The Effect Branding has on a Company's Identity

Branding is everything for a company. It establishes what a customer instantly thinks about when they see the brand or hear the brand name. Look at the logo below. Without the company's name even on them, you are able to instantly know what they are, and have some sort of emotional tie to them. For example, when I see the Olympics Rings, I think of unity and competitiveness. I think of watching Michael Phelps winning 23 gold medals and becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time. I think about traveling and exploring new places. When I think of Apple,  I think of innovation and creativity. I think of the best of the best technology. I see the Nike swoosh and immediately think about elite sports clothing. I think about them having the best professional athlete endorsements, and I think of competitiveness. The company tagline "Just Do It" comes to mind as well.

Establishing a brand for your company gives customers a reason to come back and be loyal customers. I read an article in Forbes magazine the other day called "Why Brand Building is Important". In this article, the author states that:

"Branding is fundamental. Branding is basic. Branding is essential. Building brands builds incredible value for companies and corporations". 

Another example that proves how powerful a brand image can be is SeaWorld. When you say SeaWorld to someone, the first thing that immediately comes to the majority of people's minds are the orcas. SeaWorld has centered their branding around Shamu the Orca, and about how magical these animals are. They focus on the interaction between humans and these large whales. This brand has worked wonders for SeaWorld in the past. However, with the release of the film Blackfish, this brand is no longer one that SeaWorld wants to use. Blackfish was a film made about SeaWorld's most famous orca, Tilikum, who has taken the lives of several people. The film blames captivity for these incidents, and argues that orcas are not meant to be kept in small exhibits, but are meant to swim freely in the ocean. Blackfish went viral, and many people were disgusted. Now, instead of seeing SeaWorld as a magical place, they associated the brand with animal cruelty and sadness. SeaWorld's revenue has dramatically dropped since the film was released, and now they have announced that the orcas they already have will be the last Orcas SeaWorld has. They will no longer breed in house.

In class, we worked on thinking of ways to have Seaward refurbish their brand so that it is seen in a positive light again. We decided what would need to be done is SeaWorld will have to stop using the orcas as their main marketing tool. They also should put a heavy focus on educating their audience about how we can work together to save our oceans. They might even go as far as only putting rescued animals in captivity who would not have survived on their own in the ocean.

It's amazing how much impact a brand can have on a company, both in a positive or negative way. Brandin is the most important part of your marketing plan. Without it, your company has no identity and nothing for your customers to relate to or be associated with.