Brand, as a word, is of German origin and it means to mark. The mark we do to animals with a burning iron to recognise their owner. A tattoo.

But people back in the days didn’t brand all their animals. Only those who were really worth something.

Otherwise, how could the thief know what was worth stealing?

Today we use the term brand to describe a known business. And the art of making this business a brand is called branding.

Branding is not the stamp your business has on every product. But the process you follow to decide what kind of stamp you want.

This process is not some people around a table brainstorming names, colors, and shapes for your business logo. It’s a process you need to do with your team to identify what you do, why you do it and what your brand stands for!

The right branding expert will guide you on this process. It’s a difficult path. It’s very emotional. It’s deep and chaotic. It’s painful, it has nothing to do with business and it demands time and a lot of effort.

But it is the reason you think technology and difference when you hear the word Apple, instead of the fruit. It’s the reason you feel like a kid, smile and jump around when you hear the word Disney, instead of thinking of just another animation designer. It is the revolution and the air of freedom when you hear Harley Davidson, instead of another motorcycle company. You don’t need to even hear its name, its sound is enough to trigger a picture of an easy rider.  You can visualise her style, what she wears, what the bike looks like, what music she listens to, what she reads, what she watches on TV and what channels she follows on the internet. You know where to find her and her community\tribe.

Branding is not a stamp, as your brand is not an animal to just mark it and tell us that it’s yours. Nobody cares about this anymore. There are a million products better than yours and some of them are free.

If you try to convince us that what you do is something worth having, we don’t care. We care to cover our emotional needs. We don’t buy because we need another bag, another suit, another pair of shoes. We buy because we want to be significant, to feel special.

Can your product or service make us feel special?

One more thing! Our Fashion Marketing course on what it takes to build remarkable brands starts on 22/10. Only two places left. If you don’t want to miss the opportunity, click here.