Brand Books: Obsessive Branding Disorder by Lucas Conley (2008)
In an attempt to wean myself from my brand-whorish ways, I'm reading a number of books about branding, marketing, and consumer psychology. I hope to gain a better understanding of why brands have such a strong pull, and thereby to diminish the pull itself. I'll be posting interesting quotations from these books here, for my reference and possibly others' interest.
"Rhea is one many people in the branding community who increasingly sees brands as the arbiters of meaning in our lives. For a brand to be a success, it must capitalize on the organic underpinnings of the human experience-community, relationships, and values-in an effort to create meaning." (p. 74)
"Tapping into customer identity has always been a principal means of selling products. In the past, brands largely appealed to customers by employing images or words that resonated with their sense of self-or a sense of self that they aspired to. As Niki Fitzgerald, creative director of graphic design at the Cincinnati-based architectural branding firm FRCH, sees it, 'People choose brands because they make them feel good about themselves. They're aligning their values.'" (p. 76)
"We becomes brand citizens when our collective exposure to branding affords us brand language-a kind of brand shorthand. Corporations communicate with us through brands, and we communicate with each other through our brand choices. This is because modern brands denote so much more than quality or price. The statement 'I shop at Target' implies a different world-view than 'I shop at Wal-Mart.' While they cost the same amount of money, a Mexican-made Dodge means something entirely different than a Honda made in Tennessee. More than any single political or religious affiliation, purchases reflect the decisions that most clearly define us today." (p. 80-81)
"The most sophisticated brands 'are those that not only anchor themselves in tradition but also adopt religious characteristics.' It's not much of a stretch to think of a few brand messiahs. Microsoft has Bill Gates (saving the world and passing the collection plate), Omnimedia has Martha (risen from the dead), and Apple has Steve Jobs (the second coming)." (p. 83)
"One recent client, a major candy manufacturer, was curious about what consumers really thought about gum. Rather than asking gum chewers to rate their favourite brand, as would happen in surveys or focus groups, the Zaltmans might ask, 'If you were a stick of chewing gum, what would you tell the world about yourself?'" (p. 164)
"Rhea is one many people in the branding community who increasingly sees brands as the arbiters of meaning in our lives. For a brand to be a success, it must capitalize on the organic underpinnings of the human experience-community, relationships, and values-in an effort to create meaning." (p. 74)
"Tapping into customer identity has always been a principal means of selling products. In the past, brands largely appealed to customers by employing images or words that resonated with their sense of self-or a sense of self that they aspired to. As Niki Fitzgerald, creative director of graphic design at the Cincinnati-based architectural branding firm FRCH, sees it, 'People choose brands because they make them feel good about themselves. They're aligning their values.'" (p. 76)
"We becomes brand citizens when our collective exposure to branding affords us brand language-a kind of brand shorthand. Corporations communicate with us through brands, and we communicate with each other through our brand choices. This is because modern brands denote so much more than quality or price. The statement 'I shop at Target' implies a different world-view than 'I shop at Wal-Mart.' While they cost the same amount of money, a Mexican-made Dodge means something entirely different than a Honda made in Tennessee. More than any single political or religious affiliation, purchases reflect the decisions that most clearly define us today." (p. 80-81)
"The most sophisticated brands 'are those that not only anchor themselves in tradition but also adopt religious characteristics.' It's not much of a stretch to think of a few brand messiahs. Microsoft has Bill Gates (saving the world and passing the collection plate), Omnimedia has Martha (risen from the dead), and Apple has Steve Jobs (the second coming)." (p. 83)
"One recent client, a major candy manufacturer, was curious about what consumers really thought about gum. Rather than asking gum chewers to rate their favourite brand, as would happen in surveys or focus groups, the Zaltmans might ask, 'If you were a stick of chewing gum, what would you tell the world about yourself?'" (p. 164)