What is a Brand anyway? (... And why YOU should want to be one!)?

Brands are ubiquitous. There is hardly a category in our overly complicated lives where brands do not play an important role – one far more important than we are perhaps willing or able to admit. We adore them. We associate ourselves with their icons. We flash them to friends and complete strangers. We carry them in our hands, around our necks, over our shoulders. We drive around in them. We give them to our friends and family. We immerse ourselves in them in so many ways that sometimes we would be hard pushed to name them, or count them.

So, if you agree that brands are everywhere, how do we define exactly what a brand is? This is at once easier and harder than it sounds ... After all, we all know a brand when we see one. Whether it is a phone, laptop, purse, suit, watch, or car, we know what we like. In that sense, it's a bit like art. We can all say whether something appeals to us, but it is far more difficult to say exactly why. Therein lies the challenge. So before we move ahead, lets agree on a working definition.

I've heard literally dozens of definitions, each one better than the last. There are extremely complicated ones, and extremely simple ones. The one I like best, developed by Dan Adams of the Daniel Adams Co, goes something like this:

"A brand is a set of ideas and associations that exists in the mind.

A product or service exists only when we see it, or use it ...

If hearing the name, or seeing it's symbol triggers a set of associations, it is a brand.

Otherwise – it's just a product."

What are the critical pieces of this definition?

Lets start with ideas and associations. Whenever you think of a brand, there are certain associations that immediately come to mind. Lets take an example of McDonalds to illustrate the point. If we were to ask a consumer of McDonalds what they associated with the brand, this is what they would probably say:

American style fast food (Mc everything)

The yellow 'M'

Kids play area

Same menu everywhere

Ronald McDonald

Cheerful service

Clean restrooms

The amazing thing is that whether you ask people in the US, England, Brazil, Russia, China, Pakistan or Australia – they will say EXACTLY the same thing. Really. We call this the Brand Fire Dance, and it is one of the key characteristics of a powerful brand. In fact, the greater the number of associations, and the more clear they are to the consumer, the more powerful the brand.

Each of these associations also triggers the others. When you see the yellow 'M', you suddenly have an image of golden fries, a Big Mac, and a huge Coke. Your stomach starts growling too.??

Another characteristic of a power brand is that it has a zone of authority within which it operates. It is seen as the expert in that domain. E.g. Apple owns coolness in the technology arena. Even if you are not a fan of Apple, you will be hard pushed not to acknowledge the oomph value of any of their offerings.

Lastly, we have a strong personal connection with the brands in our lives. We – dare I say it – love them. Sometimes, we commit murder to possess them (remember the runner killed in Central Park for their Nikes?). How many of us will admit that our personal identity – our self-image – is closely tied into, and driven by the brands we use?

So, if you were asked to list your top 10 brands today, this might be a more difficult task than might appear on its face. After all, there are so many ... how to choose? What makes it even more challenging is that sometimes, celebrities are promoting the brands we choose. These celebs are brands in their own right, a fact that the brands that hire them are fully aware of, and in fact, counting on to build awareness of their brands. These celebs exude such star power that we all – almost without exception – know them.

Brands like Barack Obama ... Oprah Winfrey ... Bruce Springsteen ... Hannah Montana ... Adolf Hitler ... Tony Blair ... Abraham Lincoln ... Winston Churchill ... Nixon ... Michael Jackson ... Princess Diana ... Elvis Presley ... Mohammed Ali (Cassius Clay) ...

The list is huge even without religious figures (!) ... However, with each and every one of these strongly branded individuals, we are instantly taken to a different place. We feel we knew them, what they were striving for, indeed the very value system that they represented and fought for. We don't have to like it, but we know it.

Why do we remember these people? Why do millions continue to worship at the altar of some, and continue to question the motives of others years, decades and even centuries after they are dead?

The answer is simple – we know what they stood for. We knew exactly what their stance...