Branded for Life - Is branding more than a logo?

Funny little story about branding. I'm branded. I have a classic heart tattoo with my wife's name on my right arm. It's cliche but I love it.

One day a buddy of mine asked what would happen if we would get a divorce. "I can't believe you put her name there. That's just stupid."

Obviously, he was divorced. "It was a wedding present. My choice," I said. "And I'm not getting a divorce."

"But what if you do?" he asked.

"I'll cut my arm off," I said jokingly. But that's not true. I would rather cut my arm off then lose her. Anyone that knows me, knows this is a fact. I'm branded for life.



So you want a brand? You want an online/offline identity that people can trust, easily recognize and bring forth an emotional connection with your customers. You want to have something bigger than yourself or your company's name.

So you get a logo. There's no reason to pay the big bucks. Your cousin or a friend of a friend said they could do it for virtually nothing. That's great. I can't believe those big marketing guys blow so much on something so simple. How hard is it to pick a design, some colors, a typeface and a tagline? This is a joke, you think, anybody can do this. Man, I should go into marketing or advertising. This branding stuff is such a scam.

Then you start using your logo. Make it small and stick it on your Twitter profile or maybe on Facebook. Can I embed this into my email? I should get some T-shirts. People would so want to wear my logo. Nike, Harley-Davidson, Apple, and me. Well, maybe not everybody but I could totally make my employees, family and friends wear it.

It's going well for a little while. You use the logo in your print, broadcast, billboards, website, banner ads, email, packaging, POS material, newsletters, brochures, business cards, PR, civic involvement, trade show exhibits. It's everywhere you are.

People start recognizing your brand because you are putting it with everything you do. You are delivering on the brand promise, sort of. Sometimes there are things that people want you to do that may not match exactly what you say in your tag. You wish you would have phrased it a little differently so you can incorporate these other things you like to do or need to do. Oh well, maybe next time.

But then, because you are a brand and out in the public eye, someone calls you out on not following your brand standards exactly. Big deal. This guy is just jealous because he doesn't have a brand. Blow it off. They will go away.

Oops. Another issue. Can I really follow what I've told the world I would do? Am I eroding their trust? Is my brand true to me?

Your brand is suddenly a lot more than you thought it would be...

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