Developing a consistent message is difficult when consumers can share their experiences and opinions with millions of people. But word of mouth can occur for any brand — Web-based or not. In this document, Patricia Berry dispels seven everyday myths about branding.
MYTH #1: BRANDING IS ADVERTISING, AND ADVERTISING IS BRANDING
No way. According to Scott Bebury, 39 of the top 50 brands in 1989 had dropped from the Fortune 500 by 1999 — a mere 10 years later — despite the fact that these companies advertised the most. On the other hand, says Bebury, Starbucks became a great brand despite limited advertising and promotion.
To say that Starbucks hasn't done branding is to misunderstand the concept. Brand meaning comes from many sources, of which advertising is only one. Brand meaning comes from messages that are consistent across time and medium. Starbucks is a great example of branding because it has used merchandising, its name, logo, product assortment, a massive distribution network, and promotional products to convey the notion that it's a hip, urban, forward-thinking coffeehouse. To say that companies that do little advertising aren't branding misses the point.
Companies that advertise the most are not the most consistent in their branding. Some of the biggest advertisers offer confusing messages, constantly change their brand meaning, and/or offer different images to different demographic groups.
Furthermore, just because some heavily advertised brands fail doesn't imply that branding is at fault. Since branding involves multiple marketing methods that include, but aren't limited to, advertising, a brand can fail for a variety of reasons. To say that branding is advertising is to equate New York City with the Empire State Building.
MYTH #2: BRANDING CAN'T CREATE LOYALTY
According to Scott Bebury, “Branding is overrated. On average, U.S. corporations lose half of their customers every five years, half of their employees every four years, and half of their investors every year. This doesn't sound like a lot of loyalty to me.”
Although this might be true, it has nothing to do with branding. Even a great brand can fail if market conditions change suddenly. A poorly identified or poorly executed brand concept will cause consumers to defect. Defection doesn't mean that branding itself is bad. By blaming branding, we're throwing out the baby with the bath water.
MYTH #3: BRANDING CHANGES CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Most people believe that the brand itself drives consumer behavior.
In fact, the opposite holds true: Knowledge of consumer behavior drives branding decisions. E-bay's auction concept stemmed from their realization that consumers love the excitement of auctions and wanted to buy used merchandise at a reasonable price in an easy-to-use format.
MYTH #4: FOCUSING ON PRICE IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH BRANDING
There's a belief that a price-focused company ignores branding. This is nonsense. The meaning of many brands is built on such associations as “economical” or “low price” (think Sauve or Priceline.com).
MYTH #5: THE FAILURE OF A BRAND MEANS THAT BRANDING DOESN'T WORK
Sari Kalin writes that Pets.com's sock puppet, accompanied by millions of dollars in advertising, weren't enough to ensure its fortune. He asks whether the demise of Pets.com means the demise of branding. Hardly.
Brands fail for a variety of reasons. Perhaps a brand's advertising is inadequate, confusing, inconsistent, or misplaced. The company might have entered a saturated market. Their quality might've been sub-par. They might have missed the major period of market growth. Perhaps they were under-financed, suffered a PR disaster, or weren't in tune with what consumers wanted, or how they shop. They might have been blindsided by competitors who offered more for less.
The failure of a brand should not suggest that branding doesn't work.
MYTH #6: THE WEB MAKES BRANDING MORE DIFFICULT
Although the Web might have fewer concrete symbols that can create brand meaning, Web brands — like all brands — use product and service attributes, price, distribution methods and issues, logos, names, and other tools (ads, endorsements, etc,) to convey their meaning. The colors and design of a Web site, its ease of navigation, FAQs, the presence of customer comments, third-party advertising, ease of use, as well as a variety of other elements, all convey information about what a Web-based brand means.
There's no dearth of cues from which consumers can infer the meaning of a Web brand.
MYTH #7: CUSTOMERS' ABILITY TO BROADCAST THEIR EXPERIENCES MAKES WEB-BASED BRANDING MORE DIFFICULT
It's true that developing a consistent message is difficult when millions of consumers have the opportunity to share their own experiences and potentially diverse opinions with millions of people. But this word of mouth can occur for any brand — Web-based or not. The new potential just levels the playing field.
Although interactivity and the ability to navigate from one site to the next make branding on the Web more difficult, this is no different from what packaged goods companies have been facing for decades. Millions of purchase decisions occur in stores, where brands are readily available for comparison through price, package design, logos, product ingredients, and labels. Branding decisions are often what make people decide to choose one product over another on the basis of comparison-shopping.
Don't let these seven myths lead keep you from enjoying the benefits that branding can offer!