4 Branding Principles to Establish a Positive First Impression Pt.1

by Stephen Coats

My mother always taught me that you need to give a positive first impression. When you walk into a room for the first time or show up for that first job interview, the people in that room will judge you and analyze you subconsciously based on your appearance, how you walk, how you smile, your clothing, etc.  There is no getting around it, it is human nature to care about public image.  Whether you are trying to raise funds from your home church or present at a conference, you have to be aware of your first impression, --what I would also call your personal “brand.” Thanks, Mom.

This is also true of our organizations, projects, and individual products that we are working on.  These four basic branding principles will happen naturally even if you don’t think about it.  So, instead of ignoring a good “brand,” learn something about it and then be intentional to establish clearly what you want people to see in your identity right from the start. Once you know your branding clearly you can own that as part of your product identity and more clearly communicate it to others.

The word “brand” is simply a clear marker to identify the ownership of something and indicate where it originates from.  Most commonly, a brand is used in rural agricultural communities to mark their cattle in case they get lost or stolen so the neighbor farmers can quickly look at the brand and return animals to the rightful owner.  If being sold at the market, the brand will indicate the quality of the cattle to the buyer as it relates to a certain reputable seller.  A cattle brand is part of the farmer’s personality as it reflects on him and his “product.”

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