Marty Neumeier is an author, speaker, and brand expert. In a YouTube interview with The Futur’s Chris Do, Neumeier discusses the building blocks of branding as part of his answer to the question ‘What Is branding?’. It serves as a perfect reminder of the big picture behind the decisions made as part of any branding effort.
Do begins by noting that the term ‘branding’ is often used interchangeably with ‘logo design, identity design, and even sometimes typography’. Neumeier sets the record straight, and starts by explaining what branding isn’t:
It’s not a logo. A logo is a very useful tool for business, but it’s not the brand. It’s a symbol for the brand.
In addition: Neumeier asserts that a brand is not a product, nor is it an impression, or a promise.
People say the brand is a promise that the company makes to customers and there’s some truth in that. I mean, it does end up acting as a promise—but that’s not what it is.
Next, he moves to examining what a brand is:
A brand is a result. It’s a customer’s gut feeling about a product, service, or company. It ends up in their heads, in their hearts. They take whatever raw materials you throw at them, and they make something out of it—but they’re making it. They’re creating it. And so, in a sense, when you create a brand, you’re not creating one brand—you’re creating millions of brands.
Neumeier goes on to say that a brand is like a reputation—meaning it differs a little bit depending on who you ask. This is okay, he says, as long as the overall reputation is ‘beneficial to the company’.
From the point of view of companies and designers, branding can feel like an action:
This is something we’re doing. We’re telling a story. We’re making a claim. We’re making a pitch. And that’s what we do, but that’s not what a brand is. The brand is the result of that.
Neumeier says that from the client’s side of things, branding can seem like ticking items off a checklist:
I got the logo, I got the tagline, I got the ad campaign. Check! And they think they’re done. None of that’s right. What’s right is what happens in people’s heads. What have we achieved? What’s the reputation that we’ve created?
At Novagram, we go far beyond helping you check items off a list. We’re dedicated to empowering our clients to achieve the results they’re striving for. If you’re looking for an agency to help you create your reputation, contact us today.
To hear more from Chris Do and Marty Neumeier, their full conversation is available here:
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