What Does a Brand Mean?
Think of brand meaning as the teeny bulls-eye in the center of your marketing dartboard; it’s very important, very difficult to hit, and has a lot of irrelevant space around it.
It takes a lot of work to hit this bulls-eye. If this article covered everything about branding, your “estimated read time” stamp would be approximately 25.7 years (coincidentally how long we’ve been studying this).
We aren’t tackling everything, but we are revealing how to elevate your brand meaning from meh to memorable in one step using the brand funnel method.
But first, some food for thought.
Brand Association: Apple Does Not Equal Granny Smith
When you think of Amazon, or Apple, two of the most valuable and commanding brands in the world, what do you think of?
Your first thought is probably not, oh, Apple, that is an American multinational technology company that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services.
No. Apple’s brand strikes us as innovative, intuitive, slick, fun, and convenient.
Amazon’s brand, on the other hand, recalls an all-encompassing marketplace, technological excellence, reliability, and great prices.
Branding Funnel: From What It Is to What It Means
The reason we all associate Apple and Amazon with these qualities is because they excel at brand funneling.
Within the brand funnel model, the least impactful brands are only defined by what they are, or what they do (top of funnel), whereas the most meaningful and memorable brands are defined by what they mean (bottom of funnel).
The most memorable brands are defined not by what they are or do, but by what they mean. Share on XTo uncover this brand meaning, you must first understand your unique selling proposition (USP). What does your brand have to offer that differentiates you from your competition? What makes you valuable? And does your audience care? These are all questions to address before you can make meaningful brand decisions.
The most effective brands build a lasting emotional connection with their target audience, consumers, and clients. Once this emotional connection is secured and nurtured, you see an increase in ROI of your marketing dollars over time.
Take Volvo as a case study; they have done a great job of establishing their brand meaning as being family-first and safe. These qualities speak to our emotions first.
Achieving Brand Meaning With an Agency Partner
Securing this emotional connection with your audience seems like a tall order. With the right marketing agency, you will uncover the core spirit and personality of your company.
This core spirit works synergistically with your unique selling point (USP), and your brand meaning to audience. Once these three areas are understood, you will derive key messaging to funnel into your campaign brainstorm and future creative.
Harp will be a value-add partner for your organization in the advancement of brand story, value proposition, tagline development, and brand identity.
We use a variety of discovery methods to understand your core personality, USP, and brand meaning. These include questionnaires, market research, stakeholders, and brand workshops. Once we have heard from you, Harp will beautifully execute a package of brand identity materials including logos, color palettes, font families, and stand-out taglines, and more.
