What makes a brand work?

As we went through the overviews for all of our projects for the semester last night, it was clear that this class will test our skills in not only design but also our ability to communicate a concept and message consistently through branding. Since our first project is focused on branding specifically, I thought it would be a good way to start the blog talking about what makes a good brand “work.”

I feel like there are two sides – the nuts and bolts: beautiful, cohesive design that fits your organization’s style and tone and the emotional side: how you communicate to get people to connect and stay loyal to your product or service. To me, a brand is not what you tell the public you are – it’s how they perceive your work.  If you have ever read The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier/ taken Design-Business link/work in this field, you are probably familiar with the author’s concepts – here’s a slide share of the book’s main points. Super long but it illustrates his this idea in the first few slides and talks about playing the right/left brain to create a charismatic brand and the importance of creating a “tribe.”  Anyhow, with everything so connected now, how third parties talk about you makes or breaks your brand in my mind. So how do you think companies get it right?

In addition to of course the visual side, as a designer how could I not say that, my vote is identification (ala Kenneth Burke if we are going to get technical) when it comes to persuading an audience to take stock in your brand. The idea that, when persuasion occurs,   "one party must 'identify' with another; the one who becomes persuaded sees that one party is like another in some way." You can have an amazing design, but if your message isn't on point it could be a big flop. 

I think this concept is a great determining factor in the success of a brand -- getting people to identify with your organization through design, words and ideas, a style/mission that reflects their personality, etc.  How do they see themselves in what you are selling or offering? How does using/wearing/experiencing your product or service make them feel?  Tell a story about who they are to the world via using your product/service/wearing your clothes, etc. Without getting all scholarly journal article on us, this post on Business Today discusses the idea of brand identification.

What’s your opinion? Here’s a list of Forbes top 100 brands– how do you think some of these brands (or others – plenty of great small, local businesses out here) identify with their audiences successfully through design/messaging? What else do you think makes a successful brand work? How does great design make an impact on a brand?