Brands are the repeated marketing efforts of a company to consumers that generate awareness and a host of other psychological responses if successful. Brands use words, logos, pictures, jingles, and more to create trust, loyalty, passion, and action. When kids see a clown with a red quaff, they know it is for McDonald's. Hear "snap, crackle, and pop" and we think of a particular breakfast cereal. Colors can also link to brands such as brown for UPS and orange for Home Depot.
Brand recognition can be so strong that it evokes conversation. Complete strangers have stopped me while loading groceries in the car, while in elevators, and most recently while at a Mac store, because of the company logo on my jacket. More amazingly, in each case they can recall, with excitement, exacting information about the products, the employees, and their experience with the brand.
Brands have a long shelf life. Brands, because they require a huge investment in time and money, are also difficult to quickly change. Some brands like Apple have successfully transitioned their brand from computers to consumer electronics. Other brands like Kodak are successfully transitioning, due in large part from social media, from analog irrelevance to the digital of now. Yet there are some brands that fell out of favor and into the history books like Plymouth and PanAm.
The point is, when starting a new company or transitioning an existing, put ample thought into what message your brand should portray. Graphic communication companies should not overlook the importance of creating and evolving their brand. After all, how many more registration or CMYK centric logos or uninspired company names do we need?
photo by: Gerald Patterson
