Over Branding - Why Too Much Is Too Much

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Why too much branding distracts from your most valuable branding tool, your products:

• Over exposing your branding graphics can hurt you.
• Create a memorable impression.
• Your products and services and the way they are delivered are your most important way to represent your company.

Have you ever been hacked off by the huge water mark covering the lower part of your TV screen during your favorite TV show as it obscures vital action? Ok, so you’ve already experienced over-branding. As if you didn’t know the station you were watching. Maybe the station wants to guard their content, but is it necessary to have the watermark there all the time? Could they just bling it onto the screen every five minutes rather quickly.

A few more examples.  Cell phones with branding on the outside and then a huge icon taking up your precious screen space.  TV’s with the brand beaming up like a lighthouse right beneath your screen, radio shows that take sixty seconds to brand their talk show host, only to let them quickly blirt out a rant before commercial break twenty five seconds later. Menus at your favorite restaurant with their name and logo on every page, in the window, the door, the bathroom door, the floor…… COME ON!

Look, the point of the matter is simple for all the business owners and branding marketers out there, don’t annoy your customers. Don’t get in the public’s way. Keep it subtle, classy and polite. The people buying your products 99% of the time buy it for the product benefits and not to look at the cool logo you paid for. Granted the logo and branding are essential for success, but overly used it can actually harm your company by annoyiing the customer you most want to attract.

Now one of the most important factors to remember is that the branding through the designs and messaging should be for the purpose of creating a memorable impression of the wonderful product or service you offer the public. The branding graphics and text are not the product, exceeding the public’s expectations should be your strongest branding effort. As well as consistency and predictability through a well defined business system. If you get that right, a well designed graphic or other memorable impression will be all you need to secure the identity of your company in customers memory.

Most companies fail and we know why. Less than 75% of them have a well designed plan for success, or operational plans to weed out waste, or a plan to secure a consistent customer experience, or exhibit a clear and well defined brand. So instead of over playing for your fantastic graphics, saying your company name every 5 seconds in your video, or trying to win customers by looking prettier than your competition, spend time focusing on your core business process and great service and then tag that with something you can be proud of.

If in doubt, contact Ceptara for a review of your branding strategy. We all need help now and then to stay on top of our game and now is a great time to be growing your business!