Branding is not quite dead

Several marketing pundits have been writing lately about the death of branding. Geoffrey James of the Sales Machine blog at BNet declared Branding to be dead and that the only thing that mattered was product quality.

It seems as though Mr. James is like John Cleese in this excerpt of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” wanting to be rid of Old Man Branding and get on with his life.

Problem is, Branding is “not quite dead.” In fact it’s getting better. So we would be wise not to club it on the head and throw it on the cart.

To be sure, Branding is vastly different than it used to be. Quality and innovation are more important than ever. But branding still plays an important role in the success of a product (or service, etc.).

First, it helps to define branding. Some say it’s little more than the logos, jingles and ads. I agree that too much emphasis is often placed on those things, but I think branding is much more.

Your brand is the foundation on which the customer-facing portion of your company is built. It is what people – customers, employees, vendors, the community – thinks when they hear your name or see your logo. It is what sets you apart from your competitors.

How you build and nurture that brand is, of course, a huge issue. People much smarter than I have debated this for decades, and continue to do so.

Nevertheless, I’ll throw my hat in the ring. Watch this space for a discussion of the key elements of Branding. And by all means, join the conversation.