Think of your favorite restaurant. Now think of your favorite movie, juice, book, toothpaste, snack, cereal and shampoo. What do you see? I’m assuming one specific brand for each and every one of those products.
That said, I think its safe to assume that branding has quite an impact on our daily lives. Over time we tend to build certain judgments and “relationships” if you may, with our chosen products.
Certain brands of products “speak” to us in a more soothing, nostalgic and emotionally binding way in comparison to others, as designed and implemented through graphic design and advertising.
The branding of goods and services in a consumer society is very intriguing due to the bonds that we build with certain possessions even though, we are well aware that these possessions are merely material goods that never last a lifetime.
However, they can speak volumes for some of us. For instance, why is one brand of toothpaste better than the other even though both products are still just toothpaste?
Why do you choose Colgate, Tom’s, Aim, or Crest over Aquafresh? Is it really better? Or is it because that’s the toothpaste that you’ve grown up with, seeing your mother or father use the same brand day in and out as a child?
This is where things get interesting. There are certain brands of products that we may hold near and dear to our hearts, while others seem absolutely dispensable. Toothpaste and cereal are one of them. But why?
Brands can only reach an ultimate level of devoted loyalty if they seep into the emotional section of the brain (the limbic system). We do not make purchasing decisions based on logic as often as we think we do otherwise we would be contemplating the differences between products for ages before actually making a decision.
Instead, we build brand loyalty and make purchase decisions primarily through emotion. So next time you go shopping at the supermarket for cereal, soap or shampoo, ask yourself why you’d choose one brand over the other and would you ever switch?
Picture Credits: mashable.com; dailyoftheday.com; www.cio.com; www.helpscout.net
