We often get asked “…well what’s the difference between a logo and a brand?” The answer is: “…take you for example; your fingerprint is your unique logo, your icon; whereas your personality is your brand – what people think of you, how someone would describe you… their emotional link to you, how they connect and relate to you. A brand is an asset to a business or individual, fragile and nurtured; years in the making and potentially dashed in seconds it reflects your business, your culture and your attitude”.
A brand has to be true; it can’t fool and it can’t be engineered. A brand is the DNA of a business or organisation… it’s persona, style, attitude – it’s reputation. A generic is the utopia – I wonder if you ‘googled’ us? …”Google actually relies on our users to help with our marketing. We have a very high percentage of our users who often tell others about our search engine.” (Sergey Brin)
A brand runs through a business or organisation – from the tone-of-voice of the receptionist, the freshness of coffee offered on arrival at their offices and how clean their toilets are (sounds funny but it’s important) through to the way in which an integrated international sponsorship program is implemented and communicated to the multi tiered audience
The investment in a brand is not only financial, it’s emotional… every stakeholder must have buy-in and internal communications is our (read your) first audience. We won’t quote for a branding program – how can we? We don’t know you, where you’ve been or where you want to go… where do you want your brand to go? Do you know? …are you sure? An hour with the right people and a whiteboard is all we need – it’s a win-win for you… you’ll either know you’re heading in the right direction, or… we might be spending more time together! (most ask you to ‘call us’ at this stage but we think that if you’ve got this far you know what to do and you will if you want to!)
Food for thought…
“Products are made in the factory, but brands are created in the mind.”
Walter Landor
“A product is something made in a factory; a brand is something that is bought by the customer. A product can be copied by a competitor; a brand is unique. A product can be quickly outdated; a successful brand is timeless.”
Stephen King, WPP Group, London
“An image . . . is not simply a trademark, a design, a slogan or an easily remembered picture. It is a studiously crafted personality profile of an individual, institution, corporation, product or service.”
Daniel Boorstin, Where the Suckers Moon: An Advertising Story, 1994.