Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Brand
When brand expression becomes tangible
A quick quiz: Which of these are part of a corporate brand identity?
- The BMW logo
-
A Coca-Cola bottle
- A Waffle House booth
For the answer, read on.
Let’s start with choice A, the BMW logo. Clearly, the logo is a central element in BMW’s brand identity. As other well-managed brands have done, BMW has turned a simple mark into a true symbol, one that stands not just for the company and its qualities and values, but for how you feel when you get behind the wheel.
So, how about a Coke bottle? Yes, that too is tied in with brand identity. The hourglass-shaped packaging has become synonymous with Coca-Cola. Whether glass or plastic, that distinctive bottle evokes powerful emotions for Coke drinkers. And evoking emotion is the whole point of brand identity.
But can a booth really be part of Waffle House’s brand identity? You bet your hash browns. It’s a consistent part of the come-as-you-are, no frills brand, which is expressed from wall to wall in any given Waffle House, from the laminated menu, to the jukebox, to the waitress hollering your order to the grill cook. It’s a whole environment that comes to mind as soon as we spot that big, yellow sign with its block letters. And it’s exactly what we get, whether the Waffle House we’ve chosen is in the heart of a big city or on the outskirts of a town so small it shares a single highway exit with three other hamlets.
The annals of branding are filled with examples of how the physical, tangible expressions of a brand become inseparable from the brand itself.
Consider Pizza Hut. The shape of its traditional dine-in restaurants is instantly recognizable. In fact, the Pizza Hut building is so iconic that the updated company logo incorporates an artistic version of the old-style hut – even though the franchise today is almost entirely based in delivery and take-out. (For an amusing look at just how permanently the Pizza Hut silhouette is etched on our collective brains, check out www.notfoolinganybody.com. Dress it up however you please, but a Pizza Hut once is a Pizza Hut forever.)
To create a great brand, one that creates an indelible mark on the customer’s psyche, a logo and color palette are not enough. To really touch the audience, it’s important to think of the ways that we literally touch them.
Granted, not every company is Coca-Cola, Waffle House or Pizza Hut. But every company has a physical interaction with the customer, whether it’s product packaging, a storefront or office, or simply the particular paper stock we use for collateral materials.
Could your company use a touch of brand? Let Point of Vision help, from printed communication that feels like you, to environmental designs that give people a 360-degree brand experience.
Featured Case Study
Huber Engineered Materials
Together with Huber Engineered Materials, Point of Vision developed an ingenious brochure that showcases samples of three raw materials under a single cover – and does so in a distinctive way that positions the company as an innovator. Read the case study >
Inside Scoop
Look who’s working with us now
A diverse group of clients including Bocktown Beer and Grill, The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, The Mission Society and others count on Point of Vision to help them communicate more effectively through print, Web and the Environment. Read more >
Happy birthday to us
A lot can happen in 10 years, especially in the world of marketing and communications. Point of Vision has had the good fortune to be associated with interesting clients, talented partners and loyal friends. We want to thank you all for allowing us the privilage of working with, and serving you. We are certain the best is yet to come.
Say goodbye. Then, hello.
This issue of Think About It represents a transition in how we communicate with our clients, friends and familes. Since we began the publication of Think About It thirteen issues ago, the Web has changed the way we interact with the world. And being the collaborative group we are, we thought it would be fun to open our thinking up to the world around us. So, over the next few weeks Think About It will become a blog, where our thoughts, announcements and images will be posted in real-time, as they occur to us. Thanks for being a wonderful audience. Now, let's think -- and create something wonderful -- together.
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