‘Branding’ Has Become a Sham
Let’s be brutally honest about “branding.” And note that everything I am about to say is based on decades of working with numerous companies on brand, PR, marketing and communications issues.
Branding is a sham. At least what most people now call “branding.”
Why? Because the way most companies approach it, their “brand” is basically a magic trick. Like the entertainer on stage who uses fast-moving hands, pithy jokes and clever distractions to get you to look at what they want you to look at and ignore the stuff they don’t want you to see as they execute the trick.
Brand vs. Reality
Think about it. The last time you had a horrible experience with a company, I’ll bet their “brand identity” was still shiny, unblemished and as pure as the driven snow. Because “branding” is always about convincing you that the company is absolutely wonderful in every way, and that they are on an almost sacred quest to become better and better.
They love you, the customer. They care about your needs above all else, they are incredibly dedicated to spectacular service. They exist to make the world a better place (and profit is just a happy byproduct). And their mission brings tears to your eyes and theirs.
But at the same time as all this utopian branding is happening, the reality of conducting business is also happening. And it’s usually not rainbows and butterflies.
Take your health insurance provider, for example. In reality-land, most of us are less than thrilled with the way claims are processed. Even less happy when we need an expensive procedure only to find out our insurer won’t pay for it.
How about airlines? In real life, we get seriously frustrated when our flight is delayed. And often downright angry when the flight is cancelled altogether.
But flip those examples to other side where branding, missions, visions and values live, and things look very differently.
The health insurer waxes eloquent about their devotion to making life better for their customers and their unceasing efforts to guide them to wellness. Their videos feature happy patients beaming lovingly at their young and attractive care providers. All is well here in Happy Healthcare World.
The airline’s website is replete with images of joyous families on their way to fun and adventure in some alternate universe where flights are always on time and flight attendants are always smiling, never surly. Tourism nirvana, aka branding.
How ‘Branding’ Misses the Point
This isn’t to suggest companies don’t genuinely care about service or their customers. But even for those who do, branding has become little more, for many companies, than putting pretty paint on top of crumbling sheetrock. It’s too often focused entirely on the superficial – colors, messages, images, logos and the like and out of sync with the reality of the customer’s experience.
Advice for companies? Dig deeper. Look at branding like refinishing a piece of old furniture. Repair the hinges and joints and fill the cracks first. If a piece is broken, repair it or replace it, don’t just paint over it. The superficial stuff like colors and finishes should be the very last step, never the first one.
Advice for customers? Make your purchasing decision only after looking much deeper than the beautiful façade. What do actual customers say about the company? What can you find out about how they perform in reality, not just what they aspire to as stated in the “About Us” section of their website.
Above all, companies and consumers should not be fooled.
Business leaders, you are fooling yourselves if you think your colors, logo, fonts, photos, videos, social media, website, etc., are your brand. They are not. They are how you express your company to the world. That’s it.
Logos are not Brands
Your brand is the experience you deliver day to day and the reality of how you do or do not take care of your customers. Fix the way you do this before you bother with a shiny new “rebrand.”
Consumers, you are allowing yourselves to be fooled if you let your guard down and are swept away by all the superficials – the beautiful website, the happygram photos, the lofty if banal mission statements and canned messaging from the phone rep.
Remind yourself: The company is showing you only as much of who they are as they wish. It is up to you to get a complete picture, which might not be as perfect as the picture they worked so hard to create for you.
Branding, the way it is now usually practiced by many, is little more than sales and marketing. Kind of reminds me of one of the great advertising tag lines of all time: Where’s the beef?
Eric Whittington has been advising leaders and businesses, from startups to Fortune 200s, about complex strategy questions for decades. Contact him at EricW@ThisWGroup.com or 210.240.9041.
