Putting this month of branding to a close, let’s take a look at some of the best examples of branding attempts. These examples are following suit in accordance with experience economy and other such advancements. Not only bringing you these cases, but this article will also help bring you a fair analysis of what makes these branding initiatives brilliant. Stripping them down to their core elements so you may take inspiration from them and design your own instead of following their footsteps. And without further ado, let us unveil these initiatives.

The Literal Brand Side

In a lot of cases, when one thinks of branding, their mind wanders to the actual brand identity. The visual aspects of a brand and designs that make them memorable while at the same time setting them apart from their competitors. While it’s true that things such as logos, packaging, etc are the necessary way to differentiate your product from the competitors, it isn’t essentially what makes them stand out. Nevertheless, for the literal sense of packaging, here are a few examples of the best.

Mountain Dew (PepsiCo) #ACanHasNoName

Mountain Dew made a genius move with this extraordinary limited edition can. A fully white can. Or so it seems. The can itself is pure white when it is warm, but when chilled, it shows a list of blue colored names. To some, this is a bizarre change, but to the countless that follows the hype-train that is the final season of the Game of Thrones series, this single can is basically a collector’s item. The can itself refers to a list of names one of the characters in the series aims to kill, with the ones already dead crossed out. This move by Mountain Dew was well accepted due to:

• The quick take on a relevant and ongoing event
• The in-depth reference easily appreciated by true fans instead of the standard photo of a character plastered on the can
• The revolutionary and creative step taken beyond what is expected

Less Direct Branding Side

Branding means making sure your brand is differentiable from your competitors. While the most direct way to do this is yes, visual representation, other interpretations may include:

• Taste/Flavor of a product
• Experience provided by your product
• Something your brand is correlated to
• etc

And looking at the third point, we take a look at Wall’s Magnum ice creams.

Magnum‘s Pleasure Hunt Trilogy

The ice cream line from Wall’s, Magnum, is using the tagline “For pleasure seekers” and turned the term on its head. Using game-based marketing, Magnum was promoted with games that keep one-upping each other by the year. But this marketing stunt of creating a themed game doesn’t just serve to promote brand awareness but also sets off a differentiation between Magnum and similar ice creams. The game helps correlate the term “For pleasure seekers” or “Pleasure hunt” with Magnum. The game itself helped Magnum leave a mark and this worked due to:

• Engaging activity to raise familiarity
• Encouragement of social media shares for a viral spread
• A unique approach to make customers play an active role and potential customers curious

Indirect Branding Side

Now, for the really vague side of branding, we take a look at characters, mascots, tones, and other human-like traits a brand could give off. This is the part where most companies grow cold for fear of seeming unprofessional. And yet, in the right hands, this can make or break true customer loyalty and definitely set you apart from the competition.

Social Media Character

Image via Source

Most companies make use of social media in a bland way, treating it like some information outlet. Which is a safe option, yes, but completely regular and common. On the other hand, this type of standout marketing works well to inspire a fandom following and even drive loyalty against competitors. These types of humane, humorous and at times, sassy use of social media has been implemented by an abundance of companies ranging from fast food, news outlets, even government agencies. And those companies include (but are not exclusive to):

• Wendy’s, fast-food chain
• Netflix Indonesia, movie streaming provider
• Directorate General of Taxation of Indonesia (Ditjen Pajak RI), a governmental agency
• Merriam Webster, a publishing company
• Buzzfeed, a media company
• And many, many more.

While some implement it a bit more subtly or not as often as the others, whenever these types of posts are shared, the customers not only get a few laughs out of it, but they remember that behind every company are humans. And that, somehow, is the rarest form of branding these days where company interactions feel colder and colder.