Branding 2.0

What comes to mind when you think of a "brand"?

When you hear the word “brand”, what image or words pop first into your mind?  If you’re like me, when you think of a “brand” you associate that term with a larger company or image that’s probably been reinforced by a specific marketing strategy over the years.  Apple, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Pepsi.  And the associated images (or taglines) that go along with those.  When Apple first reinvented themselves (before the iPod) it was “Think Different”.  McDonald’s and “I’m Lovin’ It”.  These marketing campaigns help to establish their respective brands and how you feel as a consumer when you think about these brands, and ultimately how you act toward these brands, i.e. purchasing/using their products and services, and telling your friends you had a positive experience as well.

This is what I’m going to refer to as “Branding 1.0″.  Because usually to establish a brand in the consumer’s mind, that meant an extensive advertising campaign, usually launched on television and then followed up by billboard, print, radio and so on.  For an example of the reach of these campaigns, imagine if the “Big 3″ car companies all of a sudden decided tomorrow that they weren’t going to run any television ads at all just on CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox.  Those four networks alone would be so devastated by the sheer loss of this advertising (automotive is still a very coveted advertising bracket) they’d have to rethink their whole business plan of how to operate going forward.

What’s exciting is now we’re in the era of “Branding 2.0″.  It started with websites, and movements like bands being their own record label and authors being their own publishers.  For an example of this check out the Time cover article on Stephen King back in 2000 ( http://ti.me/6Ldh9F ), and Time’s Person of the Year as “YOU” in 2006 ( http://ti.me/vK5y ).  You’re in charge of shaping your brand, what people think of it and how they use/react to it, as long as they can find you and your stakeout online (an important element).  Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails can give away one of his latest songs as an MP3 and receive a lot more downloads than a band that you haven’t heard of before.  So the “reach” becomes important as you establish your own brand.

How quaint the Time article from 2006 reads now when you think about the Facebook, Youtube and Twitter popularity explosion that has happened just over the last two years up to this point.  Now more than ever, companies have an entirely new set of outlets (Facebook updates, online video segments) to establish their brand without having to launch a multi-million dollar ad campaign.  And the potential for “reach” becomes greater as word-of-mouth popularity moves from telling your friends in person to telling your friends online.  And who’s to say what’s next in the online world that will work toward the development of a brand and a marketing message in a way that we haven’t even thought of yet?  Maybe that’s “Branding 3.0″.

But for now, the excitement of “Branding 2.0″ is here.  It just all depends on how you develop, market and best fit it for your own “brand”, be it yourself, a company or product, a cause, or a non-profit organization.  – by Mike Madigan, M-1 Studios