Today’s thought, Little Fairies, is on Branding. Branding is such an integral part of any business serious about growing. It has been around for centuries, although to look at Mad Men and the like it only seems to have gotten sexy in the 60’s. There is a very good argument for the title of Original Brander going to Mr. Schumaker whose first cereal advertisement for his oats appeared in an 1870’s journal. In 1877 Henry Seymour applied for the first trademark for a “man in quaker garb”. He was an inspirational man, far ahead of his time, as he had already realised the importance of making his product stand out from the crowd. Fascinatingly the whole issue of branding came to be of such importance during the Industrial Revolution. It was during this period when mass production companies started worried about beating the small man at his game. Up until this era most goods were produced and bought locally. Suddenly there were endless possibilities with the growth of machinery producers (and the never ending supply of child labour). Goods were now available at a cheaper rate and in increased volume but how could the man at the top of the machine make the local man trust him and buy his product? (How the wheel has turned!).
Whilst it has never been easier to sell your wares with the dawning of the world wide web, we do have to get 
serious about our message and what the brand conveys. It’s a lovely word “brand” but what does it mean? Contrary to popular opinion it’s not just about your logo, although that does help, particularly if it’s been designed by Laurence Lewellyn Bowen or some such creative talent. But it’s not just that, rather that it encapsulates what you’re all about. It’s about you, what do you stand for, why you started your business in the first place. What was your vision? What do you offer to the world? How should a person feel once they’ve bought your product or service? What’s different about your product as compared to the person down the road? Are you aware of the importance of your USP (unique selling point)? We admit this is a very painful process but once you have identified this, the world is your oyster.
All of the painful work being done we now must address the rather thorny issue of being “true to yourself and your brand”. This means that we don’t oversell ourselves or say our product can send you the moon if it’s only capable of being driven 100 metres before it finally chokes on it’s own exhaust fumes. To re-iterate this point we once again pay homage to the various Industrial Revolution masters of branding. What was normal for the day, ie children working 48.5 hours a week with adults working a mere 67.5 was never apparent in the advertising (can you imagine the upsetting scenes that would cause?). Whilst the upper middle classes were regaled with images of beautifully dressed and incredibly happy children (Fry’s chocolate) and super laundry women (Sunlight Soap ads) the real truth was rather sad, as you can see from the images here.
Finally as creative folk we are all in love with our work but we must realise that it has to mean something to others as well. It must not just be beautiful but also functional for today’s world. We must ensure that we create the best product we possibly can for the best price and that our entire team, from the person who answers the telephone to the sales person to the creator must all sing in unison about our product so as to avoid brand dilution. We must ensure our products are placed in the correct location for the correct market and that the market understands what it is that we are selling, for it is not just our products but rather the emotions that we evoke in others.
