Brand Values??

I was at a networking event recently and someone asked what it was that I did. When I said we were a design agency (giant plug... The Design Project NW) I could sense the confusion, so I then said that we specialised in branding... "oh, you mean like logos and stuff".

It occurred to me, whilst ranting on about valuing things (see previous posts), that quite a lot of people don't realise the value of a brand, to dismiss your brand as "logos and stuff" is almost like turning up to the royal garden party in your pants!

A brand is an image that evokes emotion with consumers - that's how important a brand is. Imagine getting that wrong, how many customers might walk past/ignore/throw business cards away because the branding is wrong or just totally confusing.

Remember when Coca-Cola did clear coke (many moons ago). It didn't last long did it?! The confusion between client, brand and what they were getting from the brand was just all wrong...
Brand said "Coca-cola", appearance said "lemonade" taste said "WTF".

If you get branding right and it creates the right emotion within prospective clients the possibilities are endless. The clients enjoy being a part of that brand (as well as your staff)!

A brand should reflect the company values and integrity. Even if you, personally, have no integrity whatsoever and your values are completely selfish, if the brand of your company reflects a value/integrity that the consumer can relate to it almost doesn't matter what you, as a person, stand for.

The consumer is looking to that brand for stability and confidence in the product/company. There will, however, come a time when you as a person may affect your company brand - just for being an @r$ehole, but that's a whole other blog post!!!