A Sense for Branding

What is a brand to a blind person? So much about a brand seems to be associated with its visual aspects. A striking color. A smart logo. An identifiable look. But what if you took away all those visual characteristics? What would you have?

You should still have a great brand.

A brand needs to be more than the sum of its visual elements. It should have a personality that represents you in as many of the five senses as possible.

Think taste. I can taste the difference between Coke and Pepsi. I can tell a Taco John’s taco from Taco Bell. There wouldn’t be sixty different jarred spaghetti sauces on the grocery store shelves if they all tasted the same. Once upon a time, most beers tasted the same. It’s true. Then came lite beer. Then dark. Then amber. Now there are dozens of different specialty beers – each with its own unique branding and marketing.

What about touch? I may not be able to tell two pop cans apart blindfolded, but I can tell a Coke bottle from a beer bottle any day of the week. A bar of Ivory soap from a bar of Lava. The three bears on TV tell me softness is the most important aspect of the bathroom tissue I use. Even the rumble and roar of a Harley-Davidson could probably be trademarked if the folks in Washington could comprehend it.

I smell coffee and I think Starbucks. Pineapple and I think Dole. Remember the smell of a fresh canister of Play-Doh, or a new box of Crayola crayons? I hear the words “zoom-zoom” and I think Mazda, or the song “Taking Care of Business” and I head to Office Depot. And if an Australian dude greets me along the way, it’s Outback for dinner. Mate.

There is no one sense that makes up a person’s personality. We are an infinite number of combinations rolled into one unique person. A brand needs to be just as comprehensive. More than one facet. More than one sense. So clear and distinctive that anyone can see what you mean.

Even if they can’t see a thing.