Brand is a Living Organism
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A little patience and a little change go a long way in developing a brand. I see a brand as a living being. It needs to be nurtured carefully…it needs to sit, crawl, stand and walk before it can run. Some brands are in constant motion, too much, too fast. Working on brands as we do, we forget that the consumer is not as intimate with our brand. They need a little more time to get to know it. Resisting the temptation to change it, to add to it is the hardest part of branding.
Photo by TerryJohnston available under a creative commons license
Yet, I also see the other side of the spectrum. Some brands just sit in the same chair that they have been in for years, losing touch with the times and with consumers. Brand development takes time and it takes ever-so-slight forward movement at certain times of its life, to keep it fresh without losing its flavour or initial contribution.
About the author
Miriam is the Chief Creative Officer and co-founder of 3H Communications Inc. Her experience has enabled her to bring together strategic business savvy with an all-encompassing creative vision to product and service marketing, which she shares here, in her many posts. Join the conversation, register here. Miriam’s own brand of marketing experience and expertise is the basis of Marketing Understood, this first in a series of ebooks. Download Marketing Understood here.
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Very interesting comments and very valid. To understand both sides of the brand presence requires vision that many brand owners fail to replicate. Its important creation of a brand is made with a longer term strategy in mind, as you suggest it needs to evolve to engage new customers without alienating old.
The pressures of poor performance usually drive change yet without strategy change only goes further to confuse customers. The UK’s Royal Mail postal service is a classic example of this, the brand had been running for over 100years, poor performance led to a re-brand, Consignia, which meant nothing to customers. The end result, a de-brand back to the original.
Of course, brands still need to develop but think evolution rather than revolution, again with foresight consider the brand & product as one, where is it now, where is it going, where does it need to be. Answers to these questions will undoubtedly help your creatives achieve better long term results
Very true Neil! Your point about poor performance driving change is an accurate one. Especially in tough economic times businesses usually react rather then strategize. We marketers speak in terms of product life cycle and yet, when it comes to brand it remains static! Thanks for contributing your thoughts to this post.