- Defining, designing, maintaining,
and evolving a good brand presence is a hard job.
It takes time, resources, and smart people.
Once designed and launched, the job has only begun.
The brand must be policed, but allowed to evolve.
It's a lot of work. So why bother?
Increased value and perception are the two primary reasons
for all this hard work.
Value is about money
and perception is what we believe to be true.
Let's start with increasing value.
A good brand makes a good company.
In an overcrowded and saturated marketplace,
a good brand stands out.
A weak one is dismissed.
Let's go back to Morton Salt.
The next time you buy salt, ask yourself,
why am I buying Morton's?
Unless you are a master chef, salt is salt.
For over 110 years, the same message
and iconography were communicated
to generations of grocery shoppers.
This consistent branded message made Morton's
the best-selling salt in the market.
Compare your local grocery store brand coffee
with Starbucks.
You can make it at home. It's acceptable.
Your grandparents prefer the instant version.
Each cup costs about 8 cents to make.
At Starbucks, I can get a cup of coffee
for a little more than $2.
Why am I willing to spend over 4000% more
on Starbucks coffee?
Is the quality 4000% better than Hill Valley Market coffee?
Of course the answer is no, but the Starbucks visuals,
store atmosphere, service, status,
tribal connection, product, and packaging
down to your name written on the cup
create a remarkable brand experience.
If Starbucks can maintain these promises,
I will continue to buy coffee there
and I will tell my friends to go there too.
I've become an unpaid sales person for the Starbucks brand
because it reinforces my identity and I trust the brand.
Perception is the second reason brand management is critical
to any company's success.
Reality is irrelevant compared to perception.
This is unfair, but a fact of life
in a world of instant and multiple communication methods.
Major brands have been rumored to be in league with Satan,
hiding his symbol in the logo
or serving chickens so mutated
they could no longer be called chickens legally.
Both are only rumors with no truth,
but nevertheless damaging.
A rumor is impossible to contain but the actual actions
and products of a company create perception.
As I talked about earlier,
every interaction with a brand adds to this perception
and this response changes with each point of contact.
A brand will always be either positive or negative.
I like Starbucks. They make good coffee.
I'm not crazy about the chemical company
polluting the river.
The brand message will be clear or confused.
I recognize and am aware of Starbucks' products and values.
It has a clear and consistent message and visual language.
Or it will be friendly or hostile.
Starbucks does nice things. The employees seem happy.
They remember my name.
No brand will ever be perceived neutrally.
We constantly question our world
and make decisions about what we purchase,
whom we befriend, and what we believe.
A product or company cannot survive
without an intelligent brand strategy
and ongoing management.
That's where we as brand designers enter the process.