I had been with the same car insurance company since I started driving at age 27 (but that’s another story). It was a well-branded company with a highly recognizable logo, a consistent use of a specific shade of red and a jingle I probably could sing long before I ever drove. But last month, they did not live up to their neighborly promise and I switched companies.
I did not select my new insurance company because of their great logo. It was simply their name set in an italics font. And I did not choose them because they consistently use blue and orange. I certainly can’t sing you their jingle or quote their slogan because they have neither. Yet, I made the switch because they have a strong brand. And that’s my point; a brand is not a logo, a specific use of a color, a jingle or a slogan.
A brand is all about managing the experience, and the experience I had from the first call to this company through subsequent calls for clarifications and additional services was, to coin a phrase, very Flo-like. Regardless of the person I was talking with, I felt I was talking to Flo. They were casual yet down-to-business. I felt I could be myself with them, and they in turn demonstrated their Flo-like attitude with their often humorous, yet to-the-point responses.
By now you know the company I switched to is Progressive, and I made the switch because of their brand. Not their logo. Not their slogan. Not their jingle. Not their graphic standards. But the experience. And that’s what branding it is all about.