Branding Is Not for You
Attention brand and project managers: branding is NOT for you. Please allow me to explain.Whether it is a company, a product, or nonprofit, a brand is not at its strongest when it is developed to suit your personal tastes. Like the color blue? Fantastic--go buy a blue car. That particular name sounds good to you? Use it for when your baby is born.
Too often, I see clients steer their branding in the direction of their own wants and desires for a number of reasons. Maybe they want to leave their own personal stamp on it. Maybe they just want something that they can look at and feel good. This is completely mistargeted.
A brand exists as a promise to your customers and should be made up of elements that resonate with their needs. One cannot expect those needs to be addressed when the brand is made up of the CEO's favorite aspects of the company along with his/her favorite colors. Logos, messages, colors, fonts, and all the components that make up a cohesive brand should all be developed with the target audience in mind and - guess what? - that might not be you.
Labels: best practices, branding basics, Branding commentary, corporate branding, nonprofit branding
posted by Harris Eisenberg at
1:38 PM
1 Comments:
Guilty as charged! I have done exactly that. In the past I have seen the brand as an extension of myself (especially when I worked as a solo professional) and chosen colors and images that I liked to look at. But what you say does make total sense. I guess that's why it's good to work with someone outside the organization who can ask the right questions to help define the brand.
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