Yes, I know what a brand is…
Just had conversation about brands and what ‘one’ thinks of as a brand. I thought we were both talking about the same thing, but I slowly realised we were not. In fact, I think at the end we were actually poles apart.
Basically, this person thought that a brand was just about the logo and that the brand itself was just instructions on how you should or should not use the logo. True enough, the logo, if molested, would break a fundamental part of the brand; but it’s not the BRAND itself.
The logo is the the main point of recognition for any brand, company or product. Then there are the graphic elements, the colours, fonts and additional illustrations or photography. Then there is the tone of voice; is the brand friendly, business like, or just fun.
A brand should be iconic too. By that, I mean an icon is something that’s more than the sum of its parts. Think about the painting “Mona Lisa’. It’s actually a bad painting of an un-important person in history. I mean, have you ever looked at the landscape in the background, it’s higher on the right than the left. Even the smile is just something we have put on it to make it mysterious. Yet, this painting has become a great icon in our history. If you were to list any great paintings, it would at least be in your first three. An icon is simply, something that’s more than the sum of its parts.
If I said Virgin or Coca-Cola, you would think of images associated with these products and not necessarily the logo or anything about the graphics used from the company guidelines. A brand is the entire identity of the product or company. If you want a clear message to be conveyed to your customers, then your whole brand MUST be consistent.
By the way, the person I was chatting to is now aware of what a brand is. I think…?