What About Branding?

Most people hear branding and think of those poor cows on the prairie being branded by hot irons. Those brands were used to prove the identity of the owner of those particular cattle - especially if rustlers were about!

That's sort of what branding is all about when it comes to marketing.  It is a way of marking an item or concept to show who that item or concept belongs to - and to try and create positive feelings about those items or concepts. Remember: positive = increased cash flow ($$$). 

Here are some examples of successful branding:

Kleenex - Try thinking of any other brand than Kleenex. If you asked someone to pass you a kleenex, would they know what to pass you?

Jello - There's always room for Jello - Jello brand geletin that is.  Again, if someone said they were having Jello for desert - would you know what they're having?

Google - It's now a verb! (And so scream a million English majors) But do you have to google on google to google?

These brands have become the archetypes of their products. Let's look at an example of a branding that failed - New Coke. Coke was an archetype.  People would use the word Coke to indicate that they were going to have a soda. However, someone decided that the supposed soda wars were proving very costly to Coke products, and they needed something new. Voila, New Coke. 

Big Mistake.

Coke products neglected the archetypical branding of their Coke. The Powers that Be at Coke misunderstood the power of branding, especially when it comes to archetypes. Hence, Coke blinked and Pepsi won. (or so goes conventional wisdom).

Now, Shut your eyes and tell me what you think when you hear the word library.

In OCLC's Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources: A Report to the OCLC Membership, 70% of respondants to that very question immediately said "books".   

70% - there were no significant runners-up. 

However, as professionals we know that the archetype is outdated. As a library professional, I know that a library is more than books - most modern libraries in 2005 had an average of 11 terminals connected to the internet for public use. Modern libraries are connected to union catalogs and no longer have card catalogs - they have OPACs. There are audiobooks, DVDs, vidoes, subscription databases and reference personnel ready to help find information or reccomend a new book. Some are developing into 'third spaces' with coffee kiosks, self check-out, community seating and wi-fi. The archetype of library no longer fits into the reality of the modern library. 

It's time to rebrand the library.

Just the Facts