Brand

The word “brand” came from an Ancient Norse word “Brandr” meaning O”to burn”. In 950 A.D., brand meant a burning piece of wood. And in 1300’s, it meant a “torch” which was still meaning a burning piece of a wood used as a tool. In 1500’s, it meant a marked burned on cattle when farmers used to distinguish their cattle from cattle from other ranches.

With the 1820’s mass production, products like wine started to flourish and sellers started to use the word brand to imply leaving a mark into the crates for those products and to differentiate their products with competitors. Products with better quality and high value naturally became known as a high-end products.

In 1870, it finally became possible to register a trademark, and Coca Cola facilitated this to advertise their slogan “Coca Cola Revives and Sustains”.

As radio and television were introduced in 1920’s, companies started to associate products with ideas to change human behavior. By 1960’s marketers used mass media to associate brand with emotional benefits rather than functional ones. In 1980’s companies began building brand recognition. In 1984, Apple Computer released their iconic “1984” TV ad. With the rise of internet and social media, today’s consumers want to participate in branding rather than just consume. Apple has become one of very few irreplaceable brand and one of the most iconic brand of this day. Nike is another example than consumers feel strong emotional connection. Brand is not just a logo or a trademark anymore but it its an emotional connection and the whole experience that a consumer engage in throughout any possible interaction that could happen between a company and the consumer. With the rise of internet, such emotional connection sometimes created by the norm and trends. Review and rate system has made it no necessary to directly experience a product.