What's your brand? - The case of Megan-Fox-like vs Wannabe

I just got back from this very important meeting about some very important project for my very important company. The proposed location for this project is overseas, and is an excellent business prospect expected to help in contributing to the company’s revenue. Now, before your eyes start to glaze over this boring preamble, I wanted to share my bewilderment on one of the main issues being discussed during the meeting – BRANDING.

It still surprises me how people, even at the highest level of position in an organization, still could not grasp the cencept of branding. As a person whose responsibility is to brand, rebrand, and promote every single aspect of elements required to achieve the highest status of a brand for my company – I find this a very mind-boggling situation, and yet non-surprising nonetheless. I have faced countless situations where requests to create a new brand arrive on my desk – and after much  scrutinization, the first (and only) thing which they wanted me to think of is a new logo, and a new product name. No strategic reasons or objectives, no forecast business reviews, no business case studies.  

Very important person: Hilda, I want you to think of a new logo, and a new name, something hip & fun please, nothing boring. We need to get this product running soon.

Me: Erm, ok, so how are you positioning this product to the market? How do you want the market to see your product?

Very important person: Oh, we haven’t gotten to that stage yet, that’s still WIP (yup, that’s work-in-progress). But please, Hilda, think of a logo asap, we need to know how the logo looks like before we can think of anything else.

Geddit???

Ok – lemme rephrase this whole mind-boggling problem in simpler terms. People, branding is not about logo and logo and logo and a new name. Yup true that is part of the required process for us to have something to refer to or to click at on a website, but branding is all about creating perceptions. It’s about how you position your product, your company, or even yourself – to the intended viewer, audience, or recipient.  A company needs to create a positive perception to the target market (eg strong, stable, etc) ; a product needs to create that lasting impression to the buyers (eg durable, fun, reliable, etc); a girl needs to create that sexy-siren image to convince the boy that she’s worth all the effort he needs to do to put a ring on her finger. It’s all about how you want people to see you, how you want to be seen. If you want people to perceive you as fun, outgoing, hip, and that IT girl that everyone should be lusting after – then you should dress & act like one. THAT’S YOUR BRAND. You created that perception to convince people what they see is true. It’s your essence. You can have a cute, pretty face (logo), and a nice, exotic-sound name that rolls around the tongue when someone tries to pronounce it (product name) – but if you don’t have the right essence to show people who you really are & how you want to be seen – no one would care about you and you’ll just be one of those who wish they are actually someone. A wannabe.  And to not be a wannabe, and be seen as that sexy-siren that you so wish you are – requires a lot of strategic thinking on the right kind of wardrobe, the right kind of make-up, the right kind of attitude. You don’t want to be wearing a dull, gray shapeless blouse with carrot-cut mom’s jeans if you’re trying to create a Megan Fox-like impression. Duh?

Now, going back to this baffling situation in the office – sometimes I think it’s best for me to tender a notice of resignation and start a company just to consult the same people on what actually branding is all about. I don’t think I need to tell them what they should be doing, or what the brand should be for a specific product or company or whatever; but enough to just enlighten them this whole foreign concept of branding in simpler analogical examples in life. Like the sexy-siren-Megan-Fox-like-impression analogy above. Easier to comprehend, I think. And I believe once they actually understand the basic fundamentals of HOW THEY DON’T WANT TO BE SEEN and WHAT THEY DON’T WANT TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH – everything else will fall into place, strategic objectives and all.  

And considering the number of companies & and people in the country who are still confused about their image & branding – I think I’ll probably become a millionaire at the end of my first business year.

 P/S: Branding is soooo much more than what I’ve written above – and the possibilities & opportunities are endless. This is an excellent article (might be boring for some, but still worth the read) on global brands - http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_31/b3945098.htm