Some say branding is dead; really?

By Bob Wheatley

A recent post by Sonia Simone of Copyblogger posed a question the other day, is branding dead?. The comments that followed quickly descended down the trail to tactics and thus left the real conversation about brand value and moved on to communication.

• Many interpreted the decline in conventional media platforms as evidence that branding is indeed on the respirator in the marketing ER ward. That, I think, entirely misses the point of brands and branding.

Branding by the way is not about logos, Web sites, events, advertising or any other form of outreach. Just for fun let’s play with this a minute. If brand didn’t matter, what would? In marketing, if all products were essentially generic and stood solely on their features then lowest price would be the primary driver of commerce.

We would naturally gravitate to the cheapest car, toilet paper, jeans, beer and shop the cheapest channels, probably dollar stores. Evolution here would be 50-cent stores or perhaps the return of the old Five and Dime idea our prices are so low you have to stoop to pick them up. Segmentation would dry up as the high end falls away. Efficiency, cost effectiveness, frugality and economy would be the lexicon of product communication.

But that’s not going to happen, is it?

Last time I looked we were still human beings and thus are essentially emotional, social creatures. We love, we laugh, we cry and we care. We get mad and get even. Our lives gain greater meaning when we participate in something that’s larger than ourselves.

We have needs for recognition, esteem and personal pride. We feel good about successes and disappointed at times in failures. We want, we desire. We reach and dream. Some of us have aspirations and drive. Others are content to sit inside their comfort zone, hopeful that the status quo and familiar will remain in tact.

Do products and services play any role in our lifestyles, in our human-ness?

At times we literally wear brands because of the statement or cachet they imbue. Certain brands convey meaning that is at once obvious to others such as Mercedes as luxury auto. And might also suggest social and economic status messages, too.

There are brands that matter to us, that deliver meaning and therefore added benefits. Our experience with them ladders up to a form of joy. I can give you a new take, for example, on my iPhone. I love everything about it — the ease-of-use; it’s functionality and design. But when I started to add App-store games my six-year old daughter could play with glee, delight and a smile, suddenly I had a portable amusement center. What fun. Now it’s value to me has accelerated. Thus my attitude towards Apple grows thicker, closer. The extra investment cost is soooo worth it.

I will admit to a personal indulgence: I love Robert Graham shirts. They are unique, well made, stylish and fashionable. I probably have a dozen of them. They are not cheap. Oddly enough, however, when compared to designer name plain dress shirts, the Graham products are a bargain. I feel good when I wear them, sort of a signature thing. I get compliments, people notice the distinctive fabrics, even the little touches like different patterns inside the cuffs and collars

Probably all of us can tell similar stories about things we enjoy, that matter to us, that perform beyond the utility of their ability to provide warmth or sustenance. Organic Valley dairy products are more expensive. But I like their ethos of supporting family farms and the absence of hormones in the milk is something I prefer for my young daughters.

Brands are indeed conveyed by their names. Many of these ideas however require building, investing, communicating to help us fully embrace their worth and meaning. But the thing itself gains equity in our lives because of the emotions we associate with them. Mostly good feelings for the items we care about vs. the commodities we don’t and wish just to purchase cheaply.

Branding is not dead. Branding will never be dead. Unless of course we’re all replaced by robots. The intersection of commerce and humanity guarantees it. While communications techniques and media forms may indeed evolve, the role products and services play in our lives will endure. The emotional fabric that sits between us and the things we like will continue, too.

Our firm is all about brand building. (I love my work). And while what we do in PR communication is increasingly moving to social media platforms, our efforts to help clients better define brand value and positioning is as right as rain, the sun rising and the world turning.

Makes me happy. Especially because brands now grow on the basis of their ability to define, understand and mine consumer lifestyle associations. Said another way to become enablers and facilitators of their consumer’s interests and aspirations. To earn permission for a relationship. Hey, wait a minute. We just might be in the happiness business.

How about you???