Would You Want to Be Friends With Your Brand?

Ask someone what a brand is and most people will say that it’s a logo or a name. Dictionary.com defines a brand as “kind, grade, or make, as indicated by a stamp, trademark, or the like: the best brand of coffee”.

Such a definition is akin to suggesting that a person is simply their name, however, a brand, like a person, is more complex.

Just as a person demonstrates outward signs of who they are such as hair colour and clothing so to does a brand have outward expressions such as logo and advertising.

But ask the people who know you well to describe you and their description will generally go beyond looks to describe your personality and the history and experiences that they have with you will colour their view.

And whilst you may have different personas at work and at home the essence of who you are doesn’t change. Similarly, whilst a brand may express itself differently to different audiences the brand essence must remain consistent in all spheres or risk appearing schizophrenic.

Every experience that your customers have with your company / product is a brand experience. You might have the coolest logo and the funniest ad but how will a customer feel about your brand when they are cut off by a harried (rude?) customer service representative after sitting on hold for 30 minutes?

Brand management in many respects is like image management. It is not simply about packaging and advertising but taking responsibility for every experience that a customer (or potential customer) has with your brand. Sure, some aspects of this relationship are not generally under a marketer’s direct control but your customer doesn’t care about “channel management issues” and the like. You can either take responsibility for optimising the experience or you can put your head in the sand.

Just as a strong friendship will endure mistakes and tensions (have you ever left a friend waiting somewhere because you forgot that you were meeting?) so too a strong brand relationship will endure occasional “slip-ups”. In order to endure, however, you must invest in your relationships with your customers so that they know you respect them and are dependable.


In short, brands are as complex as people. Every interaction that a customer (or potential customer) has with your brand will impact on their perception of it.

Is your brand someone that your target audience would want to be friends with?