Mon - December 6, 2004
Who's afraid of brands?
And of branding's built-in accountability
A very good article about the somehow tense relationship between
designers and branding on AIGA's website: "Who’s Afraid of the Big Brand Wolf?" by
Marty Neumeier. It's a good read for advertising people (and communication
people, including journalists) also. Why?
Because 'brand' and 'branding' words got out from the marketing circles and faced the general public and, as it happens with novelties, people got either overexcited and transformed these into buzzwords, or got scared of the unknown and begun thinking in black and white (black mostly), blaming brands for phenomena ranging from the inherent tensions built into the capitalist system to the extinction of design as the industry seems incapable to actualize its ethos and purpose.
So for the designers saying “It’s that word brand. I’m sick of this marketing jargon. We should just use a normal word and be rid of brand once and for all” there are some bad news: they may have to learn new words in order to stay (or become) relevant.
"Who’s Afraid of the Big Brand Wolf?" article is set to dismantle a few of those brand-caused fears, one by one. For instance:
Maybe this explains why branding (and for designers - identity) is a different business than advertising, and it simply cannot be a core competence of ad agencies – because the time frame of the brand consultancy mind-set is on a different scale than ad agencies'.
While advertising focuses on short-term sales (except brand image campaigns, but those are far from being a copious quantity), branding's effects can only be seen in a matter of years. Even the brand image campaigns themselves are the final 10% implementation tactics of a brand strategy checklist, relevant for the ad agency as concept and implementation, while their relevance for the brand consultancy refers mainly to synergy and compliance with the recommended positioning, visual platform and copy platform. This should subsequently solve another fear, not covered by the article, that brand consultancies 'steal' business from ad agencies, as I recently heard that some ad people think it's fashionable to claim.
So who's afraid of the Big Brand Wolf? Well, after reading this article, I think I may have answers:
◊ Designers who are slow to adapt to the professionalization of design,
◊ Marketing people who can see no further than Kottler's word,
◊ Ad agencies unable to define their core competences.
Because 'brand' and 'branding' words got out from the marketing circles and faced the general public and, as it happens with novelties, people got either overexcited and transformed these into buzzwords, or got scared of the unknown and begun thinking in black and white (black mostly), blaming brands for phenomena ranging from the inherent tensions built into the capitalist system to the extinction of design as the industry seems incapable to actualize its ethos and purpose.
« These irrational fears remind me of another time when the design community resisted change. It was around 1985, when many designers thought computers would put all the best practitioners out of business. It took about ten years for the industry to adapt to this “threat”, We not only survived but thrived.
Now, twenty years later, we’ve reached a similar inflection point. This time the perceived danger is the professionalization of design, a change that seems to threaten our individuality. Yet we now realize that to play a meaningful role in any significant project, we’ll need a seat at the table. That table, in my opinion, is labeled brand. My only fear at this point is a coldly rational one—that the seats may be taken by the time we get there.
Think: What’s to stop other brand-building specialists such as marketing executives, business consultants, positioning strategists, advertising agencies, and research firms from taking over the design industry? Didn’t we do precisely that to the typographic industry twenty years ago? Will we soon reach a point where design is perceived as too important to leave to designers? »
Now, twenty years later, we’ve reached a similar inflection point. This time the perceived danger is the professionalization of design, a change that seems to threaten our individuality. Yet we now realize that to play a meaningful role in any significant project, we’ll need a seat at the table. That table, in my opinion, is labeled brand. My only fear at this point is a coldly rational one—that the seats may be taken by the time we get there.
Think: What’s to stop other brand-building specialists such as marketing executives, business consultants, positioning strategists, advertising agencies, and research firms from taking over the design industry? Didn’t we do precisely that to the typographic industry twenty years ago? Will we soon reach a point where design is perceived as too important to leave to designers? »
So for the designers saying “It’s that word brand. I’m sick of this marketing jargon. We should just use a normal word and be rid of brand once and for all” there are some bad news: they may have to learn new words in order to stay (or become) relevant.
"Who’s Afraid of the Big Brand Wolf?" article is set to dismantle a few of those brand-caused fears, one by one. For instance:
« Fear #2: Branding is commercializing our lives. It seems as if we can’t go anywhere these days without fighting off billboards, slogans, commercials, logos, and other examples of selling, selling, and more selling.
Question: Is this branding—or advertising? Branding is about building long-term value by setting and exceeding customer expectations. Advertising, on the other hand, has been about driving short-term sales with attractive promises. One of the reasons the advertising industry is under pressure right now is that customers are demanding accountability in addition to salesmanship. So isn’t branding, by virtue of its built-in accountability, a welcome counterbalance to advertising? »
Question: Is this branding—or advertising? Branding is about building long-term value by setting and exceeding customer expectations. Advertising, on the other hand, has been about driving short-term sales with attractive promises. One of the reasons the advertising industry is under pressure right now is that customers are demanding accountability in addition to salesmanship. So isn’t branding, by virtue of its built-in accountability, a welcome counterbalance to advertising? »
Maybe this explains why branding (and for designers - identity) is a different business than advertising, and it simply cannot be a core competence of ad agencies – because the time frame of the brand consultancy mind-set is on a different scale than ad agencies'.
While advertising focuses on short-term sales (except brand image campaigns, but those are far from being a copious quantity), branding's effects can only be seen in a matter of years. Even the brand image campaigns themselves are the final 10% implementation tactics of a brand strategy checklist, relevant for the ad agency as concept and implementation, while their relevance for the brand consultancy refers mainly to synergy and compliance with the recommended positioning, visual platform and copy platform. This should subsequently solve another fear, not covered by the article, that brand consultancies 'steal' business from ad agencies, as I recently heard that some ad people think it's fashionable to claim.
So who's afraid of the Big Brand Wolf? Well, after reading this article, I think I may have answers:
◊ Designers who are slow to adapt to the professionalization of design,
◊ Marketing people who can see no further than Kottler's word,
◊ Ad agencies unable to define their core competences.
Posted Mon - December 6, 2004 at 11:24 AM
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Published On: Aug 25, 2006 01:48 AM
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Published On: Aug 25, 2006 01:48 AM
