The State of the Brand in 2010

A couple of weeks ago, I participated in a panel discussion about the state of the industry and what to expect in 2010 and beyond. As the topic of discussion turned toward social media, one of the other panel members made the following comment:

“Social media has completely changed the definition of what a brand is, don’t you think?”

If you know me personally or follow me on LinkedIn or Twitter, you probably have a good idea of where this conversation headed. While I won’t bore you with the he said she saids, I thought a brief review of the facts and how they apply in 2010 could be beneficial to those destination marketers not in attendance.

A brief history of “brand”

The origin of the word "brand" comes from the Old Norse brandr, meaning "to burn", the practice of producers burning their mark onto their products. Even back in those days, the mark was the symbol for the brand, while the brand was the reputation or perception of the quality offered by the producer.

Today, the word brand is still sometimes confused with a logo or trademark, although most marketers and many marketing-aware consumers understand that the idea of brand is defined more by meaning than by symbol.

David D’Allessandro, CEO of John Hancock, put it succinctly in his groundbreaking and still very relevant 2001 book, Brand Warfare:

The rise of social media and the widening reach of the voice of the consumer have not changed the meaning of brand one iota. Nor have they “completely changed” anything. However, these forces, combined with the recent recession, have had a significant impact on both the popularity and process of “branding” and the speed in which it is changing.

For the time being, at least, many marketers of destinations, resorts and attractions have responded by replacing “Creating an emotional connection” with “Learning to do more with less” as their biggest challenge.

They are facing smaller or inadequate budgets and, at the same time, charged with replacing the things that used to work with something that actually works.