Corporate Branding Explained

Corporate branding is when a company’s logo or products are instantly recognizable. Probably one of the best examples of this is the Coca-Cola® bottle. You can be on any continent of the world, in any country and Coke is there. Their logo, their curved bottle, the red colors, and the name is one everyone knows. What is most incredible is that even very small children ask for Coke. And not only is the drink itself recognizable, but in the US and Canada, their image of Santa Claus is an icon. Their songs and jingles from years ago are still familiar to people. This is what real corporate branding is about.

Further, corporate branding does not have to be one product. It can be several similar products branded under the same umbrella but different from the company name. An example of this are LYSOL® products owned by Reckitt Benckiser. No-one knows the corporation’s name even though it is a major, international conglomerate. But if a new Lysol product was launched tomorrow, it would gain instant recognition because Lysol has been a trusted brand for generations. It was popular as a bathroom cleaner and when germs became an issue in society, the disinfectant wipes were created. People bought them not because the wipes worked, but because the name Lysol was a familiar household name.

Another point that is interesting about corporate branding is that the product does not have to be the focus of the brand. Yes, the product is the key, but the brand may be known for something else. Take a look at this statement from BMW’s website for the MINI brand.

“MINI is part of a lifestyle that is cosmopolitan and confident, ready for everything.” The car is not sold because it is cheaper, it is not sold because it is smaller. On the contrary, its appeal is the lifestyle. The brand epitomizes a specific lifestyle. If it was just an economical car with good gas mileage, it would not be the icon it is.

Indeed, it is very difficult to get a product or name to the same point of corporate branding that the above mentioned companies enjoy. But they are also very old brands with a history of trust in the marketplace. Many up-and-coming labels are trying to be the next brand. Think of Google™, ten years ago. It made the leap into a brand when people started using the phrase “just google it”. It is a verb (to google), and a noun (google the search engine). This is branding as well, when users take the product into mainstream life or vocabulary.

Another focus of corporate branding is the private label or generic brands of products. Large grocery chains, in particular, offer their own brand of products to consumers which are typically cheaper in price than “name brands”. In fact, many of the white label or grocery store brands are made in the same plants as the name brands, but when they come off the assembly line, they have different labels on the packages.

In conclusion, corporate branding is best described as names that are instantly recognized by the public. The name paints a picture and means something. Should a new product be developed under the same brand name, it can piggy-back off the success of the other products because it carries the same name.