Really, What is a Brand?
The first thing to grasp is that a logo is not a brand. When people see a famous visual icon or symbol, they often think that the logo is the brand. Logos are not brands, they are symbols. Logos are what are known as visual anchors. When people see logos, they are reminded of what the brand stands for based on their previous experiences with it. Of course, the logo itself should convey the character of the brand, as it is a visual summation of what the brand stands for itself. All aspects of the logo, including its colour, symbolism, and actual use across different kinds of media have to be thought out in advance. In other words, the logo is a very important entry point to your brand.
The logo is a visual anchor but there are many other forms of getting the brand across. Intel is well known for its sound branding – the four similar tones that always end every visual or audio media. Similarly, we see that many consumer brands use musical jingles to get their particular brand characters across. Packaging is also a form of experiencing your brand. One only needs to look at the different shapes of water bottles on store shelves to realise that. When you have such a commoditized product to sell, branding the packaging may be the only way to win against the competition surrounding you on the shelves.
Brands are often talked about in association with organisations or companies but it is quite evident that even individuals create strong brands for themselves. You probably have formed many opinions about some of the famous figures of this world, whether in entertainment, politics, sport, or any other industry you are familiar with. Individuals have strong brands and these may or may not line up with the way they are in real life to people who have constant contact with them. We have seen many failures of individuals who appear to portray a certain brand and then lose considerable value when it is revealed that they do not, in fact, represent the unique value proposition everyone thought they did. People succeed and fail at creating and sustaining brands too.
What is important to note is that any time a customer makes contact with something to do with your company, offerings, or particular personality, their entry to experiencing your brand has many, entry points, and unintentional or external factors that you have no control over can and will affect your brand. The points of contact or touch-points for your brand apply to everything and anything that the potential loyal customer associates you with, from your staff to your signage.
