As a company owner who wants to grow the business, or a start-upper, you\u2019ve probably heard the word brand a million times, in a million forms, and everyone is laying out ideas on what\u2019s the first thing you should do build your brand. Terms might be confusing or used in the wrong manner, so we\u2019ve thought of introducing you to the brand definitions you\u2019ve probably heard the most. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is a brand?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBrand\u201d has become such a diffused word as often it loses the real meaning. Everything with a name and a logo seems to be a brand nowadays. And confusion is somehow normal, considering that even between experts, the term \u201cbrand\u201d has sparked debates along the years, as brand definitions changed and evolved indicating different times, social shifts, different behaviors, or market competition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of you might know that the word brand has its origin in the Wild West when cattle owners would mark their animals as a way to identify them as being theirs. Later on, artisans from Rome, Greece or India would engrave symbols into products to sign their work, thus starting to build their own identities. In the 1800, quality was added as an indicator of differentiation among the same product category that made the product or service superior to its competitors and in 1875 the Trade Marks Registration Act was passed, allowing companies to formally protect their brands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fast forward, product benefits to stand out from the competition and TV promotion where helping companies to remain into consumers\u2019 minds and earn their loyalty. And with the 1950s, along with the development of the brand management concept by some of the biggest FMCG companies like P&G and Unilever, brands would start to tell stories and not just show the product and point out the functional benefits. And this Procter & Gamble TV ad for Ivory Snow detergent is the living proof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n