Cultural Cost of Vanishing Brands

I have to begin by actually defining what I mean by amp8220brandamp8221 as even the basic understanding has been lostamp160 Many claim to have a powerful brand when they actually have a powerful brand name created by a powerful product history founder or innovationamp160 The word has been so distorted and misused that it has lost its authentic value and meaning amp160Being that Iamp8217m one of the few remaining standalone branding practitioners who has deep experience with creating these magical IPs I bring a distinctive view in understanding the implications of their disappearanceEssential Historical KnowledgeTo quickly understand branding itamp8217s helpful to have a sense of where it all came fromamp160 Commercial branding really emerged on the American consumer landscape just after the Civil War when an abundance of commoditized products created the need differentiationamp160 Some smart folks came to understand what sociologist Max Weber would put academic rigor behind when people made consumption choices these choices held meaning for themamp160 In other words with all things being the same commodities a considered choice said something about the person who made it to themselves and to othersamp160 Remember when Sherlock Holmes said you could tell a lot about a man by the shoes he wears Exactlyamp160 It is why Harley Procter imbued his commodity soap Ivory with amp8220heavenly propertiesamp8221 and the insight that amp8220cleanliness was next to Godlinessamp8221 in building his soap empire and eventually the consumer goods branding giant Procter ampamp GambleFastforwarding the advertising industry began to build brands from the advertising process a creative conceptual processamp160 Brands became outcomes of advertising campaignsamp160 When Bill Bernbach launched the creative revolution by pairing two conceptual thinkers with complementary skill sets writing and art to solve business challenges branding blossomedamp160 All of the legendary ad men and women were brilliant conceptual thinkers brandersamp160 They sought to create symbolic value while selling productsamp160 They built creative campaigns that did more than advertise functional benefitsamp160 These produced enduring brandsOnce brands were launched they took on a life of their own amp160They began to exist in peopleamp8217s imaginations and in the culture outside of the advertising campaigns that created themamp160 They became invisible mental constructs that acted as living lenses amp160People saw and interpreted reality through these lenses seeing things in the tint of the lensamp160 Johnson ampamp Johnson was a trustworthy health company not a greedy pharmaceutical companyamp160 Harley Davidson bikes were actually heavy and difficult to drive but that became an element of the swaggering Harley brand amp160Those who managed these brands understood what they were and the enormous value they delivered sustainable untouchable valueamp160 This is why amp8220brandingamp8221 was truly revered and why advertising agencies where crucially importantWhat HappenedWith the revolution of brand consultancies and nonadvertising related branding the practice of branding changedamp160 Everyone got into the brand game and began amp8220building brandsamp8221 with whatever they didamp160 Literally everything became amp8220brand buildingamp8221 which is how branding became distorted and diluted amp160Nonconceptual thinkers reduced it to messaging storytelling graphic design product design and so onEssentially every marketing and sales practice coopted the language of branding and the essence of branding was lostamp160 Hollow and paperthin brands sans ideas were pumped out and celebrated because they scored high on blunt measures such as awareness differentiation and relevanceamp160 People started thinking amp8220heck these things arenamp8217t that special and donamp8217t deliver anything powerfulamp8221 and brand investments dropped like a rockToday one is hard pressed to find a real brand amp160a powerful creative concept that sits high above the product experience to deliver incredible meaning to a universal groupamp160 What branding has largely been reduced to is simply marketing or welldesigned messagingamp160 Advertising agencies in their struggle to remain king of producing creative commercial content lost the very thing they did better than anyone brandingamp160 They lost this craft as they pursued other skillsamp160 A look at advertising awards show entries today shows no shortage of brilliant creative contentamp160 In our culture however where are the powerful brandsWhat Have We LostI lived in the age of powerful brands and also created a few so I am sensitive to the loss of these social and cultural beacons amp160We have lost ubiquitous symbols that reminded us of important things and inspired us to take actions to enjoy or create those things in the worldamp160 We have lost some fantasy romance giggles and goose bumps in our livesamp160 We have lost reminders and triggers that subtly invaded our consciousness to reinforce special ideasamp160 Big ideas amp160GoneIt might sound silly to some reading this but when I went to McDonaldamp8217s with a friend that experience actually had positive social meaningamp160 When someone showed up with a sixpack of Michelob it said something about the weekend we were about to have amp160When I got a Tiffany box I knew I was extra specialamp160 When I gave a Hallmark card I knew I was adding another level of intensity to my greetingamp160 These social and sentimental tools the brands were all there for usamp160 When we used them they added to our human connection and enriched our consumption experienceamp160 How does one measure the loss of enchantmentAlso for companies brand affinities today are much lower loyalty is much more fickle and people are actually questioning whether the days of enduring brand love are over amp160The emphasis is on algorithmic performance marketing and optimized messagingYes these methods sell very well but do they create brandsamp160 Does that matteramp160 What youamp8217ll come to see by the end of this series is that people are starved and searching for meaning in our complex disrupted worldamp160 There is a piercing call for brands at a frequency that is too high to be heard by most amp160Today even our most exciting brands Nike Apple feel flatamp160 Whyamp160 Because those in charge are focused on brilliant marketing execution rather than on sharpening the brandamp160 Everything looks bright and shiny but inside the brand is rotting away and the value is increasingly hollowamp160 Brand research numbers donamp8217t tell the story as research instruments donamp8217t measure enchantment amp160The research is used to support that everything is going along just fine reinforcing the declining state of brandsamp160 Those who understand brands on the other hand can see exactly whatamp8217s going onIn Part 2 of this series I will explore the harmful myths undermining brand building today and why it is so hard to build powerful brands in the current business environmentPhoto by Jeremy BishopUnsplashClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Cultural Cost of Vanishing Brands

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Jane Cavalier

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