History of Branding Practices from Ancient World to Modernity
Introduction to Branding
According to the Merriam Dictionary, the noun Brand is explained as “a category of products that are all made by a particular company and all have a particular name.” The secondary meaning which is more interesting will be “a mark that is burned into the skin of an animal (such as a cow) to show who owns the animal.”
The Brand has been doing the circuits of the business world since time immemorial. What started out to show owners and prevent theft soon turned into a huge animal that needed a team to tame. The Branding made its quiet footfalls appearance way back in the Ancient Egyptian Civilization. There is an interesting birth of the Brand. One of the topics covered in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) 5th Edition, speaks about Business Values. This topics a person with PMP Certification has clear knowledge about it.
Ancient World Branding
Once the Ancient World recognized the benefits of agriculture and animal husbandry the civilization began to form itself. The ancient Egyptians employed herdsmen to responsible for the care of cattle. The knowledge of handling and tending to cattle became a profession. But as this industry of cattle rearing grew the herdsmen were responsible for larger number and identical animals.
These animals became an issue when more than one owner laid claim to the animal. To solve this issue the Egyptian came up with a solution of Branding the animal with unique symbols that represented the owner. The Egyptian tombs carry information about this practice in greater details. We could safely say that the Branding began in Ancient Egypt. PMP Training provides a clear understanding about this practice of branding and why it is needed for product identification. This branding is still in practice throughout the business world.
East Asian Branding
The East Asian companies in Japan dates back to nearly 200 years. ‘Mon’ or ‘Monsho’ is an officially recognized seal of a particular group, family or organization. The Japanese still carry the practice of including their ‘Mon’ on their products and services.
Almost more than half the Japanese Companies carry their ‘mon’ symbol and clearly proving the importance of identifying a product with the group of people behind it. The value system that is practiced by the individual gets automatically shifted to the product. The tradition of creating a presence of hierarchy and superiority in the social standing became added to the brand or the Mon. PMP Certification Training provides you not only information about Branding; but also understand Business Values carried across generations.
Western Branding
Staffelter Hof branding for their winery, distillery and guest house in Germany is probably the western initial steps of branding. This brand dates back to 862 and is even today used to prove that brands provide tradition and continuity to the product.
Round about 1266 in England the English bakers enforced by the law had to put a specific symbol on their products. The Brand was progressing from ownership of cattle to product identification. The English Bakers came up with their unique symbol for their product and thus creating the new trend of brand symbol and product link. The Brand symbol then were easier to anchor the product in the consumers’ mind. Taking a PMP Online Training ensures that various history connected with Branding has a clearer impact in understanding the mechanics of Brand power.
Modern Day Branding
The 19th Century upwards the Brand became more a popular way of creating market presence and product identification. There are millions of product, services and commodities produced each day and they need to be separated from each other. The individualistic recognition of the product was possible with the use of a brand.
