What-ehv-errr it’s, like, Branding!

So, I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to branding. I went on a cross-country road trip a week ago and I found myself acutely aware of all the branding I encountered.

New Holiday Inn Logo
New Holiday Inn Logo

Yes, from the recently re-branded Holiday Inn to Cracker Barrel to the cheesy local advertisements you pass by at (ahem) “65” miles per hour – I made Ninja mental notes on it all.

First off, can I just say, I’m not wild about the new Holiday Inn branding. Maybe I’m just a purist, or I just have too many fond memories of staying at the Holiday Inn as a child and collecting all of their super-cool postcards with the picture of the hotel pool on them – whatever the reason, the new logo just doesn’t do it for me.

McDonald's Golden Arches
McDonald's Golden Arches

Take McDonald’s, for example. It doesn’t even need a name with the logo to make it recognizable. You see those golden arches and you immediately start salivating and craving a Big Mac and fries. (Or you start thinking about a bathroom that might be a wee bit cleaner than the Flying J Truck Stop…hey, don’t judge me!…traveling puts you in survival mode!) So, then, why does an oldie but a goodie like Holiday Inn feel the need to reinvent the wheel? It confounds me, really it does. Or maybe I’m just grouchy after being in the car 15 hours straight.

Make no mistake, branding is critical – absolutely vital – to the success of a business. Branding isn’t just your logo, your tagline – it actually conveys the ESSENCE of what your company is about.

And, think about this, branding isn’t just your business card, your company brochure or website – it is YOU. Employees, employers, CEO’s, everyone – we all convey the “brand” of our company. Continue reading “What-ehv-errr it’s, like, Branding!”