You have a brand. So do I. Even my grandma had one. I see a brand as the experience you have from the first interaction with that person to the last. That’s what will make a lasting impression – and continue a relationship.
Companies, things, and places have a brand as well. Again, it’s your interactions with them that define what that brand is. Looking for an example of a good and bad one? Here you go.
The Dallas Cowboys: Good Branding
As much as it pains the Giant fan in me to write the words “good” and “Cowboys” in one sentence, this is a shining example of a good brand. Despite the fact that the team has reached the playoffs only twice in the last 18 years, their logo is iconic. Their stadium, gigantic and full of atmosphere. And their owner is a shrewd business man who keeps his team in the news. As a result, the Cowboys are now worth $2.3 billion, the second highest value of any professional sports in the world. (The New York Yankees are first, valued at $2.5 billion.)
There isn’t really anything tangible to an NFL team. Players come and go, there are only eight home games each calendar year, and – let’s face it – it’s just a game. But the brand remains strong because of our experiences at the stadium, on TV, and beyond – and it lingers long after the final snap each year.
Atlantic City, NJ: Bad Branding
If you live in New Jersey or have recently visited, then you’ve seen the “DO AC” stickers on cars and billboards. As a campaign, it’s forgettable; neither memorable nor terrible. But once you go to AC, you find that the campaign is a lie. There is not anything to do.
Unfortunately, going there is not forgettable. Casinos closing, the depressing conditions right off the main boardwalk, and not actually winning anything don’t do anything to help AC. I might go there once, but after living through the experience of a visit, I wouldn’t return. Whereas the Cowboys might make you smile at the memory, AC provides a frown.
Managing a brand is like walking a tight rope. Ten years ago, AC was prospering. Ten years from now, with all the NFL concussion news, the Cowboys might not be worth anything.
~ Mike D’Ambrosio, Interactive Art Director, The S3 Agency
