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Friday, February 8, 2013
We Are Not a Product
A couple of us attended a "branding" meeting run by the Canadian firm hired to "market" us. Some us aren't particularly happy about becoming a product. We think we're people and the NEK is our home. We think people who come here should be willing to accept us as a with both great beauty and great challenges. But in an effort to get in the spirit of the thing, we came with our "brands" on.
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Every discipline has its special language. In marketing terms, "branding" means a promise. That is, one doesn't want to promise something that cannot be delivered. At this particular event, there was some criticism about verbiage that is out there now about the NEK that didn't feel right. It didn't accurately portray the region in a way that felt truthful. So this branding meeting is an attempt to find common ground and language that is a brand for the area - a promise. Inherent in that promise is the thought that, "this is who we are. Appreciate it."
ReplyDeleteAlthough the NEK and its people are not a product per se, a brand can interestingly be quite protective. Once a brand is uncovered, people and organizations will go out of their way to protect it. So, for example, if a brand is revealed as "healthy and safe" then attempts to destroy evidence of the brand or to water down its promise will be resisted. So a brand can work in good ways.
Just another way to think about it. I can't think of an instance for a "negative" brand, such as that indicated in the signs worn in these photos. Those statements may be promises, but they are not asset-based or positive. Branding would also not be about people outside the context of a fuller picture.