What is a Brand? Defined by what it says .. or what it does?

What is a Brand? Is it defined by what it does?

Recently a lot of brands have been more pro-active when it comes to social and environmental concerns, do these efforts reflect at all what a brand is about?

Toyota recently launched a crowd sourcing effort entitled 'Ideas for Good', where they invited developers to create apps that addressed social needs within their society out of which the 5 best app winners get the Toyota choice of their pick...hybrid of course. In this way Toyota wins threefold, it not only gets to promote its cars, re-brand itself as being socially conscientious and help others as well. They have a good chance of succeeding because this re-branding effort is reflected in their production of cars which are more environmentally friendly.



As Toyota are promoting their existing range, Ford have started promoting their almost complete electric vehicle the 2012 Ford Focus Electric even before its release. The campaign is centered around promoting discussions about electric vehicles (or EV) and the environment. Ford have been successful in the past with their social media campaigns, and while it is a good idea to create a buzz, such promotions need to be carefully monitored. Firstly, they have to ensure that there isn't too much hype that the car cannot live up to & Secondly, they will have to address consumer concerns such as 'range anxiety' which most electric vehicles face so as to curb the negativity on the actual product reviews. Maybe this would have been a good research initiative rather than a promotion?

Ford Focus electric badge

Levi's WaterLess Logo

While some brands promote their social goodness others prefer taking a low key approach where actions speak louder than words. I'm talking about Levi and their sustainable WaterLess denim, where they have cut back on the amount of water required to make their denim by 28% and that times 1.5m pairs is a significant amount, 16m liters less to be specific. This is an excellent initiative where by Levi's have demonstrated their commitment to the environment without all the bells and whistles, and the best part being....it costs the same! Although now it would be ideal if this would be done to ALL their denim, then they would be truly be called an environmentally friendly brand!

Ikea's Energy Saving Bulbs

Commitment to the environment is demonstrated by California's state wide ban on the 100 watt bulb, which has been picked up by retailers such as Ikea who have stopped selling th product and have switched to 75 watt bulbs instead, and sure they may be a little more expensive but it means lower electricity bills in the long run.  If you have the power to make a difference then why not??