Brands are a word that get tossed around a lot currently. What is a brand? At the foundation, a brand is something that gets associated with something else. A brand on a cow identifies which ranch the cow belongs to.
Nowadays, we refer to brands with less physical types of associations. When we are in the presence of others at business situations, we are supposed to have our “elevator pitch” prepared such that we can concisely wrap up the primary characteristics that we want to have the listener associate with our name. A LinkedIn profile will do similar things and, although not usually called a brand, a CV or resumé is basically an extended brand.
Manufacturers, or distributors, of products want to associate a brand name with a set of qualities. Although some physical qualities are part of the package, it is usually more a matter of feelings to be associated with the brand name. Brand WHOZIT is associated with excitement, reliability, quality, etc. Naturally, such companies want only positive attributes associated with the brand. There have been instances over time when negative attributes have become connected to a brand name and the company has been unable to disconnect those attributes from the brand. At that point, the brand is “retired” and no longer used. The word “Edsel” has become a generic name for a product (possibly even a good product) which has gathered negative feelings associated with the brand. You don’t want to produce an Edsel.
Brands can also be associated with people. That is the point behind various “branding” exercises. Beyond the elevator pitch, people may want to become the person you “go to for xxxx”. Certainly, on business social media such as LinkedIn, that is a very important part of interactions.
It was something that I lacked during the short period when I was an independent contractor. It is very difficult to create a brand when one is interested in, and produces, more-or-less anything unless the name, in itself, creates the brand. A brand focuses attributes and it is preferred that those attributes are seen as distinct from other brands. Sometimes a “brand” is a person’s name. Bill Gates is a brand — based on his life, and corporate, history. Steve Jobs is a brand as is Beyoncé. If someone talks about a “Steve Jobs” type of person, you immediately have an idea (correct or not) as to their attributes.
Positive attributes and associations are best. Negative associations are bad but politicians recognize that people do not remember details very well or very long. Thus, “there is no such thing as bad publicity”. Name recognition is very important when you approach the ballot or are examining products on the shelf.
One important aspect of brands is that they are sometimes given more importance than the “interior”. My Aunt and Uncle were very loyal to a US electronics brand. They would buy Brand YYYY without even looking at comparable products. They were the type of consumer that manufacturers LOVE. Later (in the 1960s) the brand name, and product line, was sold to another company which wasn’t even in the US. Quality and design went down (a sold brand doesn’t necessarily become worse upon being sold — but this one did). Product reviews were bad and my Aunt and Uncle ended up returning a few products. But still, they continued to buy Brand YYYY. They still didn’t consider competing products.
A product brand may also be registered with a trademark to prevent others from using the same name for that same product category. This is not a clear safeguard as it is possible to have the brand be so popular that the brand becomes almost synonymous with the product description — called genericization. For example, Bayer lost the use of Aspirin as a trademarked brand because Aspirin became a common replacement name for acetylsalicylic acid. (It later did trademark the double word “Bayer Aspirin”).
A brand, with positive recognized attributes, is very useful for a company or an individual. Is it useful for the individual making their decision according to the brand?
Perhaps. It can reduce the effort needed to find a qualified person or product. BUT, it does NOT eliminate “checking under the hood”. Assume that you always buy trucks manufactured by DDDDD. There is a parking lot of trucks to choose from. You choose the DDDDD truck without examining it or comparing to the others. You get into the truck to start the engine and it doesn’t start. It doesn’t even make a noise. You get out and look under the hood. No engine. Whose fault is that? Whose responsibility is that?
You can certainly validly complain about misdirection in advertising. But truly, do you expect a company to say “We proudly sell DDDDD trucks but we no longer include an engine with the purchase”? Either they bought the brand name and product line because they recognized how much the name could reduce their PR expenses or they had had the brand name for a long time and relied on its historical value. Most will try to maintain the value associated with the brand. Perhaps they will not go so far as to stop including an engine. But it may no longer be their focus as a company. Quality can decline.
You, as a consumer, are responsible for evaluating a product, person, or political candidate. A brand name may be of use as a starting point but it is always appropriate to redefine the quality, and value, of that brand name as you examine products.
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