The father of modern branding, David Aaker, describes a brand to be unique in opposition to a product that can be easily copied by a competitor. Similarly, while a product can become obsolete, a brand if created successfully, is enduring. In other words, the way one chooses to brand their product, straying it away from what seems to be common competition and rebranding it as a lifestyle or culture, is what leads to success. Can you recognize the brands below? Even without the prominence of a solid logo or tagline? If your answer is yes, then there is a big reason why.
Let's start with the signature red colour and shape of the Coca-Cola bottle. Colour psychology conditions the human brain to associate this colour with something that is very exciting, new, stimulating or energetic. With time, Coca-Cola has built an image of youthful traits and excitement with their branding. For McDonald's, the trigger is often their signature fries and the shape of the container they come in.
Without further emphasis, the packaging (which constitutes a heavy part of branding practice) has survived generations and grown across continents into a recognizable phenomenon. Then we come to the Audi, a logo so well designed that marketing is usually the cherry on the top! Four interconnecting rings that signify luxury and performance.
When you think about it, this logic applies to all forms of products and appliances. People choose products on the basis of what they represent. Just the way Nike represents ambition and strength, the whole concept of sneakers represents the same, all because of one brand's branding. Modern branding isn’t just about the functionality of the product anymore, but instead works towards the human drive to ‘belong’ as a part of a culture.
Luxury brands have built their consumer bases on perceptual mapping and emotional branding. Some of the world's most valuable brands such as Rolex, Hermès, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Dior have one thing in common. A customer base associated with them not for the products but rather for the social value it holds. A major part of what these brands embody are feeling associated with power and status. The communities built as a result of this hyperbolic capital enforce visual identity as their watermark. To conclude, there is a widely used term called 'aesthetic branding' that describes a recognizable visual identity of a brand as a result of consistency and smart emotional marketing. When this trifecta (visual identity, aesthetic branding, emotional marketing) is aligned, the product itself becomes secondary to what the consumers want.