RAVE 1: What is a Brand?

What is a Brand? Everyone has their own view on what a Brand is. In addition, how a brand is defined can vary enormously from one individual to another, including those who head up marketing functions. This makes it very difficult for marketing teams to know how to manage and grow the core value of the brands they are responsible for. Perhaps this is the main reason why we see such sub-standard advertising most of the time.

Understanding brand marketing

Many years ago, a very senior person at WPP had the view that unless your product was a genuine commodity. In other words it didn’t have any performance or advantageous benefits to competitor products, you really wouldn’t understand the principles of what a brand truly is. There is some merit in this. I have to say that the best marketers and brand ambassadors I have met over a 40 year career have usually had a stint in the industries like soft drinks, tobacco and spirits. These industries are where product differentiation is not present or at least highly marginal.

The result was that marketers would not try to build brands based on some element of product differentiation, as this was not available to them. Rather they would focus on positive associations that connect the brand to the goals, aspirations and motivations of the consumer.

A great first place to start in understanding a brand is to gain an appreciation of consumer psychology.

Consumer psychology is a specialty area that studies how our thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and perceptions influence how we buy and relate to goods and services. Consumer psychologists investigate how the decision-making process, social persuasion, and motivation influence why shoppers buy some things but not others.

Very Well Mind

My recommendation would be to read Phil Barden’s book ‘Decoded’. He has a new version coming out shortly. It moves the focus from the product offer to the consumer goal and as such it transforms the way you approach brand marketing.

Decoded shines light on What is a Brand

So what is a brand?

I was very lucky once to have had a conversation with Shazia Ginai from Neuro Insight. She has a fantastic way of describing exactly what a brand is. The simplicity and sheer genius of this has stuck with me ever since. This is my interpretation of what I heard, coupled with my own insights and experiences.

A brand is a label to help consumers recognise what they are engaging with. For each consumer a brand starts out as an empty vessel, one that then develops and fills up as that consumer interacts with and experiences the brand.

The concept of a ‘brand room’

Shazia explained it as follows. Imagine that you allocate a room in your brain to each brand that you connect with. You only visit the room and switch on the light when you are reminded of that brand. The overall feel of the room conveys a broad theme that you associate with the brand. This could be adventure, sport, friendships, socialising, anything that is important to you etc. These are based on the thoughts, beliefs, interests and goals of the consumer.

Inside the room are reminders of the various associations you have encountered with the brand at some point before. Some of these are positive and some negative with the more influential ones taking a more prominent position within the room.

A brand acts like a brand room in your brain

In summary, when you engage with a brand, the light goes on, you are reminded of all your past associations and this influences how you then respond and interact in that exact moment. Each engagement further adds to the ‘brand room’.

This simple and very creative way of describing a brand achieves two significant things.

  • It makes us consider brands and how we market them based on consumer goals and how successfully we satisfy them.
  • It instills in us the need to create positive associations at every touch point. Associations that are memorable and desirable from a consumer perspective.

Until the next Rave. See you then.