The Truth Behind Branding

By Robert Provencher

I'm not against branding, per say. What I don't agree with, and caution photographers, is the misuse of the word by woefully unqualified persons, who besides not even really understanding the concept themselves, make attempts at sounding like they know what they are talking about, by using words like 'branding' and such, solely to suck more money from us, because we think it's legit.

Well, here's the truth, as I see it. Agree or not, get mad or nod in agreement, this is something that makes perfect sense. To me anyways.

Branding, the term, is abused by designers and ad agencies. Others use it to sound cool.

What is branding then? First off, it's not something you buy. It's not your logo or color scheme or building. It's none of those things, which I could list a mile long.

Branding is nothing more than the total amount of people, on average, in a certain area, that know or heard of you. Hopefully in a positive light. You don't achieve this by anything other than the publicity that you and your studio generates.

And when I say publicity, I mean publicity at the very grass roots level all the way up to big media.

Let me put it a little more practical. (I can feel the darts already)

Let's say I walked into your town or city and randomly asked 500 people what comes to mind when I say 'photography studio'. If say 30% said your name, that, in my opinion, although a random percentage used to illustrate my point, would be a high number. It would be impressive.

Now, let's say of that 30% only 5% had actually been in your studio. Then, how did the other 25% hear about you? They were 'branded' by the words uttered by someone else. Someone credible.

It is, again, publicity. Publicity is the root of it all. I should say right here that I am not speaking for huge corps with millions to blow on their own version of branding, such as Coke, who really need to rely on whatever media they can, since they are selling poisoned sugar water.

Publicity is the interaction between two or more folks. At it's simplest level, and most powerful, word of mouth. Yes, you heard it here folks. The cats out of the bag. Word of mouth, no matter how many times you hear it said, is the most powerful and lasting form of publicity, and publicity is the fabric that 'branding' is woven from.

Now, you can't argue this with a designer. He just wants to sell you pretty things that will add some bling to your entire look. But, that bling is not the thing responsible for your branding. And he wants your money and an inner pathological need to justify the huge ad agency fees.

Unless your a huge, soul-less, cold and sterile corporation, which has nothing more to stand for. But your a photographer. Small business, huge effect on peoples lives. And it's ok to have a consistent, nice loooking image....everywhere..your card, your letterhead etc etc but again, it's not the ONLY thing that you should focus on.

When your client leaves your studio with a wall hanging, and she's happy; you know, she called, inquired, had the consultation, did the session, cried at the viewing, forked over one or two mortgage payments over to you, and proudly hangs her latest prize; the portrait that you created of her family, in the most important room in her home. Her friend, mom, sister, whomever, pops in for a visit.

It ain't gonna be: "Wow, you should have been at ABC Studio!! What a great logo they have!"

In summary, it's a good idea to have a smooth, nice looking logo and consistency in all the stuff that is part of what your studio is all about, but to make it the PRIMARY strategy, and call it 'branding' is just plain dumb. By far, the most important thing you can do is enhance the experience your client has, on every level, and let the chatter say it all. Words are mightier than logos.