a store she visited that had amazing prices but very bad service in terms of item repairs & customer service. She went on to tell at least ten other persons who in turn shared with their friends. You can see how this goes. That store lost at least twenty potential customers. As you are developing your brand’s reputation remember to give quality service with quality rates to each customer who enters your establishment.

After your reputation a really close second is your logo. In Graphical Communications we were taught how to create Ideograms and learned the power behind them. Make sure that your logo is clear and different from the rest. A clear cut logo will take your company to places that no one else’s has. For instance wherever you see the mouse ears you think of Disney®, when you see the apple you think of a Mac® or even a more recent brand of the “F” in the blue box for Facebook®.

Finally another big aspect of your brand is to find out of the box ways of marketing your company. Locally over 17 years ago one company decided to give back to the community through the schools. They partnered with a local supermarket and donated a lot of computers and reading books to the public & private schools. When they did this they made sure that everyone remembered that if I want educational items I can go to that one company. They are still reaping the rewards of that gutsy move.

If you need help with your company’s media campaign, your brand strategy & marketing tips contact us at sageeden@gmail.com for further information.

Foot notes:

[1] Marketing Power Online Dictionary (http://www.marketingpower.com/_layouts/Dictionary.aspx?dLetter=B)

NB: We are not representatives (at the moment), nor do we endorse any brand or company mentioned in this blog post.