Every
successful company and business builds a strong sense of branding. For
example when you think of Cocoa Cola. The Yankees. CrossFit.
Apple. You have very polarizing fan base for each of those
entities. This isn't brought about by chance, they all have a strong
sense of a brand and people love it or hate it. Recently I have been seeing
posts about why are CrossFit putting out sometimes tactless posts on their
social media platforms and why are thy portraying images in a certain
light. We're going to use CrossFit as a case study as a great example of
Branding and taking over the world.
But for
before we look into this- we have to define what Brand is and where it began. Click after the jump to find out more about essential parts of a outstanding brand.
Definition of Brand- An
Idea System, or network of associations and meanings.
Chris
Bolman, director of marketing at Percolate brings out that the connection of
all of these concepts create an identity for the brand. So it not one
single facet but how the brand reacts in the world around it. Think of
the centuries old Cocoa Cola. The brand is constant with it's
imagery. Think back when you were a child and you have a can or glass
bottle of cold the carbonated soft drink. Most likely the memory is very
vivid. That is because it's brand build on or reinforced by past
memories. Think of Cocoa Cola's brand. It is concrete, clear with
a clear vision.
Origin of
Mass Marketing and Branding
Proctor
and Gamble was the company that brought branding to the forefront. Partly
because they were building an empire but it was also the fact they were
reaching their apex the same time the radio was building in popularity.
What did that mean? It meant that for the first time, massive amounts of
people could be reached with the same message. No longer did you hear
about a product or service solely by word of mouth. Some might bring up
newspapers but that medium has a right of entry, the person needs not the
ability to read to understand the product via the radio. The company
could project there exact message to you in your home. Decades later, the
TV replaced that as the most revered transportation vehicle for your message.
But that
all changed in the late 90s and early 2000's with the Internet. With the
explosion of the popularity of the internet, advertisement and branding for the
first time in almost a century had to start fundamentally changing.
With the
internet, TV and radio constantly bombarding images and call to action the
internet was a change to have interaction with brands. Smaller brands
actually had the jump on larger companies to due sheer flexibility of the
establishment. If you remember, some companies would not have official
Facebook or Twitter accounts for years ago. Smaller companies took
advantage and could speak directly to their potential customers and interact
with them real time. Not just some 1800 number to faceless humans,
thousands of miles a way that didn't care about you.You could directly talk to
the creator of the product.
After
almost a century of mass marketing the person-company relationship is now based
on word of mouth and the hallmarks of a genuine brand. Like a perfect
storm, the infant juggernaut CrossFit arrived at the scene at the right
time. For little over 5 years prior to 2000, CrossFit was bubbling to the
surface from the mind and experiences of Greg Gassman to build a revolution and
a movement. Conscious or unconsciously they went on to build and solidify
their place in the functional fitness realm by perfecting and improving on the
six main branches of a brand. They include Vision, Mission, Values,
Positioning, Voice/Tone and Look & Feel. Let's take one at a time.
Join me next week as we talk about Vision. Do you want to see a preview about Voice/Tone? Click here. Join our newsletter to see all the great tips and articles that FIT Labs puts out. Click here for updates
