The term brand and the act of branding a person or idea or company, will have a somewhat different meaning,

depending on who you talk to and what aspect of the world of branding they work in or have

reason to know about. The field of branding includes work as diverse as building websites

and managing influencer campaigns, designing style guides and writing copy.

It can involve renting billboard space and renting conference space, developing multimedia

presences and developing relationships. Approached holistically, a brand is the amalgamation

of all our potential perceptions of something.

So Coca-Cola's brand is made up of their logo and catchphrases, their commercials and

jingles, their color schemes and typefaces and interactive apps, and the technology built

into their in-restraint soda dispensers.

It's their history and how they communicate that history,

the people who work at corporate headquarters and their reputations. It's their quarterly reports,

and the thickness and texture of the paper those reports are printed upon. It's also the many

associations established by Coca-Cola over their many decades of existence,

including their associations with certain colors and sounds and keywords, like happiness

and share and smile and inclusivity, and their associations with people, both real and fake,

from Elton John to Santa Claus.

Just as important as what your brand is associated with, though, is what it's not associated with. This component of the branding world

is so important that there are entire sub-industries dedicated to crisis management and damage

control, often relying on strategies and tactics

from the world of public relations, but also involving all the fields I mentioned previously,

utilized to distance a brand from a particular idea or person or event, rather than tightening

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