STRONG BRANDS CAN ARISE OUT OF ANY PRODUCT

Manager and founder of the design and brand consulting agency Branzas Design

I like eggs. They are perfect, perfectly proportioned. They are a synthesis of something, a small synthesis of the universe. The creator or the hen took very much care of their package. They are relatively resistant to falling out of the nest and easy to hatch. Their opening is simple, and what remains after breaking it is recyclable, even comestible. We don’t have a contract with an egg producer but our role as consultants is to take care of other people’s eggs and we must know with what they can be eaten.

I shall try to consider the brands via the products they represent. The purpose of the brand is to sell the products. But what about the other way around? What influence can a product or package have on one brand? One of the branding’s biggest dangers is overreacted promises. Each of us at one time or another bought one product influenced by its package and then we experienced disappointment after discovering the contents. The brand is not allowed to lie. Too much. Its success depends on the relation it establishes with the consumer and the consumer doesn’t like to be fooled. Maybe this is the reason why in most of the cases among all the values of the brand - as designed by the agencies, one will surely find honesty. All brands are honest and friendly. However not all of them are successful.

In creating a brand one must also start from the intrinsic and extrinsic features of the product. The brand is a management tool of the perception, but one cannot ignore the features of the product, regardless of how enthusiastic the creating agency may be or of how satisfied the client may be of that product. Strong brands can come out of any product whatsoever; this product largely defines the target public, national benefits, competitive advantages, etc. There are also products that offer the same thing like the competition and address to the same consumers. In this case the brand becomes the only differentiating element, the miracle that promotes the product, the manufacturer’s fighter for success, and then nobody doubts the role of the investment in image. From the equation manufacturer, plus product plus branding agency on must not neglect the importance of the product itself. Many times this sells almost by itself. To some products the brand does not bring the income surplus that it may bring to some beer trade mark, cigarette or clothes. This is now. What about tomorrow? One relevant example in this way is one client of ours that for the moment relies on a simple philosophy: I create a very appealing brand that catches the eye as soon as one gets into a shop, I focus on conferring to my brand a dominating feature that should differentiate it from other competitive products, I choose the right price to make it more appealing, I invest a lot in production and distribution and I save the money for advertising. This has worked so far very good but let’s not forget about the context that we are facing these days: Romania is for the moment still a not very busy market on certain particular market segments, and any new product that appears on the market and is well thought of has all the chances to become successful even without advertising. But the fight becomes more and more fierce and within a relatively short period of time strong brands created and intended for long term will win the fight, plus the value of communication – the brand itself is an element of communication after all, and the advertising will have a big role in this. Where we have one product we must also have one brand. Where we have one manufacturer we also have one brand designer. The egg and the hen go together, one may also say.