Big Brands

I wasn’t sure whether I was paying for a big band or a big brand when I heard a recent opportunity through the music industry. I did have some branding questions for another company recently and was shocked at the level of expense some marketing people ask for their services. My version of what makes a good brand is rooted in something passionate. When an idea is borne out of something very meaningful, the flow of the feelings around that idea is generally the best place to feel the raw thinking that will reveal the best vision, name, objectives, values, spirit and ultimately the brand and logo. So much monetary value lies in the look and feel of these things nowadays that they have a trading worth of their own. Years ago when there was little or no choice you got what was available and were glad, now we have to evaluate everything.

There is a definite vocabulary to success. The power of a brand is what it makes people feel, think and do when it’s not even visible. Anything that can change people’s thinking must be an asset. When something changes somebody’s experience and actions particularly to help them part with their money, then that something has its own net worth. Assessing that goodwill into a sum of money can be no easy job. Hitting on the very things that make people notice you could be more luck than judgement from what I hear, so that makes me wonder where the so called experts get their pricing structures. Obviously every business has its overheads and expenses but if we could describe the way we feel rather than the way we think we should be able to generate a lot of the branding themes ourselves. We’ve all heard of financial disasters in company name changes and even logo modernization can be fraughtwith danger.

In reality brands are emotive the have power, they ignite passion and create commitment. It’s strange how we can latch onto things and see the same products in different shops for very different prices. We each have our own perception of what something is worth and what we are willing to pay for it long before we even know we need or want it. Our brains are deluged with massive amounts of information every minute of the day no wonder some people need so much sleep when we try to process it all. A good brand should bring a state of pleasure and positive anticipation. It can have an impact on us without us even realising it’s there. Like our own vitality nurturing the look and feel of a brand is critical to the success of a business. However establishing a consistency for a brand should be based on good habits, knowing what to do just isn’t enough; you actually have to do it.

A relationship is created between individuals and brands; they can be negative as well as positive,often depending on just one experience, generally an early one with the business. Negative experiences can be harmful to what is otherwise a good company. By identifying the warning signals and intervening immediately they can be eliminated before they get out of hand. There’s a lot of relationship understanding to realise where your business is featured in the minds and hearts of those people you come into contact with. It’s not necessarily your customers you want to analyse as it is the rest of the people that aren’t yet your customers. Of course you can’t get something out of nothing but in reality, if by asking people who aren’t presently your customer what they would like from the service or product you offer then you may actually get more clients simply from asking the questions and opening an awareness that your even there. It’s all about who sees you where, when and why.

Endeavour to be seen in all the right places.