Blog Post #7: Cow-Branding vs. Product Branding

I hate to break it to you, but as much as you may have hoped it was, this post is not going to be all about the intricacies of branding cattle. I unfortunately do not know all that much about cattle branding, and it does not seem to me like it is all that intricate of a process anyways. Sorry guys. What this post will address, however, is the example of cattle branding in order to help explain what the term “brand” actually means in marketing. What many people do not realize is that brands and branding are a lot more than just logos, symbols, and slogans (which I can admit I did not know before coming to college). Before I get into the nitty-gritty of brands and branding, I want you to think about something for a second: Are there any products that you can think of that are not branded? If they are not branded, why do you think that way?

In order to help you guys out a little bit before I get deeper into this stuff, let us talk a little about some basic definitions. On the simplest level, you could say that a brand is a name, sign, symbol, design, or a combination of these, that aids consumers in identifying products or services. A brand essentially is there to keep products and services separate from others in the minds of consumers. The term branding, meanwhile, refers to the process of creating a brand. Given what I have talked about so far, you probably are wondering why I said that brands are more than just logos and symbols. I have given you basic definitions and everything. And how in the world do cows fall into all of this? Before that, I want you to take a look at the picture below and think about what each of the logos on the picture means to you (if anything at all).

Do you recognize these brands? What do they tell you?

Chances are, some of you thought of some level of quality, features, etc. when looking at the brands above. For example, when you see Apple’s logo, you may think of high quality contemporary technology associated with a creative person. Others may have had bad experiences with Apple, and may think of overpriced technology associated with snobby poshness. With brands also come the meanings and values that consumers attach to them. Marketers are certainly aware of this, and use a strategy called brand positioning in order to influence consumers in this way. Brand positioning can be based on one of three levels: product attributes, desirable benefits, or beliefs and values. The strongest of these three levels in reaching and capturing consumers’ attention and loyalty is the beliefs and values approach. This is because if a deep, emotional connection is made between a consumer and a brand, there is a chance that there will be a lifelong loyalty from the consumer towards the brand.

Along with the previous paragraph comes the difference between cow branding and product branding. Branding cattle symbolizes a mark of ownership of a specific group of cows. Product branding would be if a set of values, benefits, and/or attributes was created for those branded cows and then was promoted and believed by consumers of those cows. I am not completely familiar with cattle farming and branding, so this may be true, but I have always heard that cattle branding was a symbol of ownership and nothing more (I did not find anything to speak against it, but I welcome confirmation of/disagreement with this).

Cattle branding provides an interesting insight on product branding. And steak. Yum.

Before wrapping this post up, I want to touch on one more interesting branding topic: co-branding. We have all seen co-branding before. We see it with Kraft’s Spongebob Macaroni and Cheese, Reese’s Klondike bars, and Reebok NHL apparel. Co-branding is when two brands from different organizations come together to create and brand a new product. Both organizations’ brands are named on the product. While it is not simple and easy for large organizations to partner up in co-branding efforts, effective co-branding allows for both organizations to expand their reach.

Spongebob Macaroni and Cheese: It obviously tastes better than the normal one, right? Is it just me?

As you can see, branding is a very complex topic. It is difficult to try to convey exactly what you want to consumers with your branding strategies. Branding often takes a lot of refining due to this. When you think of branding now, I hope that you will think a lot more about the experience that the product or service is trying to deliver you and whether or not you are buying into it. You will likely also realize that there is almost nothing today that is not branded. As I have mentioned before, we live in an increasingly noisy world. The world of brands is certainly no different.

*Check out the “What is Branding?” video on my Interesting Marketing Media/Links for a visual depiction of what brands are*