If you brand it, they will come (expecting something...)

Alright, I'll admit I put a Venn Diagram as the picture just to capture your interest. I'd love to tell you that center part is some hyper-inspirational and thought-provoking tidbit, but it's not. It's just filled in. At the heart of any Venn Diagram is the takeaway - brought together by all the other main aspects and correlations of how they may lead to slightly different focuses or outcomes - that you are supposed to aspire to attain for yourself or your organization. Much like the heart of a brand - brought together by all of the aspects that make an organization and its people successful and make it tick. But why, with all the information about branding that is out there do some still get hung up on what their brand is all about?

I'm talking about some very specific and openly advertised 'brand confusion' that you can witness right now... A couple of different examples are out there... Not only do I not want to go shop on Overstock.com or get a sandwich at Arby's, I am agitated every time these commercials come on - and they are in heavy rotation on the streaming services I use - because it seems like they are griping about people not knowing what they are all about when the only reason that might even be true is because the brand did not do a good job establishing what they are about - or what direction they are going.

You see, Overstock.com is so-named because (according to the Wikipedia page about the site) "Overstock.com initially sold exclusively surplus and returned merchandise on an online e-commerce marketplace, liquidating the inventories of at least 18 failed dot-com companies at below-wholesale prices". It is easy to see why a site called 'Overstock' that was started to sell off surplus items is considered a good place to get... well... overstock items. Even the Wiki page is kind of 'blah' about the new direction of the site... "The company continues to sell home decor, furniture, bedding, and many other goods that are closeout merchandise,[4] however, it also sells new merchandise.".

The commercials have a tone of 'how dare you...' and make it seem like people are less intelligent for thinking that a site called 'Overstock.com' is an overstock site... Seriously sends me into fits of rage. How dare we take note of the brand you built and the name you chose...

Arby's is another one that is fighting against their own branding, and even mentions it in the commercial - "Maybe it's the 60-foot signs that say 'Arby's Roast Beef Sandwiches'..." The spokesperson says. I'm sure we're all aware that Arby's isn't just a roast beef joint, because for years they have been expanding their menu and explaining 'we have the meats'. Maybe it's just that the other offering just aren't appealing to today's consumer. Heck, it was years ago that the twins in Simpson's land quipped 'I'm so hungry I could eat at Arby's' - to a gasp from all the other kids at the campfire with them... Maybe today's branding problem is indicative of a longer-running issue. The company is openly sighing at the public's lack of interest and trying to blame anything other than their service or product at this point. Drives me straight to brands that don't confuse my unwillingness to frequent their stores with a lack of understanding about what they are really offering.

I get that both brands are trying to make some noise about what they are about NOW that the consumer should know, but it isn't our fault if a company has poorly managed their brand - the tone in the ads should be more informative and excited and less 'you silly morons....' in my opinion.

Establish what direction you are going in and take your customers along on the journey TOWARDS that. If you don't bring them along in a way that engages them, certainly don't try to say 'it's YOU that doesn't understand'... just ugh.

That's my rant today. Saw another couple of these ads this morning and felt it was something to discuss. What do you think of mirky branding? Is it as annoying to you as it is to me? Can you think of ways that brands can thwart this issue so that they don't have to force us to understand/correctly identify what they are all about?