On 'Brand': Part 1

Here it is, the shocking simple truth:
A brand is not a logo. A logo is symbolic of a brand, and a brand symbolic of a promise you made. Thus, a brand is a promise. To quote Whisper,

“Rather than the often bewildering and verbose definitions offered by trendy ad agencies and PR firms, the answer is much simpler, and essential to grasp:
Your brand is your promise. How you keep it means everything.”

Another school of thought: a brand can be described as the opinion formed of your company, product, or service. The ‘opinion’ is tied to how well you keep your promises. It holds true whether you are pianist or restaurateur, developer or design studio. Therefore, everyone—anything—can and does have a brand; it happens by default when you place yourself in the public eye.

Ask yourself: What promise or commitment am I making?
Think of the expectations you set when you put a cup of coffee to your lips in your favorite coffee shop. If the coffee suddenly tastes bad one morning, it fails to meet your expectation. The shop has broken its promise to you.
Their brand is in jeopardy.

Ask yourself: Is my promise different than a promise made by another?
“We promise great customer service”. This is a meaningless statement.
Everyone can and should make this claim. You can’t build a brand on ubiquitous generic claims.

Ask yourself: Why is this difference important?
We could guarantee that we design all day in our studio clothed as whirling dervishes, but it would be difficult to explain why this makes us better designers. It’s an irrelevant claim (though we do enjoy the fez). A good brand must be committed to relevant promises.

When those three answers are defined well, the branding process has a foundation.

Our job—our promise—is to help clients demonstrate their brand in an appropriate and original tone, devoid of hyperbole. We do that by playing the devil’s advocate. This role ensures critical process and relevant discourse.

It’s not complicated: make a simple promise. Then keep it.