Will the branding noise ever cease?

During the past few weeks, the "branding" debate has raged once again. Over at ClickZ, Dr. Augustine Fou declared branding "Ineffective, Irrelevant, Irritating, and Impotent." Roger Dooley set him straight on his Neuromarketing blog, citing experiments from the book "Buyology:"

"The truth is that we are ALL influenced by branding messages that hit the emotional part of our brain without being consciously processed. In Buyology, author Martin Lindstrom describes an experiment in which 600 women were shown a box in Tiffany blue - their measured heart rates jumped 20%."

In "Bursting the branding bubble," The Economist reviewed my friend Jonathan Salem Baskin's new book "Branding Only Works on Cattle," which set off a flurry of creative comments.  And various news sources recently reported that many firms are turning down pricey “branding” sponsorships that are designed to get their names out in public.

And now this from TechCrunch (which may put the final nail in branding's coffin):

"Every now and again, you come across a service that promises to disrupt and change the entrepreneurial landscape for good. Buildabrand (@buildabrand) could do just that. The service provides high quality “strategically correct” branding for your startup for about the same price as domain registration, effectively bypassing what is a traditionally expensive and time-consuming process.

Answer a few questions about your business and buildabrand will provide a selection of brand identities: logos, fonts and so on. You can then apply that branding (after customising it, if you choose) to downloadable graphics, stationery, website templates and even - eventually - merchandise like pens and beach towels. You just pay for the items you order or download. The service requires no creative skills from users."

So there you have it: point-and-click branding.  Will the branding noise ever cease? If this doesn't kill it, at least in the C-suite, then nothing will.

P.S. For what it's worth, this is what I wrote in the introduction to my book "A Clear Eye for Branding," and I stand by it:

"In The Practice of Management, Peter Drucker wrote, 'Because it is its purpose to create a customer, any business enterprise has two -- and only these two -- basic functions: marketing and innovation.'  The execution of those two functions is what I’ll be referring to as 'branding.'  The effect -- in the mind of the customer -- is what I’ll mean by 'brand.'"

Posted August 13, 2009
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Comments

Howard Mann

Thanks Tom for the great post. I was also shocked when I saw the buildabrand service but felt that it would help to further prove the truth that a logo is not a brand.

I would think that any company that used a service like that to create their logo and business cards could turn out to be another Google or IBM as easily as someone that paid $200,000 for their identity.

I was reminded of this snippet from Designer Paul Rand:

"Here’s what a logo is and does:

A logo is a flag, a signature, an escutcheon.

A logo doesn’t sell (directly), it identifies.

A logo is rarely a description of a business.

A logo derives its meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes, not the other way around.

A logo is less important than the product it signifies; what it means is more important that what it looks like...."

Posted by: Howard Mann | August 13, 2009 at 10:47 AM

Frank DiCostanzo

What interests me most in your post is the relationship between branding and creativity. New or struggling businesses will pay for creative work because they understand the value behind original and creative conceptualizing and execution. This is in fact what employs the likes of myself and countless others who understand the real need for such work. It will be interesting to see how Buildabrand fares. Though a creative concept in itself, the service naively suggests that the branding process is comparable to something as cosmetic as "teeth whitening," when we all know full well this just ain't the case. Thanks again, Tom, for your contribution to this subject today.

Posted by: Frank DiCostanzo | August 13, 2009 at 03:44 PM

Strategic Growth Advisors

Tom, however minimal branding's impact may be on some individual these days, I think that it is still a major marketing factor.

It is just directed to other channels to gather enough energy for another major reappearance.

And when it does, skeptics (as well as those who lost their "faith") will be in for a surprise.

Posted by: Strategic Growth Advisors | August 14, 2009 at 12:51 AM

David Wolfe

Here is my response to buildabrand that I posted at TechCrunch:

Justin Champney (the founder of buildabrand) has a good idea here except that it's not about branding. He either doesn't understand what branding is or he doesn't mind taking advantage of those who don't. Branding is not about designing business cards, stationery, logos and the like. As Margaret Mark and Carol Pearson say in The Hero and the ... Read MoreOutlaw, branding is about meaning management. Branding is about connecting the dots between the brand and the soul of the consumer.

I suggest that anyone tempted by Champney's offer to help them build a brand ask themselves the question: "Could the Buildabrand methodology come up with the essence of an Apple or Coca-Cola brand?" Sorry folks, but this is bogus stuff. Don't buy it.

Posted by: David Wolfe | August 14, 2009 at 02:41 PM

renda extra

Great post, i've already subscribed to your feed. thanks

Posted by: renda extra | August 19, 2009 at 11:54 AM

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