Imagine waking up to a world without brands.

A world without brands has no names – it has designations. This is SODA. These are SHOES. You can have WORK SHOES and SPORTS SHOES. You wash your DISHES with DETERGENT. You have lunch at a RESTAURANT. It has FOOD.

A world without brands has no color. Colors provide distinction. We used to use color to separate one brand from another. We used them to evoke emotional responses and feelings. Here everything is white, devoid of color or variation.

A world without brands has no variety. One item per function, per category.

• One MICROWAVE OVEN.
• One CANDLE.
• One FROZEN GREEN BEANS.
  • But are they “green”? One BEANS.
• One WATCH.
• One TELEPHONE.
• One COFFEE.
• One PEN.
• One TOILET PAPER.
• One HAND BAG.
• One MAYONNAISE.
• One EYEGLASSES.
• One CAR.

One of each. Just one. No further choices are needed.

Questions like “What shall I wear?” become easier. I will wear a SHIRT, PANTS, UNDERWEAR, SOCKS, SHOES. Or I could wear a SKIRT, DRESS, They are all my brand because none have a brand. And yet clothes provide distinction as well. Perhaps a world without brands has no clothes at all.

A world without brands has no stories. No background information that could help you separate one experience from the other.

“In 1962, the PRODUCT was invented. People use the PRODUCT every day. It is not a good PRODUCT, nor is it a bad one. It merely is the PRODUCT and it fulfills its purpose. Buy one.”

 

The world without brands is a world without consumerism. No marketing. No advertising. They are not needed. We consume what we require. We supply our needs at a STORE. We do not have a favorite STORE.

In the world without brands, each job is unique and every company serves a single purpose. This company makes COMPUTERS. It requires 16 ENGINEERS and 27 PROGRAMMERS. No designers are needed.

 

***

 

Every aspect of our lives is touched by brands.

We dress in a certain way to set ourselves apart as individuals. The Gap, Zara, Max Mara, Christian Dior. We choose to drink certain kinds of wine, water, soda, and juice – and our choices speak to our identity. Perrier or Acqua Panna? Or tap.

It may be impossible to think of a world without brands – colorless, nameless, anonymous. Brands provide our jobs and competition. We strive to be better because of brands. They allow us to plan future improvements. Brands drive a young man from walking to bicycling. From Schwinn to BMX. From Hyundai to Ford to Lancia to Lamborghini. Or Tesla. They mark our progress. They signal our aspirations.

Perhaps we are overrun by brands these days. Perhaps there is too much choice. But the greater the choice, the more a brand must distinguish itself to become a favorite brand. And in so doing, a brand improves or dies.

Brands must always be better. Brands make us better.

 

 

Questions about your brand? Want to launch something new? Contact notapipe brand consulting today and we will assess your situation, give a frank appraisal, and real ideas and usable suggestions about how we could work together to make your brand the best it can be!