Building Great Brands: The Value of Time
By Levina Kusumadjaja
There are no instant shortcuts to a long-lasting, impactful brand.
Have you noticed how “instant” our lives have become? It's almost like you can get anything just by a touch from your fingertips. We click “order” and we have what we're looking for in less than 24 hours. We think of a word or concept we don't understand, we just click “search” on Google and we will have an answer in a few minutes. Unfortunately, this doesn't apply when it comes to building a brand.
Great brands are built over time. Think about brands that you discovered 10 years ago in college, that you are still a big fan of now, and that you are planning to talk about 10 years later to your children. Disney, Apple, Nike, Coca Cola—to name a few. The value of these brands weren't built in a day. They were built over years of time, effort, and money communicating what the brand is all about. It seems effortless now because what we see today is the result of hard work and intentionality they have put into their brands for decades. They are where they are now because they have proven how trustworthy, life-changing, and impactful their brands are throughout the years.
Logos don’t mean anything until your audience injects meaning into it.
A logo is a good example. Even though a brand isn't a logo, but the value of a logo is one of the things we can use to measure the value of a brand. The icon of an apple meant nothing 40 years ago. This is because there was no value injected to it yet. The perception of the icon of an apple was simply as a piece of fruit. If we mailed envelopes with an apple icon on it to 500 people 40 years ago, they would be confused, maybe curious at most. Today, if we mailed envelopes with a bitten apple icon on it to 500 people, they would be so excited to open it. What was once a fruit is now a revolutionary icon. What makes the difference? Apple Inc.
First impression → Accurate assumption → Perception
Apple relentlessly built one first impression after another, so customers were able to have an accurate assumption about the brand. They communicated how their brand was of a different league, that they were the world changers. And we could see all of these consistently delivered through their products, services, and campaigns. We saw the meticulous and intentional care that Apple gave to us through their products. We saw their brilliant campaigns. They helped us believe that carrying an Apple logo was something to be proud of. They helped us understand how much we wanted to be a part of the Apple tribe.
There is no version of an “instant” success when it comes to building a brand. If a company wants their brand to stand the test of time, their brand needs to actually stand the test of time. There are no shortcuts to creating a long-lasting and impactful brand. It comes with the hard work of communicating the same message, values, and heart over and over again, throughout the years from one generation to the next. There needs to be consistency in time, across the products, services, messaging, and everything else that is related to the brand and the business. Through this long process, customers will find that their perception is worth their loyalty— the brand is worth their loyalty.
Cheers!
Levina
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About the author:
Levina is a writer based in Indonesia. Because of Melinda Livsey, she recognized the power of brand strategy for every creative. She is sharing about her learnings as she goes to help creatives have fun in their growth and journey of building brands. Connect with her on LinkedIn and say hi!