I don’t drop into #brandchat nearly as often as I’d like, but when I do, I always walk away with fresh perspectives on branding.  The discussions force me to examine what I believe about marketing, branding, and positioning.  Today, after talking about BP’s woes and brand damage control with the gulf oil spill, I walked away thinking about how in branding, perception is reality.  No matter what the circumstance is, no matter what the truth may be, what consumers believe often trumps what is actual.  A brand’s position is based on their placement in the consumer’s mind. It doesn’t mater what your brand does, what matters is what customers think your brand does.

Because it’s the consumer perception that really matters, it’s important to understand where you brand fits into the their mind.  Understanding what consumers believe your brand stands for (and what you can deliver) allows you to better connect with, educate, and serve your customer base.  This is especially true for brands in turmoil.  Think BP.  The company has encountered a major disconnect between what they believe and what the public perceives.  Did you know that BP has led many good environmental programs?  Is it the truth that Halliburton is really responsible for the oil spill (or Transocean, or Cameron International)? Did BP believe they were telling the truth when the first spoke about the severity of the spill?  While the answers to those questions should (in a perfectly objective world) be considered by the public when judging BP, the company is swimming upstream by trying to get the public to recognize those points.

In the public’s eye, BP is responsible for (possibly) the the worst oil spill in US history.  Whether this is fair or not doesn’t matter.  What the consumer believes is what BP is up against.  Rather than tout past environmental programs or pass blame to contractors, BP would do best by acknowledging the perception of their brand and working damage control from that angle.  I’m not meaning to disparage how BP is handling their damage control efforts (PR & marketing, not oil clean up), but BP’s situation paints a clear picture of the clash between perception and reality.

It’s a very difficult task for a brand to put aside certain truths and step back from ego work to understand where they fit.  What the corporate office believes doesn’t matter.  What the agency believes doesn’t matter.  What the brand actually “does” doesn’t matter.  The only thing that truly bares any weight is what the customer believes.  The customer perception is the brand’s reality.

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