What is Branding?

What is Branding/a Brand?

When did company’s transition to being a brand?

Was there a particular brand that started this trend?

Brands originating from needing to distinguish themselves from other products after the standardisation of quality, ‘brand manager’ would give the product an identity so it can stand out again other products and increase sales. (Marc De Swaan Arons, 2011)

A brand is a visual identity of a company or product, purely used to sell product/device/service. Uses visual expression such as a logo or consistent design. A brand can be used more widely, but is kept within the restraints of business, such as creating a customer experience when see a particular brand, so the importance of staff etc is included.

States the work brand has become ‘one of the most overused (and misused) in the business lexicon.’ (The Business of Brands, By Jon Miller, David Muir)

The idea that now brands can be seen as pretty much anything, major celebrities are deemed as a brand, as well as car companies, clothing companies, supermarkets, films etc. Branding in finding a USP, packaging it well, and making sure there are people there who want it. (13) (Brands and Branding By Stephen Brown).

Supporting the theory that brands are more than a product or visual identity. Presents forward many relationships/ interactions between customer and company, suggest that the relationship is what impacts a brand more. Also investigate the impact of the experience a customer has on the validity of a brand - similar to Miller and Muir, but not as narrow. Not only the impact on the customers, but the wider community who see/experience the brand passively. (Keller and Lehmann (2004)).

The name being most key element of a brand, more so than the visuals , as it’s the element that should never change even if other elements do. Brands provide guidance for the consumer, helps them to navigate a market. - Thus supporting the importance of every relationship element between customer and brand. What makes a brand successful is the consumer, the brand needs to meet their expectations. (Tom Blackett, Brands and Branding (2003))

Visual identity (graphic components provide system for identifying a brand) of a brand is key as it is what we first see, make judgements based on this. The basic elements of a brand identity are: Logotypes, Symbols, Colours and Typefaces. A brand also has a verbal identity (make a brands language more distinctive, and therefore recognisable), the basic elements being: the name, a naming system for products, sub brands and groups, a strapline, tone of voice principles, the use of stories. (Tony Allen and John Simmons, Brands and Branding (2003))

Logotypes are the crossover of the verbal and the visual within a brand. Can become recognised as clearly as a symbol e.g. andersand, but the band needs to be established for the logotype to work like that of a symbol. (Micheal Evamy, Logotype (2012))

Typography should communicate the fundamentals of a brand (‘the DNA of a brand’), it emphasises the message a brand wants to communicate, as well as provide continuity within a brand. (Frederic Vanhorenbeke, Branding Typography, Gingko Press (2013))

From Brands and Branding by Stephan Brown