MAD Perspectives Blog

Branding and Social Media are now intrinsically tied together.  In thinking about the importance of your brand and the use of social media channels, we reached out to our friends at Taylor O’Brien for some insight.  As a result, for the next six weeks, our blogs will discuss the importance of brand and the impact of social media. Thanks to Christina Brusendorff of Taylor O’Brien for her wisdom and contribution!

by Christina Brusendorff

Brands were born the day a shop owner first thought to put a name and long on their store front.  Back then they were a competitive tool used to separate a business from the local competition and encourage recognition. Today brands are still employed for such purposes but they perform on a global scale (their reach even surpass the confines of this planet), their use is far more sophisticated and their value has become critical to sales, employment and the financial value of a company.

A brand is often defined as:

The set of physical attributes of a product or service, together with the beliefs and expectations surrounding it - a unique combination which the name or logo of the product or service should evoke in the mind of the audience. - Marketing Institute

While these attributes are all true, it doesn't describe the essence of what a brand is.

In a culture where consumers are empowered through knowledge and choice, engagement is imperative, the construction of brands is prevalent and reality is perception.  Companies need to be more transparent and clear about their offering, value and proposition. A brand helps a business achieve this.

A brand is essentially a promise that a business makes, either to its customers or to its clients, and then delivers through its brand strategy.  Through a visual identity, a clear proposition and strong key messages consistently communicated through relevant touch points, a brand can evoke awareness, loyalty and emotions within consumers, clients and employees.  Such touch points can be anything from an internal publication to a shop floor worker, a TV or radio advertisement or an integrated social media campaign. 

Simply having a rand is, however, not enough. The promise it makes needs to be realistic and grounded in a business' strengths, but most importantly it needs to be aligned to a business' strategy. Only then can a brand hope to deliver its promise successfully.

The importance of aligning brand strategy with business strategy will be explored further in the third part of this 'Brand and Social Media' series.  Next week 'Your Brand and Social Media'

What's your perspective?