“Branding turned into belonging: belonging to a tribe, to a religion, to a family. Branding demonstrated that sense of belonging both for people that were part of the same group and also for those who did not belong.”
“The most powerful brands we are creating today are not created by corporations, they are movements created by people for people.”
Debbie Millman | The Complete History of Branding in 20 Minutes
Watch Debbie Millman’s AIGA Lecture “The Complete History of Branding in 20 Minutes” about the history of branding and respond to the prompt below.
- If branding is how we designate meaning through language, symbols, and words, how do the brands (in the broadest sense) that you affiliate with connect you others?
- What is the meaning/ideology behind your brands?
Add your ideas in a comment in this Discussion post by Wednesday 6pm before the next class to allow time for responses. Add at least 1 follow-up response to your classmates’ comments.
Debbie mentioned how the brain works in terms of feeling connected and used MySpace as one of the earliest examples of Social Media or platforms that allowed people to connect using technology. In my case, Discord and Spotify are the two major platforms that connect me to the world, literally. Thanks to Discord, in the past year and a few months, I have connected with people even in a very intimate level that I wouldn’t otherwise. With some I have even met “in real life,” as Debbie would put it, so it is effective in that way. Additionally, music and the most popular brand/platform, Spotify, is the other way I feel connected to others. Some people bond over food and some, like myself, bound over music. Being able to simultaneously listen to the same song and creating shared playlists are the most meaningful ways that Spotify has allowed me to bond with others.
The meaning or ideology behind the brands that I mentioned are definitely connectivity. But the reason I engage with people using these platforms root from a brand called Yes Theory, and their motto, “Seek Discomfort,” fuels their community to seek outside their comfort zone by facing their fears or insecurities.
The starting idea of the big bang that is considering the beginning of life as we know it was a great way to engage the audience. It was unexpected but I was glad that she started off with science because it made me more interested due to how it related to us being who we are as humans. She introduced, “Cultural Universals” which relate to ways in which we interact and work. This relates to branding in how we may use what we see and allow it to affect and influence how we interact with brands and their use of language, symbols, and words.
The way we connect with brands helps us connect with others is through the focus on making connecting easier through the prescence of brands socially and universally. The meaning of branding behind brands like Nike and Reebok are the idea of everyone needing a shoe for their needs that is supported by the reassurance the brand provides through their upholding essential principles of human rights and many aspects of universality which would help them to survive as brands and companies, long term. Nike’s idea is, “Just Do It”, in which everyone needs to do work and it can be simpler than we think and Reebok’s idea is leading by example through their brand and branding which could also resonate with many.
I agree with this. I feel like the use of a tagline within a brand is usually what encourages someone to want to see what the brand is about or to try it. Like McDonalds, although it is unhealthy, the tagline “I’m lovin it” speaks for the taste of the food, and the feeling of eating food that tastes good, rather than what it might actually do to your body. Because loving something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for you.
I can say social media like instagram has connected me to others in the way we share our lives and post things almost daily. Peloton is another brand that connects me. Although I am not a user of the Peloton, being an employee I still feel connected to others. One of their taglines are “Together we go far”. This doesn’t just apply to its customers, but it also applies to the company’s employees.
For instagram, it’s about expressing yourself through your profile and being able to stay connected to friends and family. You’re able to share posts to others, and have discussions in direct messages. The meaning behind Peloton is that we all work together to be better. Peloton defines as a group of cyclists in a race. The brand itself encourages everyone to do well, maybe even compete with friends and family through leaderboards. This also helps people to feel more motivated to work out. In the company we use the tagline as a way ti motivate each other to work together. As one we are stronger and better!
I agree with this as well. Just as you see Instagram as a way of connecting with people, I see Twitter that way too. Connecting and sharing things with people who didn’t think you would have in common with. And I love how all of you and your coworkers and the customers connect with each other and treat each other like family. Many workplaces don’t have that and that is important to have.
On the video Debbie mentioned something I understood especially growing up about how brands something specific like the red tag of levis in jeans was something important that would make the jeans cooler. I think that for me in high school I would say that Starbucks was a big thing, because it is a famous place and the store has a different atmosphere to it. Since their coffees are more expensive and intricate than other coffee shops having a cup with their logo had a different view than having a logo from another store.
There isn’t a slogan from what I have seen from Starbucks but they almost don’t need one anymore. Their logo is very recognizable the look of their cups too that even from far way someone is able to tell is a Starbucks drink. Their brand mainly focuses on their drinks and the quality of their drinks, they are also known for their seasonal and very customizable drinks. This is something that would connect me to others because with friends and classmates we would talk about specific drinks or gather to go try the new seasonal drink. The brand also spoke about how they wanted to encourage people to bring those reusable cups instead of getting single use cups to try to reduce environmental impact. The reusable cups and would give discount for using them in stores was another factor because we would look for specific cups. People who was worry about the environment and wanted to reduce plastic would got to Starbucks for this reason too because there wasn’t many coffee places that offer this option.
For me, social media, like Twitter is something that I feel connected to and connects everyone. Just like how Instagram is a way many people connect, it’s Twitter for me. People write more of their feelings and thoughts on there all the time and others respond to it. Mostly cause they can relate or they want to share something as well. I find it a place to just be yourself, share, and relate.
The meaning behind brands I connect to like Twitter and also Pinterest, I wanted to add, is that it’s meant to get people to talk and share. Like I said before, sharing relatable things or pictures. Especially a way to connect to people in the world and not just friends you know. Connecting and finding things in common with someone or a group you never thought you would have a connection with. It feels comfortable and good to know people out there share the same thoughts as you. And now Twitter is adding more things to it to be able to share more with people, for example, they have now, for a while, a thing where you can join in on a group’s conversation. So they can be talking about something you might find interesting and just join in and literally talk to them.