Brands and Branding

I guess I could write a whole article about this brand without even naming it, because this logo speaks by itself. Everyone knows the Swoosh (oops, I already said too much), and everyone knows which brand it represents. No need for the company to add its name under it. But a logo is not a brand, it is only one of the many elements a company can use in its branding strategy to build relationships with consumers.

This logo does not even represent anything in particular, and when I talk with my friends about it, each one of us has a different explanation: “it is a simple coma, easy to remember”, “it represents the air under your shoe when you run”, and it goes on and on. Meaningful or not, the “easy to remember” argument is the key element in this logo. Indeed, in order to create customer loyalty, the brand needs to be memorable, and this process requires to add value to simple things such as the name and the logo, by suggesting benefits and qualities.

When I want to buy sportswear clothing or shoes, I think directly of this brand (which I still do not need to name), because I feel confident and motivated while wearing clothes with this logo on it. **** means “Victory” in Greek, and describes perfectly the feeling I have when I wear those clothes. When I do sports, I want to be a winner, and those particular clothes and shoes, which are similar to other big brands in terms of quality and price, add this value to the simple fact of wearing sportswear garments.

Branding is about feelings, perceptions, and in the case of this company, is even more valuable than the products themselves. But let’s talk about other companies. Why do we drink Red Bull over Rockstar or Monster? Why do we think “Let’s go to McDonald’s” first when we want fast-food? Those energy drinks are practically the same in terms of taste and effect, and no one believes that McDonald’s burgers are better quality than Burger King’s.

I believe that for all those companies brand equity is the key to success. I discovered during my work on Red Bull (see Sources) that the company spends millions of dollars on its New York Red Bulls soccer team and that the company even owns a music record company called Red Bull Records. My research has shown that Red Bull barely makes profit out of those subsidiaries. The whole point of those initiatives is to build a company personality, also known as Brand, which then creates a customer relationship, to finally make them buy the energy drink, and not watch the games or listen to the music.