Brands - The Broad View or the Narrow View

I tend to think about brands in the broadest terms, but others view brands in narrower terms. When someone talks about a brand others may or may not have the same understanding of what that person means. And when someone says he or she is a brand consultant, that person may mean it in the narrowest sense, the broadest sense or something in between. The same thing is true for the brand manager title. 

This is the continuum of how one might perceive a brand from narrowest perspective to the broadest perspective:

• A name
• An identity system (name, icon, type fonts, colors, etc.)
• A unique value proposition or a promise of relevant differentiated benefits
• All of the above plus a unique essence and personality
• Manifesting itself as a unique and compelling customer experience
• Supported with a certain type and level of service and technical assistance
• Possessing a certain set of values and standing for something
• Pursuing carefully crafted customer engagement strategies
• With a thoughtfully designed underlying organization culture
• And a carefully crafted business model
• Led by someone with the perfect leadership style for the brand

The difference in how one thinks about brands can be due to any or all of the following:

• How one was schooled in branding
• How brand management and marketing was organized in the organizations in which that person has worked
• What that person's training and background is - graphic designer, copywriter, account executive, brand manager, marketing researcher, merchandising designer, digital marketer, CMO, general manager, CEO
• Whether that person's experience was primarily with graphic design firms, advertising agencies, media planning firms, marketing research firms, brand identity firms, web development firms, brand strategy consultancies, general management consultancies, staff marketing positions, line marketing positions, sales positions, organization design/organization development positions or something else

Obviously the skill sets and scope of work vary greatly depending on how one defines "brand." And the complexity, expectations, experience level and focus of the work will vary greatly. If you have been assigned the role of brand manager or brand champion, make sure you know how people in your organization understand the meaning of "brand." You don't want to be focused on logo design when people are really looking for a culture change or vice versa. Also, when you are hiring a firm to help you with your branding, make sure you know what type of firm with what skill sets you are hiring. I wish you great success with this.