Branding and our Identity

           

As a capitalist society, the importance of companies and brands in America cannot be understated. The power of marketing can be seen everywhere around us, whether it be a simple commercial on television or a more subtle sign in the Hamilton diner encouraging you to drink Coke. This has an important effect on our individual and collective identities. According to Mara Einstein, “Brands are not just perceptions about a product or service, they are also bits and pieces of our identity” (Einstein, 73). In many cases, people will actually pay more to make a brand a piece of their identity. A plain white shirt is a common and cheap item, yet when Kanye West designs and brands one, it sells for $120. People believe that by purchasing and wearing the "Hip Hop T-Shirt", it incorporates Kanye's brand, and even his persona, into their own identity. This is what APC, the company that manufactures the Kanye clothing line, aims to accomplish. This is a very common phenomenon throughout marketing and branding. Gatorade’s marketing campaign that simply states “Be Like Mike, Drink Gatorade” is a particularly blatant example of this.

            This phenomenon of forming an identity through branding has helped replace religious identity in an increasingly secularized society. As Douglas Atkin explains, “People today pay for meaning more than they pray for it” (Einstein, 73). With the rise of mass media, the prevalence of branding has changed how we inherently define ourselves. In the past it was family, friends, or religion. Today, our identities can be formed by a patchwork of logos, slogans, and brands. This morning I saw a student wearing a Nike Hoops sweatshirt, along with Jordan sweatpants and shorts, probably indicating that they play basketball and identify with the overall branding message of Nike. On the other hand, that same student would never dream of wearing a Hello Kitty shirt, as it would distort the carefully constructed identity that he, and everyone else, creates for themselves. This common societal understanding of what companies represent shapes the brands we choose to incorporate into our identity, and is replacing traditional sources of identity.