Brand is an image that you possess, and people do just because of that image you have. Our experience of the world has always revolved around images. Through the centuries Egyptian, Aztec and Mayan hieroglyphs continue to tell us living stories of their magnificent civilizations. The art of cathedrals, with their paintings, their images of saints, and their stained-glass windows served as a catechism to teach sacred history to the faithful, long before the invention of the printing press. And the forerunners of modern corporate logos, iconic images such as the Vitruvian man by Leonardo da Vinci, have served as models for such emblematic figures as Christ Crucified by Velázquez, The Third of May 1808 by Goya or for the universal symbol of peace. Picasso’s dove of peace, an image of a lightbulb to symbolize an idea or the cloaked figure in black with a scythe on its shoulder to represent death are just a few other examples of distilling significant ideas into a strong graphic symbol that serves as a reminder. Without a doubt, the modern designer of the Mercedes logo was not alien to the man of Vitruvius and all the other referential symbols that had been created since then.
The strength of the symbol is so powerful that it exceeds the literal meaning of what it represents. In the case of the Mercedes brand this is more than evident. Mercedes is a simple woman’s name. In fact, it was the name of the daughter of Emil Jellinek, one of the founders of the brand, who decided to immortalize the name of his little girl. It is as if today we were looking for a name for a modern aviation company and decided to use the name of our cousin Mari Pili. In other words, it is absurd from the point of view of the most basic rules of modern branding. However, the image of Mercedes today is that of a large manufacturer of luxury cars whose quality and technological level are beyond reproach. And no one thinks of the literal name of Mercedes when he sees a hood ornament atop a car with the imposing logo of the brand. In this case, as in many others, the image of the thing has transcended the thing itself. Another emblematic case is that of Apple, a state-of-the-art technology company, whose symbol is a once-bitten apple with rainbow colours, branded with the surname Macintosh, which is the English name for a variety of apple. A real challenge to the logic of branding and the purest common sense. In English it all sounds genuinely nice, but imagine a Spanish company called “Manzana”, which gives its star product a name like Reineta (a Spanish apple variety). Steve Jobs himself told his authoritative biographer Walter Isaacson that the name had come to his mind one day when he was driving back to his Los Angeles home after spending a weekend tripping on LSD on a friend’s estate filled with apple trees. Brands are powerful because they are pure image, an identifiable image, achieved through great recognition and an elaborate reputation. Everyone agrees that Picasso was a genius, even though most people do not understand or like his painting. And we are convinced that all Scots are stingy, Japanese people disciplined and Germans so-called “square heads” because that is the picture, we have of them. We usually rely more on images than on reality itself when we see it closely.
The reason that the image has such power is that our brain does not need to keep detailed information of each memory; instead, we need only a few key elements to reassemble the complete memory. When we see a car with the BMW brand, we do not need to know in detail its technical characteristics to assume that it is a quality car, to which we attribute all the positive attributes we associate with that brand. Nor do we need more data than a few acronyms to know that MNG stands for Mango, D&G for Dolce and Gabbana and CK for Calvin Klein.
Also, nations identify themselves using the images of their shields and the colours of their flags, which are from a certain point of view the corporate image of their brand. And so do cities, which sometimes use logos like the famous I Love New York but almost always have one or more images that personalize them, such as the Empire State Building for New York, the Eiffel Tower for Paris, Big Ben for London, the Pyramids for Cairo, the Colosseum for Rome, the Guggenheim Museum for Bilbão and many others. The same is true of football teams whose shields and flags hold the power of identification for their fans, which goes far beyond mere brand awareness.
Returning to companies, the way we perceive images is especially important because the image is the essence of the brand, or, said another way, the only important reality of the company. The resulting axiom is that there, in the most intangible of their heritage, in fact it lies the only truly asset.
The strength of a good brand transcends the limits of logic. A clear example is the case of the Lois Jeans, a Spanish clothing brand. Sáez Merino himself, owner of the brand, has said on more than one occasion that, seeking an international touch, he chose the name of a relative (Luís) and translated it into French. But by mistake the translation program ate the “u” and printed Lois instead of Louis, with the result that the cowboys’ name became “laws” in French, becoming one of the first trademarks of France.
We do not know if they would have triumphed in France by calling themselves Louis, but they might indeed have, because there are many others who have triumphed around the world calling themselves by much stranger names.
Many brand names are created with a meaning in relation to the characteristics of the product, or its use in the country of origin, but when they become internationalized, they no longer mean anything at all in other countries or in different languages. This is the case with After Sun, Blaupunkt or Close Up. There are other brands that bear the name of their owners, such as Armani, Loewe’s, Yves Saint Laurent to name just a few. Some brands are very similar in name but very distant in terms of the industry in which they move, such as Red Cross in the social arena, Cruz Verde in the area of home products and Cruz Blanca or Cruzcampo in the beverage industry.
We have names with “Don” that employ the same thing for many different products. Don Algodón for fashion and cosmetics, Don Bernardo for cheese, Don Julián for cigars, Don Jacobo for wines and Don Simon for various food products. The animals are also very versatile. El Águila for beer, El Burrito Blanco for sheets, El Lobo for nougat, El Pavo for pasta, El Corral for eggs, La Piara for pâtés, La Cigala for rice and La Vaca for cheeses. The same brand name with just one letter difference applies to both a range of automotive additives (Krafft) and a range of food products (Kraft). Some might even share a name, the one for cosmetics (Vichy) and the other for mineral water. Also, a brand’s avatar in male might sell cookies (Prince) while the same avatar in female sells panties (Princess).
A brand is not born, in my opinion—it is made. And from there I conclude with the theory of the chameleon. That is, brands adapt (metamorphose) according to the markets in which they move. Each brand also acquires special connotations in the context of the local language or phonetics, which can remove or add meanings, simplify or complicate the pronunciation, affecting the market position it occupies, especially in partnership with the advertising that creates your image. Advertising can earn a brand hundreds of millions but spent incorrectly can also kill it.
Thus, a brand is not a name, nor a logo, nor a symbol, nor a slogan, nor a meaning. The brand is a powerful personality that identifies us. It must be supported by good products and good marketing and communications strategies, always taking into account that there are no good brands and bad brands per se, but a coordination of all-around communication strategy, behind which all elements of the company must be aligned.
You must keep this in mind whenever you sit evaluation of candidates whether they suit your brand or not, ask them the following questions:
1. Talk about the importance of brand management. Why does it matter?
2. How would you describe your own personal brand?
3. In as much detail as you can, describe a well-marketed product. What is working well for this product?
4. What are some of your favourite marketing campaigns?
5. How do you stay updated on the latest tools and trends?
6. How would you describe our product’s customers?
7. If you were targeting another segment of customers — a different culture, perhaps, or a younger audience — what would you do?
8. In as much detail as possible, describe a go-to-market strategy that you recently worked on.
9. How do you know when a branding strategy is not working?
10. How do you know when to change a product’s pricing?
11. What are some of your favourite marketing campaigns?
12. How do you stay updated on the latest tools and trends?
13. How would you see our competition?
14. Case based – Do you think Brand X should enter a different customer segment?
15. Do you have any hobbies or interests that have added value to you as a Marketer?
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath