What Branding Means To Me

The lowdown is that most definitions of what branding is have boiled the term down to two separate psychological concepts; brand experience and brand image. For purposes of our discussion here, and mostly to put these terms into models I can understand and express, we'll call brand experience the left brain mode and the image is the right brain mode.

Our left brain is our catalog of life. We record all of our experiences on some little tape recorder and tuck them away for reference. In the case of branding, some experts believe that we reference every interaction with the product, logo, and any other points of contact for a vision of the brand. Logic over emotion.

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The right brain however, remembers the emotion that the brand image has burned onto us. It tells how we feel, based on past experiences about a logo, product or brand. In effect, giving life to the sterile left brain images.

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Laura Lake, Marketing Guide at About.com has this to add about branding:

The objectives that a good brand will achieve include:

* Delivers the message clearly
* Confirms your credibility
* Connects your target prospects emotionally
* Motivates the buyer
* Concretes User Loyalty

To succeed in branding you must understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects. You do this by integrating your brand strategies through your company at every point of public contact.

What Laura has added is pretty much how the bulk of the business world sees branding. Build trust in your brand, aim your brand, cultivate your brand.

Of course, in my weird way of thinking, I feel that approach is just shy of the bull's eye.

So, did you click that link above? If you did, I can feel comfortable that my brand is working. If not, I owe myself more time in front of that mirror.

What branding means to me goes beyond logos, products, or target markets. Branding is what you see in that mirror. It is you, who you are and how comfortable you are with yourself. Once others see who you are, you stand a better chance for them to feel comfortable interacting with you, and that is the first step towards trust.

The key ingredient to this wonderful recipe is honesty. Are you honest with yourself? Do you speak honestly to others? Most people can spot a phony. We can tell when someone is trying to blind us from a closer look, and there will always be some amount of reservation towards those who try to blind us. Think about that guy in the cheesy checkered sport jacket down at the corner used car lot. Now, think of Morgan Freeman's voice. I for one would buy just about anything that man would sell. Why? Because I know I can trust him. He is confident and honest. I never hear any bad press and as far as I know, he is genuine, and he wears that cloak comfortably.

Here's where the boat is missed. If we cultivate our persona as our brand, we can pitch any niche we want. If we are sure of who we are, passion comes easy, and if we are filled with passion we can learn anything. No need to target our brand at particular markets. From our personal branding, we can build logos and product. We need to trash all ideas that branding is the logo or product. The problem with that is, you have to stand half naked in front of that mirror for a while first.

There is nothing more relevant than honesty.

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ChefKeem is more than regular contributor to the SquidLog e-zine; he is also an entrepreneur in his own right. His understanding of branding is dead on as this recent post about branding demonstrates. I think we all should tuck a copy of it inside of our underwear as a cheat sheet for when we stand in front of that mirror.

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Doesn't that feel good?