Branding is No Longer the Future of Business

Branding is dead. Bla bla bla...

My eyes roll back in my head when I start reading something like this nowadays. Spend enough time around the blogosphere, and it's real easy to get that 'heard it all before' mentality. But when it comes from the mouth of someone like Russell Davies, there's a reason for pause. If you're in marketing, this post is a must read.

"Branding is no longer the future of business.

There was a point in the 80s when branding was the future of business. Businesses realised you could stick brand value on their balance sheets, so they did. Consultants realised they could charge a lot of money for advice about brands so they did. And the money people looked to the branding people (often conflated with the marketing people) for all the money making ideas. So you got line extensions, big ads, expensive logos, brand onions. You got branding. And most of it was as intellectually rigorous as phrenology. Actually it was probably more like Scientology; it was somewhere between a fake religion and a false science."

And he continues, branding has changed from affecting perceived value to creating actual value.

"Branding is being replaced by design/technology as the future of business.

The dismal nature of the branding science has started to become clear to business recently and they're starting to vote with their investments and appointments. They're turning from the people who create perceptions of value to the people who create actual value - the designers, technologists, innovators. Hence branded utility, hence 'design is the new management consultancy', hence the current Business Week heroes being IDEO and Ives not CHI and Chiat Day. Hence the limited tenures of CMOs. Hence the rise of communications businesses that can actually make stuff rather than just think of stuff."

Obviously, what it means to be in advertising or branding, or whatever is completely different than it was 10, 5, even 2 years ago. Making tv commercials isn't enough to build the relationships, create fans and stimulate business (at least not in the way it did), and doing that one thing won't be a replacement for the other ever again. But, it's still all branding. Surely technology drives the business further, but branding still has a job of not just pushing things to push them, but when they need to be pushed, and then pushing them in the right direction. Or sometimes restraining them in the right way.

And, perception still pulls the emotional weight. Design and technology can create this sort of need, but there's different kinds of design and technology. Creating a better cereal box isn't necessarily in the same realm. We've always had a hand in that on some level.

As I write this from Mexico, I haven't found one damn bottle of Patron. Not one! My favorite of the "Mexican" premium tequilas, and nothing. But still, there I was each Cinco de Mayo slamming Patron shooters. If that's not branding, I don't know what is...

If that made no sense, I apologize. It's not easy to write with the beach in front of you.

Comments

[Cam Beck]

"And he continues, branding has changed from affecting perceived value to creating actual value."

I never saw it as anything different. Perhaps I'm behind the times?

[Sean Howard]

adliterate made an AMAZING post along these lines the other day. Here it is.

http://www.adliterate.com/archives/2007/06/dont_blame_the.html#more

Read down past the creative part. He talks about "Advertising changed tack and started to differentiate identical products on emotional grounds. More than that, in the absence of difference or advantage in those products it started to believe it could be the difference."

I'm wondering if it's moving back to creating better products with true differentiation... in which case one might be able to argue that a strong design shop might actually assist in the design of the actual product, not just the packaging.

[Tim Jackson]

Sean- It's happening already, at least in my world of cycling. Industrial designers are replacing traditional "bike engineers", or at least collaborating with them, to create bikes that now haw much different looks to them- looks that traditional bike guys wouldn't come up with. It's this new way of looking at DESIGN while thinking of the purpose of the product that has lead to some beautiful creations. A bike is no longer just a frame, some wheels and some parts.

Branding, does play a role still, totally. In a world full of sameness, it's those emotional hooks that deliver connections to consumers. Again, using the bike industry analogy- everybody now has a carbon fiber bike. Some are 100% proprietary and others aren't. Most look very similar on the outside and the magic is what happens under the paint and decals. However, the consumer doesn't recognize that until riding the bike. It's the tug of heart strings when they see a brand they've always loved or a graphic/ paint color that catches their eye that brings them to your brand most often. (I can't tell you the number of times I've spent working with customers on the sales floor educating them on the benefits of this or that bike, only to have them ask in the end "but does it come in blue?")

Paul- Look for El Jimador. It's a good damned tequila... I promise.

[Tim Jackson]

I meant to say "have much different looks to them" in that first paragraph. (And I haven't had a sip of tequila all day.)

[Sean Howard]

Hey Tim,

Great points. As a consumer I'm constantly trying to understand the different between products and am often of the mind that there is no difference. Which sucks.

Some brands have taken to demanding slightly different features of the same product to make it harder for me as a consumer to understand the differences.

But I think the issue is that many products are the same. And in those cases, branding has become the art of "ADDING" value in the mind of the consumer.

Your example is PERFECT. Awesome to see design is changing things. Because now, potentially, the end product could actually be different. Which means branding goes back to identifying an attribute or difference and building from there...

[Valeria Maltoni]

I like what Tim is saying here, it's so true. I have to think a bit harder about why I need something often enough so I don't just go for the cool color and features.

Thank you for pointing out the post from Russell, Paul. Good food for thought.

[Paul McEnany]

Cam- You are so behind the times, man!

Sean- Good pointer, man. It's almost like we're expected to add real value. Weird...

Tim- I didn't see any of that! Damnit...

And, you're right on with the decals thing. Back to Russell, it's always best to err on the side of interesting. It's a hell of a lot easier to do that with a decal than carbon fiber, I would think.

Valeria- I'm always a sucker for the coolest stuff, just 'cause I'm dorky like that. :)

[Raimo van der Klein]

One hell of a post....