What's in a Brand?

What is branding? And why should it matter? Branding is by far one of the most important parts of creating a successful business. Not only does it help a specific company stand out from the competition, but it also has other favorable outcomes. If done successfully, branding will:
-Assure consumers' loyalty to that specific company
-Deliver a strong message to the audience
-Help increase the targeted group
-Connects emotionally to consumers

Coca Cola is a great example of what good branding can do for a company. Coca Cola began as early as 1886 and throughout the years, it has incredibly been able to keep up with the moderns and demands of their customers. This 127-year brand is known world wide because of its captivating commercials like those that used polar bears. The brand "Coca Cola" is estimated to be worth a whopping $70 billion dollars.


Apple is another good example of branding. The Apple Company revolutionized the world with their products varying from laptops, desktops, i Pods, iPhones...etc. Apple branded all its products with the famous "apple" icon. It wasn't late before Apple had become a company customers could rely on and trust. The advantage that Apple had was that their only competition was the PC and they used that idea and ran with it. One of their best commercials was the one with two formal dressed men; one representing a PC and the other a Mac. That's where the clever slogan came from: "I'm a Mac." With easy to use and high quality products, Apple today, can be said to be a growing empire. Customers are gradually leaving their PCs for Mac's and with the new iPhone coming out almost every year, it is safe to say Apple will be around for years to come.

  
Lastly, one of my favorite examples of excellent branding is that of Starbucks. Starbucks opened in 1971as a small single store in Seattle. Today, Starbucks has more than 18,000 stores located in 62 countries. Why Starbucks has become this huge iconic coffee place can only be the result of good branding. Starbucks offers their consumers "world's finest" coffee beans. Starbucks attracts customers to their stores because they sell the people the coffee experience. The pros of being such a big coffee company is that the competition is almost non-existent and that the brand sells itself.

As you can see, branding is an important aspect that any starting company should take into consideration. With catchy slogans, powerful messages, and a strong emotional connection with their customers, a company can become huge and leave the competition behind.