Today in class we discussed branding. Many people talked about how branding is sometimes offensive, whether it is dealing with large corporations, targeting younger audiences or even used for the white house and political campaigns.
There are instances where I can see how branding is offensive, but as a PR major, it is all about appearances and how you portray an image. Without branding, consumption would be no where near the same amount it is now. Branding is what sells objects, ideas and products to people. I can see why some people may be offended, because often branding can be misleading or provide false information. It is our job as the consumers though to figure out what products have these misleading advertisements and which ones can be thought of as trust worthy. Looking at the bigger picture, many people made the point today that the purchases other people make does not affect us. So if someone is intrigued by the way a company brands a product but I'm not, that in no way is affecting me.
Things get complicated when branding is mixed with politics. The point was made in class that branding political figures, such as presidential candidates can be offensive because it affects more than just an individual, but the country as a whole. A candidate can brand themselves in such a way that may appear more glamorous or appealing to the public, but that has nothing to do with their policies and their plans for out nation. In this case, the public can be mislead and elect someone who in return, does nothing for us. This is an instance where i can see branding as offensive. But in the end, it is our job to be informed and to look beyond the branding.
You cannot blame anyone for the use of branding because it works. Catchy slogans, celebrities endorsements and jingles are all things that attract us to a person or product, but we must do research beyond that. Branding is something that our society thrives off of and revolves around. So i do not believe branding itself is bad, but we must be careful to not believe everything as it appears.
I agree with this 100%. When you talked about how political figures such as presidents brand themselves and how that supposedly affects our nation as a whole it really rang true for me. I don't care what party you associate yourself with... if you are going to vote, you should know more about a candidate than just what they are branding themselves as. If not, then that explains a lot about why our country is not doing well.
ReplyDelete