Brand: the means or the end?

A very common description of a brand is that it is an idea that sits at the heart of your business and drives everything you do: your offer, you capability, your culture and your communication. On this logic, the brand is a means to do the things you need to do.

Here is another definition: your brand is what people think about you. On this definition, brand is an end. In a world where image is increasingly nothing (everyone can dig deeper, look closer and see what is really behind the image) some people find this definition a bit old skool. I’m not so sure.

It is only when you think of your brand as a commercial end - something that you can monetise and drive revenues from, that they pay proper attention to it. Businesses such as Mercedes-Benz and BBC get this. The reputation of the business - the brand - is their most important asset. And as the means of production and distribution get increasingly mangled, shared and commoditised, it is only the brand - as an end, as an asset - that iconic businesses will be left with.

The big change from the 20th century, is that reality - what you do - will create you reputation, your brand. Not your image, PR or branding.

The means matter incredibly - the thought that drives everything you do (because if you get it wrong, you destroy the end) - but in commercial terms, it is the end that counts.

(Ije Nwokorie)