Fifty columns and counting

This is a personal riff and a reflection on what I have learned and where the field of branding is heading. I have written fifty of these columns. (This is column fifty-one.) They take up a couple of hours every week. Why go to all the effort?

I am not a huge fan of passion. You may be passionate about chocolate cake, but if you eat just that for a week or two, the shine will wear off as diabetes sets in. Rather say that I am absorbed in the field. Firstly, it holds areas of interest. Secondly, it is evolving so when I get to grips with one thing, there is always something new to learn and consider. That keeps me going.

There is no one method or practice that recommends itself, yet. Accounting has its standards and principles. Brands and marketing adapt to the environment. If you believe that you have achieved professionalism in the field, consider your practice and whether or not it is changing or fluid. Your ability to learn and adapt to each industry or brand is the mark of your success.

Call branding a set of practices that can be adapted to the changing enterprise environment. The challenge for the brand manager is to understand what may produce the optimum result, implement with mitigation measures, learn along the way and refine any given methodology to get results.

Use it or lose it

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There is no one methodology that is entirely correct. Most reputable methodologies are highly researched, or the results of practices are documented anecdotally. That gives a degree of certainty on choices. More likely the chosen methodology will be a layer cake of managed equity measures, corporate philosophy, sales funnels and whatever procedural implementation measures suggest themselves, including marketing methodologies.

If you want to go deeper, take a look at Kevin Keller, Kevin Aaker, Jennifer Aaker, Donald Miller and Jean-Noel Kapferer. AI will produce results. For the record, I currently use ChatGPT.

It is important to distinguish between methodology and applications. The application of SEO is often conflated with branding, for instance. Yet search engine results on Google are necessary but not sufficient. People do not find quality in a long list of results. Currently they may be better rewarded with reels on social media or AI results. And there will be more changes ahead, particularly brand-specific and individualized AIs.

If anything, branding is psychology applied to the economics of the enterprise and its industry. What belief and experience is needed to make the firm acceptable to its markets and produce sales?

The levels at which the brand should be considered and managed are owners, board and / or exco. The brand feeds into value creation and enterprise purpose. This is supported by the gradual migration of senior brand professionals into the strata of enterprise direction through corporate philosophy.

I have a second interest, no less important in my mind, in the form of Namibian economic development. Branding feeds into it. Commercial outcomes depend on relationships and clear understanding of what those relationships are expected to produce in terms of value creation. Branding produces commercial and / or behaviouraloutcomes. If a brand succeeds it grows the economy, creates jobs and reduces the need for imports. If it fails it will impoverish the owner of a small enterprise or be a lost opportunity cost for the larger enterprise. There’s a lot at stake.

Part of the exercise of these columns is suggesting ways that Namibian brands can be made more effective. Use it or lose it. Fifty columns are done and more lie ahead. I wonder what changes and insights lie ahead. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more.

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Pierre Mare has contributed to development of several of Namibia’s most successful brands. He believes that analytic management techniques beat unreasoned inspiration any day. He is a fearless adventurer who once made Christmas dinner for a Moslem, a Catholic and a Jew. If you need thought-leadership, strategy and support email [email protected]