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what is a brand today and where is branding going tomorrow?

Ever since the first ad agency opened its doors in 1098 with a musical interpretation of the Crusades, it’s been said that effective advertising is about smart branding. But what, exactly, is a brand? Historically, most advertising professionals have said that a brand is a kind of covenant between a company and its intended consumers – a promise, if you will, to the public about the company’s product or service. And to a very large degree, branding is still about that promise. Avis’ “We try harder” is a good example: a promise made by the company in order to persuade consumers to believe that the company is human — that it cares — and will go the extra mile (pun intended) to make someone’s car rental experience more pleasant.

Today, however, smart brands have become much more consumer-focused than company-focused, which in my opinion is a good thing. Globalization, digitization, and commodization are the main reasons why. Cell phone technology, digital cameras, Internet shopping, facebook, twitter, downloadable music and video content, and real-time video conferencing from our laptops have created a remarkably different experience in our personal lives and the ways in which we communicate and shop. Exclusivity is no longer so exclusive, because any of us can buy anything (or communicate with anyone) from anywhere at any time. The world has gotten smaller. Branding, therefore, is no longer just about making a promise. It’s about making a promise personal.

Think of Apple Computer and how it has exploited this strategy brilliantly. Before they asked the world to “Think different,” Apple had about 5% of the personal computer market. Today, they have over 21% of that market.  Partly because their computer-centered advertising (dominated by the now ubiquitous “Mac vs. PC” campaign) is far and away the most memorable in that category – because it is personal, relevant, and hugely entertaining. It gets talked about. Which is what all brands should strive to do. By involving the consumer rather than just talking to the consumer.

Walk into any Apple store, and you’ll see what I mean. The customers in those stores aren’t just there to buy or talk with salespeople. They’re there to involve themselves with the brand at the point of sale, which is another brilliant brand-building move by Apple. No other retail store provides the same type of interaction, brand-through-experience dynamic and fun as Apple – which helps explain the party atmosphere inside their stores. Apple has made itself into more than a cool company; it has made itself into a socially relevant company and a uniquely fun retail destination. Not a bad place for a brand to be.

Apple is also a great example of how the entire dynamic of marketing has changed. It used to be that marketing pushed category advantages onto consumers and then expected consumers to buy. But smarter, more modern marketing pulls consumers into the product or service by creating interest and advocacy first. This is precisely what Apple has done, namely because the marketing advantages of their products are built into the products themselves. So exploiting them allows consumers to be part of the dialogue instead of tossing the dialogue at them. Nice.

Now, having said all of this, the intent of brands and branding hasn’t changed. A brand is still the collective buzz about what people say, feel, and think about your product, service or company. And branding is still what makes consumers want your product or service over someone else’s. It is still both the essence of the company’s personality and the promise that the company makes to the consumer. But to be successful in today’s market, a brand must do more than evoke a positive, unique emotion in the consumer’s mind – especially in categories where products are essentially alike. It must be personal.  And it must have entertainment value, which will be the subject of my next post.

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