Brand: That's what they remember!
How often have we mistaken the meaning of the word "Xerox"? Our childhood was probably a lie if we try remembering when we realize that "photocopy" entered our lives much much later than it's creator. For an Indian growing up in a small township, the statement "bhaiya, ek Colgate dena!" (excuse me, could you please give me a Colgate?) is another classic example of how powerful a brand can become. The words, toothpaste or a photocopy, take a second stand when identifying such discrete reality that the actual commodity is known by the one which produces it. If the human error is to be blamed for such discrepancies, then I suggest an exercise of figuring out such similar use-cases that we commonly come across.
Well, this article is not about bragging about a Colgate or Xerox but more about looking into the importance of building a brand. For a world that expects a change in the list of fortune 500 faster than ever before, the competition of staying relevant is what differentiates the winners from the not-So-Greats! With startups taking a hold on the economy and making an impact on the GDP, the burning statement remains on where do we focus to become market relevant. And if we really do become market-relevant, how do we stay so for the long run? Creating trust and having a clear vision on strategy with a hold on the service provided may be a good way to start planning for the upcoming future. But let's keep the "How" part as a separate discussion and focus more on the "Why"!
One recent observation of brand creation suggested that the importance of uplifting a certain behavior instills an impact on the larger audience. The more we engage ourselves in an activity on a day-to-day basis defines our personality. Regardless of the fact of being positive or negative in nature, that trait of activity defines us on a personal front, hence, creating a brand in itself. Interesting to see how a modern-day YouTuber makes a million fans(maybe a million more in cash) just by cherry-picking a topic of their interest and creating a series of content that attracts the greater audience. Similar scenarios are observed for the Twitterati community where a brand can be created just by focusing on a particular topic of interest (something that I have leveraged a lot personally and acts as the prima facie of this article).
So seeing these disrupters, does brand-building impact local businesses? Let's look at an example! If you are from Kolkata and have been to the EM Byepass from Ballygunge, you definitely have been exposed to the loud calls of Bus Conductors. If you had paid attention, the bus stops that they would call for again and again went by the sequence, "Ruby Desun Fortis, Ruby Desun Fortis", the three hospitals located at the same junction and within a clear vicinity of each other. Rewind the circle a couple of decades, and the call would just comprise of a single word, "Ruby, Ruby, Ruby"! A time, when the other two didn't exist to the common man. The word goes that it was a scheme to highlight the names of the other two to create a brand through the bus conductors and that's what we hear today. Another blatant use of brand creation using a very unique approach!
People remember the impact they feel about an entity. The more one emphasizes on a particular attribute, the more it gets attached to the same entity. It starts as a creative aspect or a mere starting activity but becomes a way of life in the long run. People start associating similar content or activity with this entity, slowly turning it into a brand. The above examples of a YouTuber or the Twitterati community or the publicizing of the Hospital chains, all draw inspiration from the impacts of first creating a brand and then maintaining it in the long run. Even for a political scenario, it becomes easier to associate with a leader and that often becomes the face of a political party. Regardless of which sphere of life we belong, the importance of a brand dictates even our decision-making capabilities as a human being, often forcing us to choose a path that has a proven record. Or maybe to not choose a sunken ship, again, because of a past debacle. Actions define the brand and it becomes an easier reference to latch on for convenient decision-making.
So, no matter what we look at, a startup, a local business or an individual, all carry a tag to make a difference! Consider reading about Apple and visualizing a Steve Jobs as a 90s kid or asking for a Colgate when you meant, a toothpaste, it is all about the impact of a name, the Brand! It might just be the name that they are known by but it's all about the impact created by their brand that they are known for.