britt dionne

branding explained (for normal people): part 1

 

or: how to explain branding at cocktail parties, and other feats of seeming impossibility

 

 

cocktail party cluster f***

 

rarely have i personally fallen victim to the situation i am about to describe. but if you were to hear my branding compadres from around the world recount their tales of woe, you could only conclude that one's chances of successfully explaining branding to a non-branding person are less likely--and probably way more painful-- than those of winning a mud wrestling competition against an enraged bengal tiger defending her young.

 

how can disaster of these proportions repeatedly strike such eager, erudite people as the ones i know in branding? after all, it all starts out so very innocently. often at a cocktail party or similar event, replete with food, drink and other manner of enjoyments that would put the average branding professional at ease (we like our free food + drink). and then: the nightmare begins.

 

"i hear that you're in advertising."

 

a simple question. typically posed in earnest, or at least out of genuine respect for social etiquette. yet unbeknownst to said person, they have just opened pandora's box. and not just any pandora's box. the mother of all pandora's boxes. a 20-foot russian doll pandora's box. because, for most of us in the branding world, there has just been no really easy way to explain what we do to you to you normal people. which leaves us with only two possible options when responding to The Dreaded Question:

 

1) lie, say "yes" and endure the subsequent battery of questions pertaining to this-and-that ad campaign and whether or not we worked on it (the answer to each one being "no.")

 

2) attempt to actually *explain* what branding is, and brace for one of two likely responses: a) a blank stare; b) "so...... what you're saying is it's *not* advertising?"

 

and so, friends, less for the sake of all the people who would actually inquire after the nature of branding, and more out of compassion for my comrades-in-arms, i will attempt to explain the wild and wooly world of branding as i see it. which some might consider more of a threat than anything remotely resembling an actual favor. but there you have it.

 

perhaps, as a point of reference, we should start with some discussion of brand and branding. and, to be clear, i don't think the issue is that non-branding people are dumb and just don't get it. branding is many things--fascinating, powerful, fun. but not necessarily easy to understand. it's an abstract art that has the goal of tangible business results (success in new markets, more customers, more loyal customers, and let's be honest: more $$$). but it's subtle and, like every industry, falls prey to its own jargon (we seem to want to "leverage" many, many things; in fact, most anything, really). so i appreciate that it's far from obvious what branding folks mean when we talk about the "core idea," "positioning," and "brand platform." for starters, the charming and hunky old spice dude does not a core idea make; a positioning has nothing to do with how a brand is oriented in space; and a brand platform would be equally unhelpful when alighting from a train as it would be for wearing on your feet to a 70s disco-themed party.

 

to me, a good, clear, strong brand is based on an idea (not a thing/product) that is both unique from allllllllll others, and is relevant to its customers. this is sometimes referred to as "relevant differentiation." which totally makes sense but can sound, you know, kinda jargony. to me, the second part of a strong brand is that no matter how you experience it, the brand "feels" the same: online, in the store, when you talk to people who work there and represent the brand. it even applies to the decisions brands make. all these factors live in the land of being "on-brand" and "off-brand"--as if it were, you know, a bus or something that you could choose to hop on and off. remember: you can't actually touch a brand--because it's really just the expression of an idea. typically, all those expressions are called "touchpoints." and they're just like touchdowns, except without the six points, footballs, and players.

 

but this whole background information dance thing is starting to bore even me. and i like this stuff. so, in an attempt to make it more interesting (mostly for me), how about i give you my personal explanation of branding? for you nice normal people.

 

whether you realize it or not, you totally get branding! yay! 

 

here's why: because you are a person. a person who knows other persons. which means you have relationships. and the people you know and the relationships you have work *exactly* like brands.

 

"what," you ask, "could a can of tuna possibly have in common with my relationship with aunt mildred?" tune in for part 2 of this already super long post to find out.....