So…What the heck is a Brand?

The Brand is the personality that identifies a product, service or company (name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or combination of them) and how it relates to key constituencies: Clients, Staff, Partners, Investors etc.

Some folks distinguish the psychological aspect, brand associations like thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, experiences, beliefs, attitudes, and so on that come to be linked to the brand, from the experiential aspect.

The experiential aspect consists of the sum of all points of contact with the brand and is referred to as the brand experience. The psychological aspect, sometimes referred to as the brand image, is really a symbolic construct created within the minds of people, consisting of all the data and expectations associated with a product, service or business.

Marty Neumeier, a recognized thought leader in brand strategy and general branding guru defines a “brand” as “a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or organization.”

The Brand Architect

Because brands have turned out to be such an important component of a company’s success, they have given rise to a new professional discipline – an experienced in-house leader or outside consultant who blends strategic, behavioral and creative abilities together. Someone, who is experienced in all communication medias – from print to broadcast, from the internet to live venues. This new professional role is the Brand Architect, a term coined in 1991 by Richard Seireeni. These experts are the bridge between technique and expression, and they understand that efficient programs need to first locate consensus within the organization.

Brand Architects may well come from several backgrounds, including but not limited to corporate identity, communication design, advertising, packaging, expertise design or digital media, but they share a widespread point-of-view. Expertise has taught them to see the brand development procedure as a knitting together of the whole. Architects comprehend that prosperous brand action must reflect business objectives, marketplace dynamics, corporate culture, the qualities of the product and/or service, as well as the desires of various, often extremely segmented audiences. And like architects who design buildings, Brand Architects are able to express solutions in techniques that make an impact that is both strategically sound and emotionally powerful.

Let’s Build Something Together!

Austin Terrill – Brand Architect
e. austin@novaniche.com
p. 1(877) 385-1199
Live Chat with Austin (24/7)