Based on John Sherry’s definition, a brand is a promise, a licence to charge a premium, a mental shortcut that discourages rational thought, an infusing with the spirit of the maker, a performance, a gathering, an inspiration, a contract, a relationship, a guarantee, an elastic covenant with loose rules of engagement, a hologram of the firm, etc.
This requires some unpacking; so, when a brand is a promise what do we mean by that? As a promise a brand represents an idea, a position and an offer or an undertaking to live up to certain expectations or to deliver certain things to their customers and consumers. As an idea it represents a positive disposition to certain things, maybe qualities, standards or other tendencies that are appealing to the consumers.
It evokes a particular feeling or sentiment with the consumers, maybe of class, cost, utility, reliability, performance which the customers get to associate and expect from the brand. It is this image and expectation created by the brand that enables the customers to gravitate towards the brand by preferring and choosing it among other groups of competitors.
When the promise has been made and kept by the brand the consumers get to associate those ideas and promises made by the brand with it. In other words the brand will occupy that position in the minds of the customers which also forms a reference platform for future decisions with regards to the brand and its category. When that position has been firmly established in the minds of the customers it forms a basis of choice making.
The customer will no longer perform or exhibit the full hog of the consumer behaviour (search, selection, comparison etc.) in the process of arriving at a buying decision, rather the stored perception in the mind will automatically act as a shortcut in this decision-making process where a lot of the processes are skipped to arrive at the decision based on previous brand promises that has been kept by the brand.
As an inspiration, it inspires the consumers to think and envision certain possibilities which they may not have thought or believed to be possible as it opens up new vistas of opportunities open to them. No other brand has successfully exhibited the possibilities made possible or open by Netflix such that you can not only enjoy your chosen entertainment whenever you want it for as long as you want it, wherever you are at a price that may not bore a hole into your pocket. Same for Uber in bringing out the possibility of hailing a ride at extreme comfort without having to stand on the streets etc.
This promise made by the brand then becomes a contract between the brand and their customers; a basis on which the customers can hold the brand accountable to deliver or perform to that extent promised. In this regard the consumers/customers are very clear on what to expect from the brand and are justified to expect it as well as hold the brands accountable based on those parameters.
These promises made and kept by the brand then become the basis of an ongoing relationship between the brand and their customers. A love or hate relationship and possible advocacy, loyalty can therefore exist between the brand and their customers.
John Sherry’s position is further buttressed by Marty Neumeier in his radical thoughts on brands where he pointed out quite clearly that a brand IS NOT a logo, nor is it an identity, nor is it a product rather, a brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or organisation which is resident within the enclaves of the individual’s mind and is owned by the individual which is also personal to him.
Cambridge dictionary defines gut feeling as a strong belief about someone or something that cannot completely be explained and does not have to be decided by reasoning. An example is when you meet an individual and without having interacted with the individual form an opinion or impression of the individual as a shifty person, cocky or arrogant fellow, kind, honest or bold person.
In other words, individuals emit certain signals about themselves that can very easily be picked up and deciphered by others which gives them an indication as to the true nature of the individual. It is this impression about the individual that decides every level of relationship that others are willing to go into with the individual.
In the process of communicating or transmitting whatever message you wish to about yourself, product or services, etc, there are some silent unobtrusive signals that you emit either by your message design, packaging, etc, which go a long way to give an impression of who or what those products and services represent. Such that you can be saying something else but the body language and demeanours around you are saying a different thing and the impression people leave with are completely at dissonance with what you actually intended to communicate.
Managing the entire sphere of the signal you emit or the various touchpoints that consumers interface with you to the minutest details are the things that create the very lasting impressions about you and your organisation that forms the nitty grit ties about your brand. So, when brands like Apple go to very far extent to design their stores which they refer to as experience shops such that the experiences that people have at their stores are second to none you can begin to understand the deliberate process of building a brand.
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