What is a brand?

A brand isn’t what you say it is, it’s what they say it is. It is a gut feeling someone has about something.

So, what makes up a brand? Well, it isn’t a logo, but I will get to that. 

First, we have to understand today’s economy. Currently, we are in the experience economy which means your products, services, or anything else you do provide an experience. You have to recognize this and use this to differentiate yourself in the market. How is it working with you? What are the benefits? How is it unboxing that brand new iPhone? What do you feel when you open it? Today, it is all about experiences. 

Now, back to the gut feeling. This view puts the customer in the center of it all. It allows everyone to focus on the customer’s perceptions and focus on their experience and emotions that determine the meaning of something. By paying attention to your customers, you can figure out where you stand with them.

This also leads into reputation. Your brand is your reputation. Once you look at it that way, you can figure out how to shape it and protect it. Just like you have a personal reputation, your company or product does as well. It will force you to think of how to build it and why it exists. That gut feeling that your audience feels will be spread around to others. Again, pay attention to your customers and you’ll find out.

This gets us to the last point that I would like to talk about, the logo. The logo isn’t your brand. It is simply a mark. It aids in creating your brand, but it is only a piece to the puzzle. That doesn’t mean that your logo isn’t valuable, because it is. A logo, a combination of a name and graphical mark, has the ability to show the purpose, personality, and uniqueness all in an elegant mark.