You’ve heard it before; a brand is more than just a logo, a visual identity or a slogan. According to Brand Tags, your brand is whatever people say it is. They’ve set out on a “collective experiment in brand perception” by inviting users to tag well-known brands with the first word that comes to mind when presented with their logo.
The first thing I noticed was how fun it was to participate:
- Chevrolet? Trucks.
- Apple? Innovation.
- MySpace? Tired.
- Zappos? Service.
- Snickers? Satisfies.
Digging into the user-generated perceptions of these brands was equally exciting. The most interesting brands to look at were those with the strongest polarizing effects. People are rarely ambivilent towards Apple, for instance, and their tag cloud reflects that perfectly. Their tags range from “overrated” and “pretentious” to “beautiful,” “innovative” and “amazing.” Contrast those results with a middle-of-the-road brand like Bridgestone or Xerox. Their tags are primarily generic terms for their products, which likely means they are failing to communicate any differentiating passion or personality.
It’s often said that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. The brands with a sharp focus and a unique voice risk creating a few negative tags, but they also stand to gain the type of devoted followers every company craves. What kind of brand tags are you inspiring?
