Brand rebranded
April 16th, 2005 by Bill
Over at Brandshift John Winsor has an item called Unbrand! (also at Beyond the Brand) - prompted by an article by William Safire titled Brand. The essence of it all is the word itself and its variations, which are being beaten into the ground. It’s being used everywhere by everyone for just about everything. Some guy goes off to the bathroom and he says, "Back in a sec! Just going to rebrand."
The idea of branding is sound. But it’s also a bit vague – at least in the way the word gets used. It gets muddled up with all sorts of other concepts and is used in a wide array of contexts. I suppose the real problem is it’s a marketing concept – an idea from business. But when Mom starts using it, or it appears in the dialogue of sitcoms, you have to wonder if it hasn’t gotten a little out of hand.
Another guy goes to a therapist and tells her, “I’m down in the dumps all the time. I just don’t seem to like myself.â€
Therapist replies, “Maybe you need to rethink your brand.â€
The thing is, in a weird way, perhaps he does need to rethink his brand. Because this is what branding is about. Sort of. It at least touches on it and, because it does, the word can get used in this kind of context (and sometimes does).
Some people think of themselves as having personal brands, which I find a bit troubling as it suggests they see themselves almost as products or services - commodities, in a way. "Yes, darling, I love you too. But we can’t be together because you don’t support my brand. Not dressed like that."
I’m seeing an entire episode of Oprah based on this: "Are your brand and his compatible?"
It’s a word that has wandered out of the world of business and marketing and into the culture where it’s attaching itself to everything like lint. (And it had already been flogged silly within the world of business.)
Should brand be rebranded? Does it need a new word (or words)? Perhaps we could start saying Associative Marketing and, once it catches on, cut it down to AM. Or maybe we could use a variation of ideational? Maybe ideate?
Guy goes off to the bathroom and he says, "Back in a sec! Just going to re-ideate."
Maybe associational ideation? (No … AI as an acronym is already taken.)
I think my best suggestion for rebranding brand is to play fast and loose with it:
Braâ„¢ND@!!!
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