Thursday January 5, 2006

I’m fairly cynical about brands and branding.

Which is interesting, given that my professional life frequently requires me to discuss ‘brand positioning’, ‘creating brand experiences’ and (when I’m feeling brave) why ‘brand’ doesn’t really even matter.

I credit my cynical attitude to living in a country where “brand” is often little more than packaging and presentation—superficial distinctions between otherwise indistinguishable products or services.

A Different Tune
After spending 2 weeks in India, I’m a little more welcoming of US brands and branded products, even the brands that don’t deliver on their promises (anyone burning coasters with their shiny, new, brand-name DVD burners?). Believe it or not, there are some baseline standards (generally taken for granted) that apply to any company signing up to become a recognized—good or bad—Brand.

Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of disdain for American commercialism and faulty consumer products. But in the absence of recognizable brands, it’s amazing how quickly I became desperate for fixed prices, receipts, retail outlets, price matching, brand names—something to assure a reasonable expectation of quality. And buying confidence.

For anyone raised in The Land of Nike, McDonalds, and Coca Cola, it’s very easy to take these mundane brand attributes for granted. They have become expectations.

Shopping Without Packaging
Back to rural India. Want to buy a banana? There is no grocery store. But there are plenty of street vendors with carts, just waiting to sell you their produce. And sell they will. The price doubles for foreigners. Negotiating is a way of life. And, since I’m able to fly around the world to visit this country, I’m obviously very wealthy, right? Bananas are a safe enough purchase. If you do get ripped off, you haven’t lost that much money. But what of the ever popular jewelry or textiles? Two words: “buyer beware!” You better know if something is worth buying or not, if it is really a quality product, the real value of that item, and, you might as well learn all the scams while you’re at it. In this case, knowledge is power.

There’s a lot to learn in a small amount of time.

I suppose if you’re an expert [fill in subject matter] and you enjoy bartering, it would be a different experience. Did I mention that in some regions, 60% of the income comes from tourism? Are you a foreigner? Good luck shopping!

But this post is not about my frustrating shopping experiences.

A Simple Lesson
With most Brand 101 essays you’ll encounter a statement like ‘brands create trust’. As both consumer and consultant, I typically brush past this statement.

One, it’s dubious. Paid product placements, duplicitous marketing messages, and bad reviews all testify that we can’t trust a brand, or the brand promise (maybe this was true once upon a time?).

Two, brand trust is easily sidelined next to discussions about brand positioning and brand experiences. I’ve mentioned brand trust as a potential result of consistently delivering good experiences (and fulfilling promises). But this isn’t even trust, as much as it is expectations, based on how the company has been positioned in the marketplace. I expect Apple to deliver a well-designed, well-engineered, potentially innovative laptop. I expect them to, because it would be consistent with their track record. Under this definition of trust, it’s something that follows a good reputation.

But, I think I’ve missed the point. The ‘trust’ statement is something much less than ‘living up to promises’. I think the kind of ‘trust’ I’ve overlooked is less obvious, and much more basic.

The fact that something is a brand – be it a good or bad brand – insures that I can trust that it is reasonably priced relative to the market, of some minimal quality worth branding in the first place, and (most importantly) fully refundable. Whether I like x or not, I can trust that I as a buyer am protected in some way.

In competitive, commercial countries such as the US, the established baseline is such that anyone investing some dollars in branding is going to deliver on some basic expectations. Sure, there will always be pyramid schemes, image brands, and scams. But these have a relatively short life span—made shorter by social accountability.

Companies publicly declaring ‘who they are’ and ‘what they have to offer’ makes them accountable. Thanks to increased communications and Google searches, we all have the ability (exercised or not) to research purchases before they’re made.

Imagine that same street vendor who gambles on people being uninformed—having to sell to 1,000 or more people at once. It’d be a different game. With different rules. And, as a buyer, some modicum of comfort that at least someone in the crowd knows the actual value and quality of the thing. That’s a basic security of branding. And a more basic kind of trust.

A Conclusion?
It now seems obvious, and a bit silly to write about. But consider this: While it is easy to laugh at statements like “a brand name you can trust,” I suppose there’s a certain level a trust we can credit to every recognizable brand. Even the bad ones.