Brand: Character and Reputation

The June 2008 Fast Company cover story describes how Microsoft plans to lay Apple down through the creative strategies of Alex Bogusky (Crispin Porter + Bogusky) who sort of resembles the “Hi, I’m a Mac” guy in Apple’s commercial spots. One point the author, Danielle Sacks, makes is that Apple has effectively re-branded Microsoft.

That point is highly significant. We need to ponder it because it has implications for all of us.

It’s important to control one’s brand.

We rise and fall on the opinions and experiences others have of us. The same is true with companies and organizations.

Brand is reputation. It’s important to control one’s brand. (Yes, I have said that twice now.) Competitors will quickly pounce on any hint of weakness, failure, hypocrisy or blunder, especially now that it is acceptable to point out others’ shortcomings in order to gain the advantage. You don’t have to be all that wonderful, but you have to show that the other guy is less wonderful than you. It’s known as the ad hominen attack. Even when done subtly with wit and intelligence, it’s meant to sully another’s reputation. Once a reputation is undermined, it requires a lot of damage control and long-term effort to regain the ground that was lost.

I design graphic “assets” (identities, print, web sites, etc.) that my clients use to build their reputations. What I create is the foundation for their brands. My clients then have the responsibility to establish, maintain and protect their brands. I can make them look good, but if their competitor says they don’t measure up here or they fall short there, it won’t matter how good they look; they have to follow-through with their customers and respond to their competitors.

Companies want their design investments to pay off. There’s a lot of ROI pressure placed on design firms and ad agencies to develop work that yields measurable results. Yet it’s not only the creative efforts that bring good returns, it’s the company’s character and reputation. What is done about the weaknesses in a product or service? How are flaws addressed? How are customers treated? How are employees treated? What’s the word-of-mouth going around? If the company works to maintain its good character, its reputation will hold steady and accusations will prove ineffective.

So brand lies not in the graphics that identify a company but in who the company is in the public square. Although both designer and client are responsible for the development of the brand, the greater responsibility lies with the client, who must establish and protect its reputation whether it’s being applauded or attacked.

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Tagged as: Apple, brand, Carman Pirie, graphic design, Hugh Macleod, marketing, Microsoft, reputation