Branding: Make it simple yet comprehensive.

Surani Bandara
Oct 13, 2020
7 min read

It is a bright and shiny morning. Heavy rains last night, but dark clouds seem to have disappeared now and the sun is peeping out. My workstation too is a bit illuminated with rays coming through the window. Slightly warm but nice feeling to start working. Maybe first of all I should pull out a bottle of water from the fridge.

( Photo by bongkarn thanyakij )

My water bottle is made of clear glass, and the liquid inside is transparent too. Looking at it gives me an obvious sense of drinking water. However, there is a label — with name and some graphics — on this bottle. What is it? Why is it needed?

Technically, we get water from nature and humans need it for survival — to drink, cook, wash, shower etc. However as we evolve with other social needs and routine changes, bottled water became another product we purchase off the shelf. Then the trend continued, multiple parties started to sell bottled water, and these numbers kept increasing. While everything looked the same for us — as consumers , those parties (or companies) had to find ways to compete with each other and convince us to buy their own product vs rest of the competition.

That! is the ‘need’ of a brand.

On the grocery shelf I find at least 10 different types of water bottles that are different in name, shape of the bottle, material of the bottle, colour of graphics — basically different in look. And not only that, each gives me a different feeling.

It’s really interesting to see the variation that brands have created within one simple product category like bottled water. I came across an article that Marketing91 has published about a year ago on bottled water brands. It featured 14 different brands and it was interesting to see how those brands have found fascinating ways to differentiate them in unique ways. From the name to visuals to tagline, those have different characteristics. I have no clue on sales data, but if all those brands have succeeded in their markets, there’s no doubt on the value and the benefit that a brand can give to a product.

Few (famous) brands

( Photos from Perrier , Fiji and Evian )

Perrier Stands for sparkling and freshness. Though the initial product is bottled water — this brand takes the feeling a bit far from pure drinking water. Apparently Perrier has been out there from 1863. Over the time they have added some variants to their product portfolio, subtle extensions I would say, and they have extended the brand personality also in a similar manner. Not just drinking water, it’s added fun and excitement. Glance through the website, it is amusing how far a simple product can go with a carefully crafted brand.

Fiji Seems to keep it basic and simple. They sell the goodness of nature. Feature the beautiful and clean forest of Fiji Island. Easy to relate and make the connection with the product. Meantime they take the brand in a responsible route. They take care of nature and environmental sustainability.

Evian Also builds their story from nature- but they try to own the birth of water or fountain water. And they move forward with technology and design aspects. Their latest innovation in packaging and sustainability areas includes label-free bottles and mineral water appliance that reduce plastic usage.

To sum up, Perrier is fun and exciting while Fiji is more responsible, and Evian is innovative. Three interesting brands but all three sell drinking water to us.

So, what is a brand?

As Marty Neumeier explains in The Brand Gap, a brand is not a logo. Not an identity. Or a product. A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or organization. Brands are defined by consumers, not by companies or markets.

A brand is not what you (company) say it is, it is what they (consumers) say it is.

- Marty Neumeier

Article in Emotive Brand by Tracy Lloyd discusses this little further. She discusses some interesting perspectives.

A single brand is unique to each person, but it can vary from person to person (current consumer, potential consumer, employee, recruit etc) based on the context and their interaction
Brands are amorphous, meaning no defined shape or form. So brands can evolve with time — develop, expand, or even shift.
Brands are emotional. When asked someone why they love a specific brand it is common that they struggle to explain why. Reason is successful brands hold great emotional meaning for people and that’s what makes that brand loved and respected.
While the term ‘brand’ is not easy to define, highly recognisable brands such as Apple, Google, Nike are used to explain what a brand is.

( Photo by lalo Hernandez )

What is Branding?

Then, the simplest definition: branding is the process of making a successful brand. Branding is actually a part of marketing practices, where a product or a service tries to gain a market share by competing with the rest of competition.

Branding acts in two ways.

Branding creates a memorable impression on consumer
And it allows consumer to know what to expect from the brand

So; good branding distinguishes a product or service from its competitors, and also it is a representation of how the brand wishes to be perceived.

Branding is not just about look n feel.

Developing a successful brand goes way beyond creating a great look n feel. The tone used to communicate, messages used in advertising, quality of the customer service, promotions and sales, all these matters. Simply the whole reputation matters to a brand. If all these work together and create a unique attention grabbing result — that is a successful branding effort.

Elements of Branding

List of elements may not be fixed to each and every brand, and those will vary based on the industry, nature of the business, markets and so on. However as basics there are few main elements that can be considered.

Mission, Vision and Brand Values

Mission is a simple statement or an explanation on the purpose of the business. And the Vision is the inspirational or the motivational achievement expected in the long term. Brand values are set to make sure the company keeps proper standards or ethics throughout the process while they reach that long term goal.

Logo and Visual Identity

These are the very first touch points of a brand with it’s consumers. It sets the start, creates the first impression on the standards, values and tones of the brand. Hence it’s critical to develop the visual identity of a brand from logo to, colours, graphical elements, fonts etc and make sure everything connotes the brand values as expected.

Website, Newsletters or any other communication channels

Consumers continue to see the brand through these channels. They listen to the brand tone via these communication platforms. And also people keep interacting with the brand via these channels, so proper and timely responses matters.

In-store experiences

Showrooms or outlets are where consumers meet the brand- physically or virtually. Customer service plays a big role here, same as the quality of the product or service they sell.

AR ,PR, CSR

Various communication mechanisms also could help on brand. Though advertising is done mostly to drive sales, the message communicated in those campaigns has to be very much in line with brand values-which in other hand advertising helps to build the brand as well. Additionally there could be press releases and public announcements — on product, company, employers and so on that are directly or indirectly related to the brand. CSR — Corporate Social Responsibility projects also can be another considerable portion of brand building exercise, especially making brands more grounded and respectable.

Pricing Strategies, Sponsorships, Partnerships

These may not directly listed as elements of a brand. However if we carefully study it is obvious that a good brand will align these strategies and decisions with mission, vision and brand values. Which means in backwards, this helps to build the brand as well.

Why is Branding Important?

Branding makes people perceive a brand, which is the first step of making them a consumer. It simply increases awareness as well as drives business.

Creates recognition From the logo, branding is the mechanism that product or service is identified by the people.
Increases business value When considering future businesses, branding plays a huge role. A successful brand leverages the value of the company and creates more interest on investors.
Help to generate new businesses and new customers Successful brands always create a positive impression on their consumers. And once that trust is built, they tend to do more and more businesses based on the assumption that they will get the same good experience as before. This trust will go beyond their purchases and they will take a next step for recommendations too. Word of mouth is a key factor for driving new businesses.
Pride and satisfaction for employees It’s not surprising a young professional wanting to join Google. It’s nothing about how much he actually knows about the office environment or culture. That feeling or interest he has is purely based on trust on the brand Google.
Trust in the market Having an appearance of a good and professional brand can indirectly convince a potential consumer’s mind, in comparison with a product that has the same functions and may be even with better pricing. Proper brand gives an impression of being an industry leader and gives a trustworthy feeling.

In conclusion

Business expects success. Success means better revenue. Revenues come with better sales. Sales is supported with marketing. Marketing brings leads.

Meanwhile, ‘Branding’ is the foundation upon which the reputation is built. This reputation or trust brings in potential consumers. Also existing consumers build loyalty on the same. This goes on with ripple effects.

As a common rule the experts say products have a limited life time, but in contrast- if managed well — a brand can last forever. Explanation is that the reputation and loyalty a brand gets hold of lasts forever. On the other hand no matter how unique a product can be at the beginning, that can be copied over time. However if that product is converted to a unique brand, a brand cannot be copied. Everyone trying to copy a brand will end up being a duplicate, and the original will never die or dilute in brand value despite any threat coming from outside.

Better brand = better marketing = better business

Branding is an extremely common topic. Hundreds of definitions. Yet may be not simple enough to stick in our minds. And Improper understanding may create unrealistic complexity. However a successful brand is always simple, yet comprehensive. Well thought through, fine tuned and crafted carefully. And observed always, adjusted as needed to build a lasting impression.

Yeah, not easy. But, just do it.