The type writer: "A brand is an attitude"

It’s not the logo that makes the brand, Bruno Maag says. What should companies consider before rebranding?

It is worth remembering that a brand is not a visual or aural identity. A brand is what a company stands for – it is an attitude. A brand is a promise to every customer that tells them what they can expect and exactly how the offering is different to competitors’. The visual and aural elements are an expression of the brand that potential customers can identify with, and by which they can identify the brand. The identity must be as carefully built and maintained as the brand itself.

Market conditions change, and periodically it is necessary for a brand to stand back and review how it is interacting with its customers. This can result in services and products being refined or even totally renewed. A change in the visual and aural elements of the identity can signal to the customer that the brand has changed, but some company boards fall into the unfortunate trap of assuming that their logo, or their visual identity’s colours, are their brand; making changes to the visual identity without first appraising if the brand’s offerings are actually right can mean that the cohesion of the brand suffers.

A brand is successful when it lives through the people that represent it. Employees and customers often take ownership of a respected brand’s identity, so any adjustments to that identity must be made with sensitivity and solid research – arbitrary decisions will inevitably lead to disaster. Only if there are clear reasons for changing a brand, with full acceptance by those who live it, can a change of identity be successful.

Bruno Maag is chairman of Dalton Maag