Because let’s face it, Apple’s gooooooood at it.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines branding as “the promoting of a product or service by identifying it with a particular brand”. It’s a beautiful realm worthy of deep study, because it can manifest in wildly different ways. A key distinction is between an older association of “brand” with logo, and what’s now often known as brand identity, which is akin to a personality type, if you will.

Branding can span everything from videos and magazine ads, to company culture and C-Suite tweets. It plays a vital role in whether or a not a business - of any size - can accomplish the #1 feat - standing, out.

These five examples will feature big brands with bigger budgets - but there is a wealth of knowledge to be drawn from their tactics, so small businesses can stand taller than their competitors. Let’s dive in, taking careful note of the “Small business takeaways” following each example.

1. Nike

Three words that defined an advertising & athletic generation - “Just Do It”.

Simple words. Almost dull, were you to place yourself back at the first pitch of. Thing is, Nike really walked the walk after this campaign was birthed in 1988, and it paid enormous dividends.

Nike is a certain thing, but thanks to its impeccable branding, it feels a certain way too. It’s ads and messaging makes the company memorable because they inspire its audience - both on an emotional level, and in turn, a commercial one. Camera technique in commercials, breathtaking product design, and creative usage of the best athletes on the planet, Nike’s branding has few equals, if any.

Small Business Takeaway: Positivity is your friend. Nike succeeds because it makes people want to be their best. How can you do something similar, whether it’s for people themselves, their work, their families, tools, diets, etc? 

2. Red Bull

Upon first analysis, it feels like a “no-duh” to assume a pioneering energy drink would infuse…energy into their entire branding presence.

But that’s just where they got started. In a genius fashion, Red Bull got its hands in every athletic and/or extreme sport they could, and in ways far more meaningful than slapping on a sticker or logo somewhere. They helped engineer Formula One racing cars, they sponsor esports teams, and they’ll just do random things like arranging a New Year’s Eve Bike Jump.

Small Business Takeaway: Event marketing is an excellent hack to make your presence known.

3. Starbucks

The pen is mightier than the sword, sure. But the sharpie is mightier than the pen.

You probably know that the coffee behemoth sparingly relies on advertisements. They don’t need to, for reasons that go beyond the quality of coffee.

The writing of your name on your cup may feel like second nature to your coffee-buying at this point, but at its inception it was 100% branding mastery. There’s a trend of storytelling-in-advertising these days, and the premier examples of it place the customer as the hero in a story (many businesses mistakenly place themselves as the hero/protagonist. Starbucks’ simple idea of writing your name on your cup is a branding master stroke.

Small Business Takeaway: Be creative in your branding placements. You never know what might take off.

4. Tesla

For this one, we’ll see fragments present in the previous examples all bundled together, with one unique trait thrown on top.

For starters, whether someone just started contemplating buying a Tesla or owns three, he or she absolutely feels a certain way. Maybe that feeling is innovative, or environmental. Heck, maybe it’s just smart or splurgy. But let’s face it, owning a Tesla is just different from other brands in the 2020s.

Their branding emphasizes events too, even if they don’t always go as planned. For a personal touch, they go above and beyond in letting buyers customize their ride, inside and out.

Finally, though, Tesla’s brand identity really does have two human legs, and they belong to Elon Musk. Love him or hate him, it is undeniable that he

1. Generates buzz that

2. His companies use

Small Business Takeaway: Don’t set out to alienate people - but also don’t be afraid to be bold, whether or not that equates to “being yourself”. Strong personalities tend to be more magnetic, and even if it’s for 50% of people, that 50% will likely carry more devotion to your product or service.

5. REI

There are companies that claim to have a mission that transcends quarterly earnings and market share…and then there’s REI.

Probably the foremost consumer trend of the past decade is supporting companies with a deep, often altruistic purpose. REI’s is nature & the outdoors, what we owe them, and what they do for us.

There’s a term in the search engine optimization world (SEO) known as EAT. Standing for “expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness”, it basically encapsulates what Google as a search engine looks for in determining which links to rank highest. Well oddly enough, the overlap with great business traits is uncanny, and REI is Exhibit A of these values.

Don’t just take our word for it. This company literally abandoned Black Friday and its ocean-sized revenue…only to make it a paid holiday for their employees to get outside.

Small Business Takeaway: it’s okay to stand for something, and people are drawn to missions and commitments beyond transactions

The Best Branding Strategy? Whatever Makes You Memorable

Maybe it’s humor, or a bona fide mastery of how to use social media. Maybe it’s a logo that stops people in their tracks, or a perfect voice for a perfect collection of radio scripts that stop people on their drive.

Whatever it is, remember that branding is arguably the most integral part of your business’ presence in the world. While marketing & advertising might be your smile, branding is your business’ DNA.

Audio can be a huge part of it, and it’s a focal point of our smart, fun, and caring team. If you or someone you know has a small business that wants to reach the ears of the most engaged listeners in the Treasure Valley, let’s chat.