Enough About Branding; Let’s Talk Anti-Branding

You are sitting in a pastry shop at, say, 9 Rue Ravignan, Paris. You order a baguette & a croissant, then sit down peacefully, staring out the window, admiring the romantic couple holding hands. You dip your croissant into the piping hot chocolate & dive into it. Jane Austen’s Emma lies open on the table, with a bookmark at exactly page 57, which you plan to read later on. The cute cuddling sounds of a baby girl fill the shop. The waitress is polite, with a big smile on her face, and doesn’t bother you to try the most expensive thing on the menu.

Heavenly, isn’t it?

And that’s exactly when your phone pings. A notification. From whom? A dry cleaning service based out of Louisiana. You live in France. Who cares about Louisiana? Bad marketing. But the pings never stop. One guy is bragging about their scented candles. The other guy is asking you to buy his $999 course, discounted at $499 just for you.

And all you ever want is the pings to STAWP…

...

Ever since I was introduced to the enlightening yet prudent (or imprudent?) world of social media, my brain has always been chugged inside the personal branding tumbler. But lately, my inner conscience has been questioning: What happened before the world of advertising came into the picture?

And that’s when I stumbled upon the concept of anti-branding. In layman’s terms, it means: Run away from traditional over-branding. Something that probably a small bakery, down in some unknown street, used to do back in the 1970s.

Authenticity Over Bad Marketing

Anti-branding makes use of word-of-mouth marketing, & relies on building authentic connections.

It’s like a breath of fresh air, especially during these fake, AI times. Imagine a world with no cold messages, without people screaming their lungs out, convincing you to buy their shitty products. Imagine a world with a clear inbox with zero salesy messages. Well, if not entirely, but that’s something that the concept of anti-branding touches upon.

Customer Satisfaction; Literally

Oh come on, we all know that the brands are lying through their teeth. They care two hoots about you. All they care about is selling their product, hidden under the garb of being compassionate towards you.

Anti-branding focuses on actually caring about customers. That means, you give a real shit about people. You talk to them one-on-one, you understand why they’re dissatisfied, & your focus is completely on their well-being. And not on how many stale croissants you can sell by the end of the day by fooling people.

Minimalism Over Extravagance

Too much branding can become a pain in the a**. Customers want to enjoy an experience. Like, you buy an iPhone today. And tomorrow? Every single pixel on your screen starts promoting other Apple products.

Can we for once just let the customer breathe?

...

I am not against branding. Hell, no [If I say that I’ll be jobless ;)].

But we have taken things to an irritatingly frustrating level. I have to clear my inbox every single week, & not less than 300 emails go to the trash.

What’s this? Where is the sweet, old, lovely branding?

Times have become so tough & competitive that it’s becoming impossible to truly enjoy an experience.

And the advantages of anti-branding?

• Authenticity
• Cost-effectiveness
• Sustainability

It’s a viscous cycle. If a brand stops its traditional branding, it’ll shut shop almost immediately. So they continue endlessly. And so do the others.

I’m tired of seeing fake, salesy messages every single day.

I’m tired of clearing my inbox of spam, every single week.

I’m tired of not enjoying a calm, soothing environment while drinking my coffee & munching on some chocolate chip cookies.

Where’s the goddamn peace?!

Brands, can you for once just actually care about your customers over profitability? Perhaps that will print you more $ than anything ever has.

As Ludwig Mies van der Rohe once brilliantly said,

Less is more

Anti-branding establishes a balance; a balance within traditional marketing methods & non-traditional approaches. It focuses more on the customer, rather than the glitz & glamour of products. It focuses more on providing a genuinely pleasant experience.

...

If you enjoyed reading this, do share your thoughts in the comment section!

Until then, adios!