What is all the hoopla about “Branding”

By Kathy Brunner –

Did you ever think of branding as a sensory experience? It truly is. Great branding is eye, ear and relational candy and should appeal to all our senses. Even a great logo won’t help a brand with a weak slogan. Brands are visually, auditorily and emotionally perceived. The Apple logo and slogan, “This changes everything. Again, “the Dos Equis Beer commercials with the most interesting man in the world and the slogan, “Stay thirsty, my friend” and the Chick-fil-A cows admonishing all to “Eat More Chicken” are great examples of brands creating a total sensory package for their customers.

Personal branding is much the same. The way people see, hear and interact with you defines their experience. Your personal brand needs to be uniform, specific and genuine. Recognition comes from the predictability one expects when seeing or hearing what represents the brand. Have you ever gone to a doctor whose waiting room was dirty, filled with out of date reading material, with an office staff who was less than welcoming and had second thoughts about staying for the appointment? Image is everything, but image is not just visual. It’s a total experience.

Even if your brand has a distinct logo and tag line, you have to be deliberate about  how you want to relationally be known. Apple wanted to be known as the technology anyone could use. Disney for a clean, amazing family environment and Zappos for giving back. It’s all about the package and the experience. Personal branding is the experience you give to everyone who comes in contact with your product, your service, your message and YOU! Decide what type of relational experience you want to create. Do you want to promote ease of doing business, contact accessibility, generosity, reciprocal relationships, superior performance? What makes your interaction memorable?

If you want someone to truly experience what you have to offer, you need to appeal to all of their senses. While you may be recognized for a logo, trademark or statement about your brand, how effectively you brand your complete “package” is what will sustain your growth. If you have one aspect of branding down, say maybe your slogan, determine what visual and what behavior represent it best. I use “Live Ignited” as a slogan but would hardly be believable if half of my audience was asleep when I began to talk. Nobody is going to believe a slogan that doesn’t work with the rest of my package. That’s not only confusing to the sensory experience; it’s damaging to brand recognition.

Your package is seen, heard and felt. Wrap it up by making it an appealing, apparent and approachable experience. Play around with what works best for you to catch the eyes, ears and hearts of those you want to make loyal fans.

Kathy is an author, speaker and branding specialist. She has been business owner for over 21 years. She currently provides keynotes and workshops for groups who are looking to make the change from “burned out” to “fired up”. Visit her at kathybrunner.com. Kathy blogs at FINDING YOUR FIRE. Her books are available HERE and she hopes all readers will continue discussion with her by signing up for her newsletter and joining the Trailblazer Tribe.