Hello,
I'm Mervi Eskelinen!
An artist, nerd and sorcerer, dedicated to make world softer and better for everyone, and to get you to make more art. Make art, change the world!
Quick notes about branding
Branding is very simple. It is not a great mystery, a secret formula possessed by the chosen ones. Nor it's sleazy, at least unless you make it such. What is branding, then?
In its most simple definition, brand is the product itself plus the image the people, such as customers, consumers in general, your employees, the media representatives and your mom, have about the product. By product, in this case, I mean a product, service, person, company, country, idea or pretty much anything else you are putting on the market. The image cannot be force-fed, nor it can be controlled. Attempting to force-feed and control the image may and will likely to backfire, and affect the brand negatively.
The brand consists of two main parts: First, the more apparent one, is the way the product looks, feels, smells, tastes and functions. Obviously the different attributes depend. In a case of a smartphone, the way it tastes is not, at least currently, an important feature. The second part is the personality, the soul of the product. It's not usually as clearly visible as the product's outward attributes and functions. This part, however, can easily become more important than the external aspects in constructing the image the people have about the product.
The personality can consist of several different things. It can be derived from the external attributes and functions of the product, or it can help to define the external attributes and functions of the product. The personality is defined and built by product stories. These stories can be, but are not limited to, history, value statements, blog posts and other social media updates, testimonials and behind the scenes photos and videos. Personality also includes the personalities of people who are affiliated with the product. Affiliated are commonly the people working with the product (company personnel, executive and non-executive levels, marketing personalities et al.) and the people who buy the product.
Branding is about gently steering the image the people have about the product. As I mentioned before, it cannot be force-fed, nor it can be controlled. Instead it can be guided. The whole ongoing marketing process of the product works towards guiding the image. It begins with what the product is, what are its external attributes and functions, how it is packaged, priced, placed. The personality can and often is included in these external attributes and it is enhanced with and by the stories. In branding the external attributes and the personality are turned into the distinguished and identifiable combination, which is the brand.
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