Branding for the Soul - Essay Example

Klein further says that companies make products, but consumers buy brands, and she is right because branding is personal and collective to consumers. Brands mean something relevant to people as individuals as it reflects their aspirations, fears, and desires, and it can also mean something valuable to their group or culture as it connects to their group identity, goals, and values.

Brand logos and identities shape consumer culture because they represent something that people can connect to, either as part of their existing identity or as something they want to pursue and have someday. Klein provides examples of Body Shop, Nike, and Starbucks, who became popular since they formed brand logos and identities. Starbucks, for instance, relies on establishing “emotional ties,” so that customers will continue buying its products despite, or perhaps because, of their high cost (6). People who buy Starbucks feel that they have an upscale lifestyle that is still down-to-earth because of Starbucks’ philanthropic ideals. It is one example of brands that resonate with personal meanings and associations that consumers identify with.

Two brand names that I find interesting are Google and Apple. They are both constructed with respect to the image of coolness and innovation. Apple, however, especially for developed countries, is constructed to appeal to the rich or those who think they are rich. Apple preserves this image by having a material culture that has meanings based on coolness and originality so that it can have a high price premium for all its products.