SHARE Magazine January 2018 | Seite 10

Identifying with a Brand What is a brand? As defined by the oxford online dictionary a brand can be a noun or a verb. Old English brand means ‘burning’ of Germanic origin. From which we get the verb sense ‘mark with a hot iron, this dates from late Middle English, giving rise to the noun sense ‘a mark of ownership made by branding’. So now we speak of a brand as: a type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular W 10 | SHARE | MAGAZINE January - March 2018 name. As in “a new brand of soap powder.” a particular identity or image regarded as an asset - ”you can still invent your own career, be your own brand.” a particular type or kind of thing, “...they entertained millions with their inimitable brand of comedy.” Why are brands so important? Is it really a thing? What value does a label assign to a thing? People will spend excessive amounts of money, dedicated