Emotional Branding

This article explaining emotional branding was an interesting read. The beginning of the story really grabbed my attention. I have always found it a comfort to realize that even truly intelligent people cannot understand everything and do sometimes have to ask for explanations. Although we have all been told that there is no such thing as a stupid question, except a question that is not asked, it is difficult in the business world to ask for help or an explanation, without feeling inferior, or worrying if your business colleagues will think you are incompetent.

The author actually wrote in this article that, “after years of helping companies build their brands, I’m still baffled by the reality that so many smart business people still don’t understand the power of a brand.” At first I was irritated with this statement and worried that the rest of the article would just be egotistical praise on the author and his vast knowledge. I was glad that he recovered and redeemed himself in the next sentence by stating that, “it was the first time [he] realized that the one thing that has the most dramatic impact on the success or failure of a modern-day business is also the least understood.

I completely agree with the fact that a brand is not a part of a business; it is actually the business. If a company does something to ruin its brand in the eyes of consumers, it has damaged its business and may go bankrupt. It is very important that a company is consistent with its brand. If it is not consistent with its brand, then consumers may find it hard to view that company as trustworthy. This is a rather difficult task, because branding is not something that is typically taught in business school. Trying to find a successful brand is basically trial-and-error, because there is not a definite formula that businesses can use to develop a brand.