If you ask ten people on the street define a “brand”, you are probably going to get ten different answers. But if you ask ten people in marketing to define a “brand”, I guarantee that all ten answers will be vastly different.
So I was a little surprised when I read Seth Godin’s post on “define: brand” where he offers this definition of a brand:
A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. If the consumer (whether it’s a business, a buyer, a voter or a donor) doesn’t pay a premium, make a selection or spread the word, then no brand value exists for that consumer.
My surprise is in how closely Seth’s definition matches with one I would have provided. After all:
A brand is NOT a :30 second TV commercial.
A brand is NOT a “breathtaking” new logo.
A brand is NOT a coupon, BOGO, or special offer.
A brand is NOT what you hear in a focus group.
A brand is NOT a brand character, brand purpose or brand equity pyramid.
A brand is complicated and simple at the same time. Which is why Seth’s definition is so perfect. “A brand is a set of expectations, memories, stories…that account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product over another.”
I guess that is why a Brand Manager’s job is never boring.
Great definition – love that the consumer is the end all be all. Reminds me of a quote from a Unilever guy I heard recently, something along the lines of "no one ever chose our product because they liked our strategy." I especially like how subjective "expectations" and "stories" gets when taken to the level of the individual consumer. So often, we only consider the story we are telling about our brand or encouraging testimonials from loyalists. It is especially important to understand and engage with the stories being told by competition. I stopped reading Seth a long time ago as the signal to noise ratio was just too high for me personally. I figured that when he said anything really brilliant I'd hear about it from others I know. Nice to see it play out, thanks for sharing Dave!
Dave,
We started a project that you might find interesting. We're asking people to finish the sentence "A Brand Is…". So far over 400 people have responded. As you might have guessed the definitions span a wide range. Some are fantastic and others absurd. I invite you to share you view.
clicky.me/a-brand-is
Cheers,
Mark Gallagher
Brand Expressionist®
Blackcoffee®