This is part of an ongoing series of articles sharing our thoughts, insights, and conversations on brand-related topics including brand strategy, communications, and design.
There are good brands, and there are brands that could be better. But what does it mean to be a good brand? How is it that some brands seem to make all the right decisions while others struggle to create momentum—in spite of having outstanding products and services. In this episode we explore what it means to be a good brand, and the role a powerful brand catalyst® plays in transforming good brands into great ones.
What is a good brand?
A good brand knows what it is. It knows what's driving it forward. If there's an idea driving that brand it naturally does those things and becomes recognized for those things.
– Mark Stocker, Managing Director
I think a good brand is one that connects with people. Branding is about finding that common ground with whomever you're talking to. A good brand should be able to maintain a relationship and deepen it.
Once you start sharing a lot of experiences together, you continue to deepen that relationship, and that's what a good brand does. It talks to people and it brings different experiences to peoples lives.
– Christina Hsu, PR & Marketing Manager
A good brand is simply a reliable and trustworthy one. Brands that people can depend are the good brands and they become everlasting—they stick around for a long time in people’s lives.
– Camile Lin, Designer
A good brand is an honest one—they know who they are, what makes them special, and they use tools like marketing, design and advertising as ways to authentically connect with others and share what’s so special about themselves.
– Chris W. Hubbard, Communications Strategist
What is a Brand Catalyst®?
The Brand Catalyst® is a simple way to help you understand branding. Branding is actually a complex methodology, but the Brand Catalyst® helps you simplify all that by finding one single idea to help you easily understand what you're doing. It also helps others understand what you are doing.
– Kris Tsao, Creative Director
Your Brand Catalyst® is the thing that makes you want to keep going, keep moving, keep doing what you're doing. It’s the thing that helps people understand why they should trust you or work for you. It’s the thing your company believes in the most, and when clearly defined helps your clients and customers trust you and engage with you.
– Madeleine Work, Communications Strategist
The Brand Catalyst® is something that can lead the whole brand. It’s something that sits behind the brand, supporting it. It’s their “reason why.” It’s something the company owner feels he can use to build up the business.
Many times I think, companies forget about their Brand Catalyst®. Most of the time employees have no idea about its existence as an idea, or what it is and what it means. Maybe their owner knows. Maybe he even understands it, but the employees have no idea about it, which makes it hard to make an impact.
I feel the brand catalyst® is something to be shared internally as well, with all employees. Otherwise, you have a huge gap between what management understands about the brand and what the employees understand.
– Sean Chiang, Communications Strategist
