You know the brand of shoes you put on this morning. You’re aware of the company that made the car you drove to work, as well as the label on the coffee you grabbed at the drive-thru. You definitely know the brand of the phone you might be reading this on right now, and you’re fiercely loyal to that snack fruit (or, to a lesser extent, robot) logo.
We may not give brands much thought, but we all have our favorites. They’re an intrinsic part of our everyday lives, which is exactly the companies’ intention: most people would sooner give up a child than their iPhone. Admittedly, that’s a stretch—but what has little Tanner done for you lately?
Brands are powerful, and they can make a business just as easily as they can break them. Nike famously took what looked like an insane PR chance—to industry insiders, anyway—on controversial NFL star Colin Kaepernick, and it paid off big in brand engagement, if not sales. Meanwhile, companies like Target and Volkswagen are still in recovery mode from public hits taken in recent years, and Papa John’s has taken a deep-dish dive thanks to, coincidentally, criticism of Kaepernick and the NFL.