Arts & Humanites Community News

Brush up on Branding

By Hal P. Kirkwood Jr., Associate Professor of Library Science and Instruction Coordinator for the Management & Economics Library at Purdue University. He has presented at numerous national information and library association conferences. He was awarded the Class of 1922 Helping Students Learn Award at Purdue University in 2005.

"A brand is not what 'you' say it is; it's what 'they' say it is." (1) A brand for a company, organization, or library is more than its logo, services or people. It is the perceived image of the company by its customers and potential customers. An organization cannot create a brand. A brand can only be developed over time by showing consistency, relevancy and appropriate innovation.

Libraries notoriously have been poor marketers of their services and resources, and dare I say, terrible at developing a true brand image in their customers' and potential customers' perceptions. This is especially true as information has changed and become more electronic and accessible. The recent OCLC report Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources provides an interesting and sobering view into what the library 'brand' is in the eyes of information users. The same electronic environment that has empowered libraries like never before has also challenged libraries and librarians to more clearly define themselves and their roles. The multitude of choices for seeking information makes defining a library's role extremely relevant in this information society.

Brand research is not the same as market research. Market research is concerned about demand in the marketplace. Brand research is focused on creating a differentiation in the mind of the customer. (2) Companies, organizations, and libraries would be well-served by not only conducting market research but brand research. Conducting both can provide actionable information to aid in the development of a clear plan to provide excellent services and resources and to assist in the creation of a clear brand image. A brand image can strengthen the perceived value and trust in the organization or library.

The time has passed that the library is automatically considered the center of the community or university. Libraries must start to view themselves as a business with products and services. Librarians must strengthen their understanding of the broader marketplace and their role in it. Gaining a deeper understanding of branding and analyzing their current brand image is a beneficial step to take toward developing a stronger customer-centric view.

A selection of interesting sites that provide branding information:

Brandchannel.com: www.brandchannel.com; Maintained by Interbrand, Brandchannel.com is an online exchange about branding. The site enhances brand awareness by providing tools and information on all aspects of branding. The site sections include Debate, Features, Books, Careers, Directory, and Papers. Features and Papers are especially useful sections with articles and reports on specific branding issues, case studies of companies' branding activities, and analysis of current trends. The site includes five years of profiles and articles, approximately 130 in all, available full-text.
Beyond Branding: www.beyond-branding.com; A companion site to the book Beyond Branding, published in 2003, it serves as a portal for further discussion on moving branding to a higher level of social perspective and relevance. Summaries of each chapter are provided along with papers, essays, and presentations by the authors of the book. A blog is also available bringing together the views and expertise of the authors as they further develop the concept of moving beyond traditional branding.
The Brand Gap: www.peachpit.com/bookstore/product.asp?isbn=0735713308&rl=1#info3; A purposefully short and concise book on branding and strategy by Marty Neumeier; the site contains a summary, a sample chapter, and a pdf presentation on the core ideas of the book. The Brand Gap is an extremely clear look at branding and it's proper and potential functions within business strategy.
Marketing Your Brand: marketing.about.com/od/marketingyourbrand; The About.com portal for Marketing contains a section on Marketing Your Brand. Laura Lake provides an excellent source for articles and resources on branding strategy, logo design, company name issues, and other related topics.
All About Branding: www.allaboutbranding.com; Maintained by DNA Design, a New Zealand design communications company, this branding site contains articles and reports from experts and professionals in the field of branding and marketing. The site contains commentary and analysis on creating, communicating, living, measuring, managing, and extending brands. A tremendous amount of information is available full-text on this site including brief biographies of the authors to determine their expertise.
The Best Brands of the World: www.brandsoftheworld.com; The Brands of the World site is an extensive collection of brand logos from all over the world. While not comprehensive, it does contain tens of thousands of logos; a Freehand .EPS file is available for each logo. Also included on the site are full-text corporate guidelines for appropriate use of these logos.

Neumeier, M. The Brand Gap. New Riders/AIGA, Indianapolis, IN 2003.
Benson, J. Market Research Versus Brand Research. Sept. 2005. BrandChannel.com [23 June, 2006]

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