Brand is a very tangible element of business that is often overlooked or left to fend for itself. It can be the very reason people buy from you or the reason why they don’t. Often times today, brand is the quality that people attach to themselves to define who they are, whether you are local,regional, or national. As people define their lifestyles by brand, you must realize that your brand is the crucial piece of how the consumer relates to you.

The origin of brand was long ago. Egyptians used to mark slaves with icons for ownership purposes. Later cattle and other livestock were marked in America for identification. There really wasn’t any reason to brand though. Businesses were very local and competition was limited. The Industrial Revolution brought the next revolution in branding. Products were created identical and as more products entered the market place, naming and symbolism were essential in telling products apart. This move led to companies recognizing that consumers were making choices based on recognition of names and what came to be known as logos.

As companies started to recognize that consumers were basing purchase decisions upon features and then associating product characteristics with the name and logo of a company, the modern brand was born. At this point, companies were forcing products and brands into the marketplace as there was still limited competition. The development of railroads took branding to the next level as once regional brands were allowed to expand nationally. Competition among regional providers intensified and consumers were soon making choices based on features and repeat purchases based on brand recognition. A company’s brand was being defined as the consumer sentiment toward the product. In the 1950’s, advertising helped tell consumers what they should be feeling about brands. The next few decades started telling people that it was fine to have wants that were more than needs. After all, a lot of people had moved beyond the lower levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy and now they wanted comfort. In the 1980’s, many brands started to become ‘selfish’ and cater to the whims of consumers, telling them that they would be better with this product. The ‘90’s had companies motivated to personalize brands – noting that people were starting to build their identities completely around the brands they used, and then evangelizing those brands as a way of life.