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What is a brand, and why does it matter?

Editor’s note: This is part one in a series about the nature of a brand.

According to Marty Neumeier, author of The Brand Gap and reigning expert on the subject, a brand is simply a person’s gut feeling or perception of a product, service, or organization. An easy way to think about it: Almost anything that carries a proper noun has what we would call a brand. 

Toothpaste is not a brand. Crest is. Good will is not a brand, but Goodwill is. Extruded polystyrene foam is not one, but if we call it Styrofoam, it better be capitalized and denoted with ®. Brands are built and often protected to help make sure its perceptions are in line with what its owners want it to be. 

But here’s the catch. A brand’s owners cannot control it. A brand is a perception, remember? Brands live in the minds of humans, which makes brands both fascinating and frustrating.

How can we see an impression?

Trying to grasp the essence of a brand is like trying to see a ghost. You can’t see it directly. But you can see evidence of it and start to figure out a little bit about its true nature. 

I’ve been studying brands for more than 20 years. I teach a course in branding as an adjunct professor at The University of Tulsa, and even I sometimes have a hard time grasping this elusive idea. 

But if you’re going to work in this field — be it in an internal marketing department or in an external agency — you’ll do far better if you understand the brand’s inherent nature. That is what drives all company decisions and behaviors. 

A brand’s inherent nature comes from the character of the people inside the organization. It starts with its founding DNA and evolves with its leadership and internal teams. Yes, they respond to market pressures and opportunities, but the way they respond is 100% dependent on who they are and what they value.

I have worked inside and alongside many different organizations over the course of my career, and this is true of every single one of them, from financial companies to ad agencies.

Marketing and advertising professionals who truly understand their organizations can build authentic brands inside the minds of others. 

We use the tools of our trade to express the brand’s character through identity elements such as colors, symbols, typography, imagery, language, voice, and video style. Even media channels should be carefully crafted to genuinely represent the brand.

What is the essence of Nike?

Consider Nike. If you Google “Nike brand essence,” you might find something that says it’s this: “authentic athletic performance.” I can buy that, but it doesn’t give us insight into the company’s character. For that, let’s look at the brand identity.

Remember the origin of the name Nike? Right, the Greek winged goddess of victory. Are you wearing a pair of Nikes right now? Take a look at your shoes. Each one has a symbol on both sides, right? What else do those look like besides what we all call a “swoosh”?

You got it. Wings. 

Now let’s consider what Nike represents in Greek mythology. Victory, yes. But think about virtually every Nike television ad you’ve ever seen. The exceptional work from Weiden+Kennedy, which has been Nike’s agency of record since 1982, is always about victory over adversity

Just do it.

That is not a tagline. It’s a call to action. It’s a mantra. It’s what athletes of every ilk in every country have to say to themselves when the alarm goes off at 5 a.m. and they need to get out of a warm bed and go to the gym/field/pitch. It’s what we chant when it’s raining or cold or both, when the last thing in the world we want to do is go practice.

That campaign debuted in 1988 with this quiet little ad that has had such a big impact. It’s simply called Walt, and it captures perfectly the spirit of Nike’s siren song.

“Just do it” is no doubt what Colin Kaepernik had to say to himself when he weighed the possible consequences of taking a knee during the national anthem. He ultimately sacrificed everything to do something he believed in.

That’s why Nike honored him in its 2018 ad celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Just Do It campaign. That is who Nike is and what the brand stands for. That is an authentic brand.

What is a brand, and why does it matter?

Editor’s note: This is part one in a series about the nature of a brand.

According to Marty Neumeier, author of The Brand Gap and reigning expert on the subject, a brand is simply a person’s gut feeling or perception of a product, service, or organization. An easy way to think about it: Almost anything that carries a proper noun has what we would call a brand. 

Toothpaste is not a brand. Crest is. Good will is not a brand, but Goodwill is. Extruded polystyrene foam is not one, but if we call it Styrofoam, it better be capitalized and denoted with ®. Brands are built and often protected to help make sure its perceptions are in line with what its owners want it to be. 

But here’s the catch. A brand’s owners cannot control it. A brand is a perception, remember? Brands live in the minds of humans, which makes brands both fascinating and frustrating.

How can we see an impression?

Trying to grasp the essence of a brand is like trying to see a ghost. You can’t see it directly. But you can see evidence of it and start to figure out a little bit about its true nature. 

I’ve been studying brands for more than 20 years. I teach a course in branding as an adjunct professor at The University of Tulsa, and even I sometimes have a hard time grasping this elusive idea. 

But if you’re going to work in this field — be it in an internal marketing department or in an external agency — you’ll do far better if you understand the brand’s inherent nature. That is what drives all company decisions and behaviors. 

A brand’s inherent nature comes from the character of the people inside the organization. It starts with its founding DNA and evolves with its leadership and internal teams. Yes, they respond to market pressures and opportunities, but the way they respond is 100% dependent on who they are and what they value.

I have worked inside and alongside many different organizations over the course of my career, and this is true of every single one of them, from financial companies to ad agencies.

Marketing and advertising professionals who truly understand their organizations can build authentic brands inside the minds of others. 

We use the tools of our trade to express the brand’s character through identity elements such as colors, symbols, typography, imagery, language, voice, and video style. Even media channels should be carefully crafted to genuinely represent the brand.

What is the essence of Nike?

Consider Nike. If you Google “Nike brand essence,” you might find something that says it’s this: “authentic athletic performance.” I can buy that, but it doesn’t give us insight into the company’s character. For that, let’s look at the brand identity.

Remember the origin of the name Nike? Right, the Greek winged goddess of victory. Are you wearing a pair of Nikes right now? Take a look at your shoes. Each one has a symbol on both sides, right? What else do those look like besides what we all call a “swoosh”?

You got it. Wings. 

Now let’s consider what Nike represents in Greek mythology. Victory, yes. But think about virtually every Nike television ad you’ve ever seen. The exceptional work from Weiden+Kennedy, which has been Nike’s agency of record since 1982, is always about victory over adversity

Just do it.

That is not a tagline. It’s a call to action. It’s a mantra. It’s what athletes of every ilk in every country have to say to themselves when the alarm goes off at 5 a.m. and they need to get out of a warm bed and go to the gym/field/pitch. It’s what we chant when it’s raining or cold or both, when the last thing in the world we want to do is go practice.

That campaign debuted in 1988 with this quiet little ad that has had such a big impact. It’s simply called Walt, and it captures perfectly the spirit of Nike’s siren song.

“Just do it” is no doubt what Colin Kaepernik had to say to himself when he weighed the possible consequences of taking a knee during the national anthem. He ultimately sacrificed everything to do something he believed in.

That’s why Nike honored him in its 2018 ad celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Just Do It campaign. That is who Nike is and what the brand stands for. That is an authentic brand.

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