Over the years,people,products and services have become more than just materialistic need,Now it’s about the mental feeling that associates with a product/person and we call them as Brands ! Unlike in olden days its simply not enough in creating a good product,there’s more than  just creating an excellent product.So we set out to find the changing perceptions.

What is a Brand ?

Wikipedia says a brand is a distinguishing name and/or symbol, intended to identify a product or producer.i would say things have drastically changed,the term have grown out beyond a materialistic realm

The brand Guru’s would define Brand as a gut feeling about a product or service in customers mind.Like i sad the term has grown beyond the control of a single force,its more people centric or to put in right words the term’s definition now rests in Customers hands.

Now this is really crazy and I mean it when I say that. There was a time when manufacturers or marketing experts used to decide on what a brand is but that ain’t the scenario ahead.The years ahead are going to see more power to the customers and i say that is a very good thing.Its like a brand is what they say “anything that a customer says”-Groundswell.The point is the control about a brand does not lie with the company anymore,they can simply drive or guide & make branding decisions.

The Past

Earlier what a brand is about the TV-ad they make or the kind of money they spend for advertising or promotion activities.The big news was about the ambassador tie-ups they make and people used to love that,they used to use it because a celebrity is endorsing it but all that is soon going to come to an end. Well it’s not that advertising is coming to an end as it is but one thing is for sure that gone are the days of 30 second as slots in television.

Brand stories in the past had these attributes: static,messages,look & feel or in one word it was all about the “transactions”. It was about creating lovely logos,lovely packaging designs and the very punch line said,very static !  People would easily associate with those gimmicks back then.

The Future

It’s not that advertising will have no reach,but what the point i am saying is brands are not about what people need,its about what they want. what we need to understand is that what makes them happy today ain’t gonna make them happy tomorrow and thats where the future tends to take us.

Like I said a Brands definition now rests with the customers and so the future advertising realms are going to be more about relationships. The future is about being dynamic,doing,conversations & most importantly ’experience’ and that’s how a brand can influence the customer community.

I will continue the discussion on the rise of Brand Avatar in the next part of this post. So keep reading. ( Part 1)Looking forward to your valuable vews on the subject to help me continue this post.Thank You…Andrine Mendez

Originally posted 2010-01-04 18:47:15. Republished by Blog Post Promoter