When you think soda what's the first thing that comes to mind? Coca Cola? When you think Hamburger, Mcdonalds? How about sneaker? Nike? Yeah me too, that is branding!

Here's a little something that most people don't know and that the successful few do, your brand is not your logo, it's not your identity or your color or your packaging. Your brand is what everyone else thinks of your company, product or service. It is the consumers opinion of you that makes your brand and companies that understand it's value know to protect it. Companies like Nike and McDonalds have entire departments devoted to that one simple principle. Now don't get me wrong it is a big job, not only do they define the standards for everything they do. Every product, every ad, every commercial, every location has branding standards and guidelines that must be adheard to and I mean to the letter! But that's what it takes.

Now I know what you're thinking, your not that big, don't want to be that big, never going to be that big but if you want to be successful in your own locale the principles are the same and so is the work involved. You may not need a brand management department for your company but you should at least be working with someone who understands brand principles and can worry about it for you.

You can compare it to a mission statement, it's something that you set as an overall guideline to how your company operates, what you believe in, you guard it with your life and if you operate with that in mind on everything you do then people always know what to expect with you. You never stray from your mission statement, you don't even think about not adhearing to it, sure it evolves over time just like a brand does but you protect that statement and yet within a years time you go through 3 different business card designs and you have 2 different logos one on your building and another on your truck and you don't think it's such a big deal but it is. There aren't any numbers out there to truly compare but when you look at the success of the big players you can see it in action and it's something that small and simple that can make a huge difference in the success of your business.

I have spent years learning and understanding the principles behind good brand management, I understand not only what it takes but how to be the most successful with it and it's that knowledge that can help take you and your company from one of the options to the go to company for your industry.

AaronVan is a full time freelance designer and photographer focusing on the print, interactive and marketing industries. With over 10 years experience in a variety of fields related to the advertising industry AaronVan has the knowledge and the ability to take your companies marketing to the next level.