So You Think You Know Branding? Think Again!

What Is Branding?

Is branding nothing more than slapping your brand name, and logo on billboards, bus stops, trains, and buses? Or is it nothing more than a fancy term to help sell businesses, to make it sounds all premium? Hah, we’re going to take a quick look at what is branding, a thing that we often hear these days.

But first, let’s take a look at what is the general definition for brand:

“A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers”-American Marketing Association

Well, that’s what the general definition has to say about it. But for me, i must say branding something more of introducing and connecting your brand with consumers, leaving a lasting impression.

So that whenever people see your brand name, and logo they’d be reminded of you and recognize the style or nature of business that you’re running, of what you do or how you work; good or bad regardless.

A Roaring Interview With The Big Bear Of The Beastly Creative Digital Agency, Bike Bear

That’s my opinion for branding. Though i felt that i needed a second opinion from someone who is well experienced. This where i interviewed the big man, Mr. Ariel Chew of Bike Bear, well, more like he dragged me by the ear to interview him (kidding, Mr. Ariel Chew).

His take on branding is that creating an experience for people, one they able to connect with through your services or products. This means branding is more than just putting your brand name and logo on buses, vans or billboards.

It is the act of creating experience for customers–how you communicate with them and how you do your work what truly creates your brand branding. The logo, the colours and the typeface used are merely created to translate to customers of who you are and to remind them what you do.

Though not every brand logo can leave an impact on customers or translate your business clearly. Like Mr. Ariel said during the interview “Everyone can design a logo, but not everyone can properly translate their business using logo.”

He told me there are three major components to logo designing. The typeface, colours, and icon. The design of these three components will affect how your brand is translated and conveyed to customers.

Mr. Ariel Chew gave Uniqlo; one of most known clothing brand as an example. Uniqlo’s logo design is neat, clean and simple yet features bold colour which is red. This symbolises how Uniqlo’s staffs do their work. Neat, organize and clean yet they’re friendly, and bold in expressing their fashion sense. See how the logo translates Uniqlo’s work culture?

A logo doesn’t do the branding, but its the people doing the business that do the branding. They’re the one creates the image for their brand, a logo merely there as a representative.

So, a logo that doesn’t translates your brand and it’s ideals clearly is pretty much meaningless.

“Everyone can design a logo, but not everyone can properly translate their business using logo.”- Ariel Chew, Bike Bear’s Manager

And he did mentioned what we should take into consideration when designing the logo which is  what kind of demographic that you want to be your customers base.

Branding In Short Is……

So the thing is with branding, it is more than just creating a logo and pasting it all over the town. It is how you connect with your targeted customers base, to give them an experience like no other—by how you communicate with them; whether it through services provided or products. That’s how you do branding, and a logo is just to represent your brand, it doesn’t do the branding for you. 

If you fail to deliver and connect with your customers base, it is far worse–much, much worse than getting a bad review, your  brand might end up forgotten by people. A logo can only do so much to help promote your brand.

Create a signature, something that will help your brand identify itself to people. It can be cooking styles, fashion styles, services etc. –something that stands out from other brands.

Well, that’s the gist of it (more like a whole bunch of it) for branding. What i can say is branding is a whole lot more than shouting your brand name to the public and it can be done for anything, from products to persons.