So much has been written about brand and what it is and what
it is not. By now most people
understand brand to be more than the identity mark of a company and yet there
are still so many different definitions of what a brand is. Many people profess to know exactly what ‘brand’
is without being able to explain it in any tangible or meaningful way. While working with brand owners and being
faced with this perplexing challenge I have come to realize this: 'to explain a brand is parallel to
explaining a person.' We all
inherently know what or who a person is. We
cannot deny that social interaction and other external influences on a person effect
how they define others, or even
themselves. So much becomes available to
us: personality, biology, literal definitions,
spiritual definitions, etc. and yet “a person” is all of these things. Brands are like people, with personalities –
patterns of expected behavior, surprises and even re-invention.
A person cannot be all things, to all people – just as brands
cannot and should not try to be all things to all people. Brands, just like people, are most effective
when they know who they are and stay true to their core values.
Often clients will tell us they just don’t have the budget
to promote or market their brands – my response is always …it doesn’t cost anything to stick to who you
are, be true to yourself, and make all decisions weighed against your core
values. Brands like life – be true to
yourself!
Julie Dugas
Principal | Partner
studio | H2G