Branding isn't a project, it's a practice

Imagine you go to the dentist.

The dentist looks at your teeth and discovers a long list of problems.

Cavities, decay…some other problems, I don’t know, I’m not a dentist (and my teeth are pristine).

But good news! They can fix it all up. It’s going to be expensive though. But you know it’s worth doing and you really need it.

A week later and you look at your teeth in the mirror.

“My god”, you think to yourself. What a handsome devil I am, as you admire your new shiny set.

Now we fast forward a few years.

There are two possible outcomes here.

1. You did everything the dentist instructed you to do. Brush, floss, mouthwash, avoid sugar, quit smoking, and get regular checks and cleans. And your teeth still look dazzling. Or…
2. You don’t do any of that. You fall back into old habits. You don’t brush, forget to floss, eat candy and don’t go back to the dentist again for years.

This is branding in nutshell and why most brand projects don’t work.

They’re utterly misunderstood.

When companies approach a branding agency, they do so because they recognise the symptoms of a failing or broken brand, or least just room for improvement.

But branding isn’t a project with a start date and an end date.

The reality is that most companies don’t know how to take what comes out of a branding project and maintain it.

And if they cannot afford a brand manager, or marketing and design team, then there's no one taking control of ensuring the brand stays on track.

So the brand drifts. Slowly. Quietly. Back to where it started.

Three years later, they're back at the dentist wondering why everything hurts again.

Brand isn't a project. It's a practice.

The work doesn't end when you leave the dentist. That's when the real work begins.

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