“Look at what a bargain I found,” a husband said to his new bride as they unpacked their clothes on the second night of their honeymoon. “That label,” he told her. “A good one, isn’t it?” he asked. As she peered at the back of her groom’s new sport jacket, her eyes grew wide at her hubby’s financial savvy. He had just scored a big-name designer jacket, crafted from fine Merino wool, for pennies on the dollar at an end-of-winter sale. Just knowing that her husband had such fine taste combined with a good eye for a bargain made her admire him all the more.
His purchase of that jacket made her husband a member of an exclusive club—those who have good taste. He was a man who purchases only the finest apparel. Yet if he hadn’t seen that label when he shopped, he would have probably missed out on this great deal. Labels, it would seem, mark a man—or a brand.
When that bride saw the designer’s label in her husband’s jacket, the look in her eyes was instant recognition. Marketers that want to brand their product, even if it is aimed at one gender, create a label that appeals to the other—because women buy things for men—and vice-versa.
Thanks to the designer’s marketing team, the designer had a label that showcased his brand. Thanks to that label, the husband in our story could snap up the jacket without wasting time. All thanks to instant brand recognition through that most subtle form of marketing of all, the label.
Because these marketers promoted their brand through a label sporting a logo that reflected the brand’s culture, the husband also knew that with that brand, he would get both European style and quality construction. After all, the designer showcased his brand all over men’s magazines, all with his distinctive logo featured prominently on the advertising pages. Just a glimpse of the label in the store was all this new husband needed to grab that jacket for his upcoming honeymoon and to impress his new wife.
Of course, companies other than high-end fashion design firms can create instant name recognition by stamping their brand on all of their merchandise, wherever it appears. If a company uses its logo every time it advertises, customers will be more likely to buy the goods when they see a label that they’ve seen in ads and other marketing campaigns, since familiarity breeds trust.
To create a striking design that will mark all of its products, a company needs to have a design that speaks without even a word about the quality of its goods. Without a design that creates a desire for the goods in a consumer’s mind, a label is useless.
By marketing a brand with an eye catching label, a company can use its label to set its products apart from its competitors’ products. A distinctive design will catch the eyes of potential customers, creating a brand image that sells. When customers see that brand, it creates a familiarity with the product that makes them feel comfortable with their decision to buy. That, in turn, translates into cold hard cash for a company who will make the effort to create a label that wins customers’ hearts.
