Essay 1

What is Branding?

Branding is predominantly influenced by the social climate of the time. Defined as ‘A fundamental part of companies, organisations and even individuals’ (Davis, 2009, p.12), branding has and will continue to change throughout history. Why? Because the consumer grows more and more aware and in turn less influenced by the current attempts at selling that brands make on them. But why is it so necessary for branding to constantly be changing, and how did it come to have such an impact on companies and consumers alike in the first place?

Although constantly changing with the times, branding first began as a series of symbols to represent a shared belief (fig. 1). At the birth of religion, humankind agreed that there was a higher power, but not what this higher power was. Symbols for Christianity Judaism, Hinduism and more were created to represent a belief, a way of thinking. Debbie Millman (2019) noted that - ‘We manufactured meaning around something we agreed meant something’. These were the first brands known to mankind. Although not all of society agreed on the ideologies of differing religions, the representation of the symbol was agreed upon. At this time branding remained only a way of representing something that society agreed on the meaning of, it was later and in other circumstances that it began to have connotations specific to ownership. In the seventeenth century cattle farmers appropriated the word ‘Brund’ from Old English poem Beowulf which meant ‘to mark or destroy by fire’ (Millman, 2019). For centuries cattle farmers had been marking their cattle to differentiate their own from others, but this is when the word was first used. Already, there has been developments in the way that branding is utilised. Starting out as something that a society agreed on and recognised, brands have shrunk down to the mark of an individual - representing not a generalised belief or way of thinking, but a simple mark of ownership. 

Similarly to brands today, the marks that livestock were branded with represented the farmer, but attached to this was a strong sense of reputation (fig. 2). If a particular farmer used a specific practice and their product was of good quality, this would become synonymous with their particular brand. There is so much more that comes with building a successful brand in today’s climate, however, at the start it was simply your practice and quality that would make your brand successful. Examples of this were shown further throughout history within the production of pottery in China, India, Greece, and Rome. The potter would stamp a mark into the piece that would represent themselves, the materials, and/or the historical period (Rajoram, Stalin Shelley 2012) to show the presumably rich upper-class consumer, the quality and finery of the product (fig. 3). This idea of ownership prevailed throughout the years and in the 1200’s English bakers and goldsmith’s etc. were actually required to put their own mark on their products to ensure a specific quality. Branding once again had developed and was now a required symbol to ensure honesty towards the consumer. Even to this day specific brands have a reputation as the “best” in their field, such as Cadbury’s for confectionary or Dyson for the house-hold vacuum. These brands sit at the top of the long list of products for good reason - they have a connection with and are trusted by their consumers. 

Much like consumer culture, branding expanded with the Industrial Revolution in England. Due to the explosion of mass production it was no longer enough for a baker to rely on his name being stamped on his product. The middle-class was quickly growing and with it, the production of products in factories. This idea that items for the home were no longer a local, recognised product but something that was produced on mass by factory workers was completely new, and it was now down to companies to brand their wares rather than the individual. Buyers were able to choose from a wide range of products and so the business of branding grew. ‘With buyers now able to choose from a wide selection of products for the first time, logos were used to not only indicate the manufacturer, but to act as a symbol of quality.’ (O’Neil 2015). Companies stuck to using marks and symbols to represent themselves because this is what the consumer was used to - of course, what we know them today as is logos. At this time laws were enforced due to the upper-classes demanding regulation on quality. Another huge development for branding - that the small mark on a product held so much meaning and represented so much. This is when we first start to see the importance of brands' histories being recognised by the consumer. That ‘local’ feel of a brand is always more successful as this is what audiences were used too and are more comfortable with. Even today, brands tend to focus on their origin story and “humble beginnings” as a selling point rather than the mass production occurring in factories, because that is not as appealing to the masses. For example, Hovis’ strapline - “As good for you today as it’s always been!” represents the rich history of the brand, as this is what they are trying to sell (fig. 4).

In the twenty first century the technological world has exploded and in this time, branding has managed to develop and change quicker than ever before. Debbie Millman (2019) said: ‘Branding is now a manifestation of the human spirit’ in relation to today’s brand climate. Post Industrial Revolution big corporations dominated the market. However, thanks to the “dot com wave” in the late nineties, this same market was expanded world-wide. The emergence of online-brands grew, however, those with little substance that were manufactured quickly failed to prevail. But what Millman was referencing was not the new exciting companies on the scene, she speaks of the likes of Oxfam, Black Lives Matter, and #MeToo to name only a few. In the twenty first century some of the biggest and most recognised brands don’t even belong to a corporation, but are charities and organisations made for the people, by the people. Now the consumer is so much more aware and is able to challenge a brands ethos if they think that it does not match up to the standards of society today. For example Melissa Davies (2009) said: 'The US and Europe's financial crisis has coincided with a desire to consume less, alongside pressing environmental issues such as climate change’. Brands are no longer focusing on their story and beliefs, but are being forced to change by the consumer. 

Taylor Holland (2017) sums up the development of branding well when he says: ‘Branding in the twenty-first century is still about taking ownership. It’s about owning what your company values and represents, owning up to your shortcomings, and earning customer trust and loyalty through your words, your actions, and your stories’. The development of branding throughout time has shown some interesting changes. It is interesting to see how the idea of branding started as something that society agreed upon, developed into being designed solely by one individual, only for society to once again have such a huge impact on brands in the twenty first century. Trying to find an answer for the question “What is branding?” is impossible due to its complexity and differing opinions, however, Tony Hardy (2019) says: ‘branding is almost intangible’. This is a really accurate representation of what branding is today - something that can not be defined as a mark of ownership or set of rules. But as something that is constantly changing, a reflection of society. 

Images 

Fig. 1, Religious Symbols

Fig. 2, Cattle Branding

Fig. 3, Potter’s Mark

Fig. 4, Hovis Advertisement

Reference List

Davis, M. (2009) The Fundamentals of Branding. AVA Publishing. 

Hardy, T. (2019) What is Branding?,  Available at: 

https://www.canny-creative.com/what-is-branding/ (Accessed 14 November 2019).

Holland, T. (2017) What is Branding? A Brief History, Available at:

https://www.skyword.com/contentstandard/creativity/branding-brief-history/ (Accessed 14th November 2019).

Millman, D. (2019) The Complete History of Branding in 20 Minutes. AIGA Design Conference. Available at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdsBGphzVJI (Accessed 12 November 2019). 

O’Neil, E. (2015) History of Branding. Available at: https://www.lcca.org.uk/blog/education/history-of-branding/ (Accessed 13 November 2019).

Dr Rajoram, S. and Stalin Shelley, C. (2012) ‘History of Branding’, International Journal Of Social Sciences & Interdisciplinary Research. Volume 1, (March).