Brand self esteem

It is said that self-esteem is a set of perceptions, thoughts, evaluations, feelings and behavioral tendencies directed towards oneself. In this case, we are going to focus on our brand. For years, back in the 2000s, when I was a design student in Rosario, I noticed the importance that people gave to having top brand products. The situation that I remember the most was the use of Apple over any PC, it was a breaking point because it meant a kind of exclusivity badge. For a design student it was almost an obligation to work with a Mac and not a PC, if you didn't, you weren't worthy of becoming a professional graphic designer. If you didn't have a Mac, you weren't good enough to keep up with the students who did use, follow, and buy everything from this brand.

Paradoxically, we were design students, which gave us a greater range of knowledge about the power of brands and their cultural imposition. Clearly, Apple had not only achieved a disruptive product, but also managed to establish itself as an exclusive brand throughout society and mainly within a segment with greater purchasing power. Today, twenty years later and after a long professional career working with SMEs, I still wonder what a brand means to CEOs and executive directors of companies. I think that, without a doubt, everyone would agree that the brand is the representation of the company, of the quality of its products, of its communication (in the broadest sense) with its public. Perhaps they even agree, as design professionals say, that it is the most expensive intangible value of the company. The truth is that many times I feel that in the vast majority of cases their answers are a simple cliché to look good with design and/or marketing professionals, that is, they say yes, but their actions reflect that in reality there are always major investments.

Thank God, today we find many professionals writing about the love of brands, about the power they have in society and the interpersonal relationship with them, sharing values, customs, habits, creating community and sharing a large part of our lives.

Now, my question is this, if we all buy "brands" and know how important they are; Why do companies still hesitate to invest in building and positioning their brand?
In my humble opinion, I believe that companies are afraid of making mistakes, they are afraid of making mistakes in their communication, they are afraid of being exposed to ridicule or misunderstanding, they are afraid of risking their ideas, their values and, above all, they are afraid to success. Yes, fear of success.

It has never been as easy as today to position your brand, today there is Google, Meta, Instagram and infinite means of communication to position brands, tools to create content and at the lowest cost that we could ever have imagined, so the question is the same: Why why nobody does it? And the answer, as the great Bob Proctor said, "nobody does it because it's easy not to."

If you are reading this I invite you to reflect:

What is your company doing today to stand out from the rest?
Is the communication of your brand disruptive or is it one more of the bunch?
What percentage of profits is reinvested in marketing and advertising?
Was your brand and its image system designed and created by professionals?
How important is your brand recognition?
What is the added value of your brand?

“Design is not essential, it is inevitable” _ Alan Fletcher

I hope these few lines have helped you reflect a bit, rethink your brands and how they reach your audience. At Estudio JPG SRL we have been working for more than 15 years helping companies to improve their communication and always placing design first.

We are here to help you!
Thank you for reading!