Putting Branding Into Context

Let’s talk branding. And let’s get super real with it.

It’s not rocket science folks. Get a room full of people, ask them why they enjoy “Pepsi.” They’ll probably say it’s because they like the taste, but that’s not the reason it’s a household name. This isn’t Field of Dreams where “if you build it, they will come.” Your good product is worth exactly nothing without branding. Digging deeper on our Pepsi people, we ask them “when did they first try a Pepsi?” They’ll likely tell you as a kid. Their parents were Pepsi drinkers. “Do you ever having a craving for a Pepsi?” Hot summer day? A cola to wash down that Royale with Cheese?

People connect products in direct context with the story of their life. Whether they want to admit it consciously or not, the products and services people use are integrated into someone’s day. Doesn’t matter if that’s your Gain detergent on laundry day, Microsoft Office at work, or sharing photos on Facebook, these are products and companies with branding that are integrated into the very fabric of how we interact with the world around us and are associated with patterns of life.

But, how do you get to that “Nike” level as a new company or a new product? What I’m about to explain isn’t going to make a whole lot of sense, so I need you to stay with me through this part, I promise it will click though:

There’s a great exercise I used to teach when I volunteered at a Young Writer’s workshop, and that was to personify everything. The idea was to get more descriptive with the world around you. It’s easy to point to a piece of furniture and describe it as “a brown, leather chair.” Entirely accurate, sure. However, it’s another thing entirely to say it was “a chair of notable age, it was adorned in thick saddle brown leather; the worn, slightly weathered seams displayed proudly in it’s vintage condition only contrasted by the subtle, yet rich mahogany from which the leather was bound to.” You have to think your company and/or products as you might describe a person, here’s why:

At the end of the day, branding, at it’s most essential bits, is people. We don’t market to artificial intelligence (at least not yet), because people buy products and services. Your customers live in a land of choice. They exercise purchasing power in similar ways they choose who to spend their time with and how they interact with people. I’m not going to ask my friend who is notoriously clumsy to help me move my China shop in the same way I’m not going to purchase a product who’s branding seems like their products are janky. So when you’re branding, you have to think: am I designing something that when personified, people are going to want to hang out with them? Tell their friends and family about them? Are they useful? Are they popular? Am I attracted to them? Do I want them, or do I need them? Everything is a lifestyle brand whether people realize it or not. What you have to work out is what sort of lifestyle your product or service fits into, and design branding that speaks to those people. Marketing as a whole works a lot like Vampires: you’re asking your customer to invite you into their home with the purpose of feeding on their wallet. Branding is that feeling of “ease” your customer should have about doing so.

You should also understand that like people, branding is a sum of it’s parts: messaging, design, culture, and of course the way you market. Doing extraordinary in one category doesn’t buy you a golden ticket. The best brands are cohesive and consistent in their efforts across the board. Topic for another time! Have some thoughts? Share them in the comments!

Tl;dr: If your brand can’t hypothetically be turned into a human being that people want to interact with, your brand needs work and you need to figure out how to make it have a purpose in other people’s lives.