How Understanding Branding Gives Small Businesses Power

Brand Literacy, Agency, and Design Industry Mystification

Brand literacy.

I made this term up. Am I an influencer now?

Okay, I didn’t totally make it up. It’s actually based on an idea that is the supporting framework for how I teach yoga: through the lens of body literacy.

I define body literacy as the ability to observe the sensations and signals of the body, either as a practice in itself, or as a means to respond to internal cues. Like textual literacy (the ability to read), developing body literacy empowers understanding and agency in how we interact with the world. It helps us know ourselves, regulate our emotions, and make intentional choices that align with our goals and morals.

Agency is our ability to choose for ourselves. It’s a sense of having control over outcomes, that we are in the driver’s seat of our own lives. Literacy provides us with a sense of agency because agency, in large part, is built on understanding.

Literacy = agency.

Brand literacy is a type of media literacy. Branding is a form of communication that is used across various media (print, digital, broadcast, etc.). Cultivating brand literacy means learning about how branding works and how to use it as a tool. This knowledge is a huge asset to small business owners and solo entrepreneurs. The better we understand the role of branding as a communication tool, the more agency we have in our businesses.

Guarded Secrets

Gatekeeping and mystification around branding and marketing creates a harmful power dynamic.

Have you ever wished someone would just explain this shit to you like you’re five? Like maybe it shouldn’t be this complicated?

Branding and marketing is often kept behind a curtain—paywalls, memberships, esoteric language. Big business profits off of this. When essential knowledge that drives success is kept out of reach, it gives those that can afford to pay for it an advantage. Gatekeeping is the norm.

I don’t mean to imply that designers and marketing professionals are intentionally keeping people out. On the contrary: most of us are just trying to succeed, like any small business owner. If anything, we’d all benefit from our clients understanding the process more clearly.

Individuals are not responsible for gatekeeping being the norm. It’s a systematic problem, stemming from the more toxic aspects of capitalism. But it’s still harmful to regular folks who could benefit from the right information. Small business owners would benefit from having a better grasp on the foundations of branding, but that information can be hard to find unless you can pay for it.

What this does is create a power dynamic that benefits big companies. They don’t just leverage their services, they leverage exclusive access to information.

In any systemic problem, there is a power dynamic in play that generates a narrative.

We see this in the systems that affect our daily lives. For example:

Pollution is a systemic problem because our entire economy relies on fossil fuels. The dynamic at play is that fossil fuel companies have immense power when compared to the average person, and thus, they control the narrative. The narrative around plastics (a byproduct of fossil fuels) is that they’re okay to use as long as we all recycle. This obscures the truth, which is that very little plastic actually ends up getting recycled (only about 5-6%). And yet, recycling programs are huge and very costly.

Who foots the bill? Our communities.

So maybe you’re like, “What does this have to do with branding? I’m just mad now.” Valid question.

The reason I bring this up is to show how industry narratives shape how we make choices. While branding may seem like a teeny weeny issue compared to climate change and plastic pollution, it shows us how our perception and beliefs are manipulated by marketing narratives. And if branding teaches us anything, it’s that perception drives action.

A narrative that limits our perception also limits our agency. The stories we tell directly impact the choices we think we have.

If we buy into the industry narrative that individual efforts to recycle are our best bet for mitigating plastic pollution, we believe our choices are “recycle” or “be part of the problem”. That’s a limiting belief, and strips us of our agency as citizens.

By the same logic, if business owners buy into the industry narrative that branding and marketing are mysterious and difficult to decode, it limits our perception. Our choices feel narrow. We can…

1. Spend tons of money on branding and marketing and just let the experts deal with it (which is fine, if you have the resources);

OR

2. Slap a DIY brand together with minimal knowledge and hope for the best (which is what a lot of small businesses do because it’s accessible).

I don’t know about you, but to me, this doesn’t feel like authentic agency.

The Purpose of Design

The core purpose of design is to give people agency.

Shoutout to Natalie Weizenbaum in her discussion on design and anti-capitalism for this beautiful nugget of truth. When a system, product, or environment is well-designed, the user is empowered to accomplish their desired goal. For example, a well-designed kitchen is laid out logically, comfortable to move around in, pleasant to be in, and equipped with all the necessary objects to prepare and store food. Good design = user agency.

As brand designers, our role is to give business owners more agency in how they communicate about their product or service.

Here’s the catch: brand designers, even the little guys like myself, are working in the context of a world dominated by corporations. I can rage about monopolies and consumerism till I’m blue in the face, but I still have to put on my big girl pants and participate in capitalism as an artist. The majority of the tools and information in this industry are controlled by big businesses.

This dominance extends to the narratives and overarching beliefs we hold about branding and marketing. One aspect of these beliefs is that gatekeeping ensures our sustained value. If our knowledge and skills seem esoteric and are securely guarded, we’ll keep getting paid.

Of course, creatives should be paid. Always. We are great. Our labor is often undervalued, which is a big problem.

BUT, that’s a different topic. What I’m addressing here is the larger idea in marketing that value is generated by scarcity and exclusivity. In reality, if design is to fulfill its purpose of giving people agency, the opposite is true. By making education on the principles and process of design more accessible, we actually increase its value.

Narratives in Branding

Narratives are stories that influence what we believe. Branding and design, like any industry, has its own narratives.

What are these narratives, you ask?

Well, it’s complicated. I’ll describe it in terms of an idea that I feel truly encompasses the problem: mystification.

Mystification is a state of confusion, a belief or sensation that something is impossible to understand. This has become the norm in how we talk about and educate folks on branding and marketing. There’s a lot of mixed messaging and contradiction. Many of the dominant narratives are rooted in truth, but it gets bogged down in cryptic language and sales tactics. When you put it all together, it’s messy and confusing.

This is functionally the opposite of brand literacy.

Brand literacy gives both you (business owners) and your customers the ability to make better, more informed choices because your brand and who you are in the world is clearly understood. Remember, literacy (understanding/knowledge) cultivates agency (control/choice). The industry, whether intentionally or not, perpetuates narratives around branding which don't give people agency. It’s at its most obvious and egregious in the blogosphere and on social media, where many people go for advice on branding and marketing.

Social media and search engines run on algorithms. These algorithms determine what gets seen and what doesn't, based on what draws your attention. The goal is to keep you on the apps or web page as long as possible. When we’re all fighting for visibility within the algorithms, the quality of the content deteriorates. What you see becomes repetitive and generic, and doesn’t add much to the conversation. It's a jumbled online universe of conflicting messages, reductive quick-fix tips, and unhelpful generalizations. Small business owners are often confused about what they should be doing: what to focus on, how to allocate resources towards branding/marketing efforts, and what will actually be effective for them and their businesses.

It’s not that design and marketing pros are all cranking out bad advice. There are lots of folks out there who genuinely want to inform their audience.

It’s that the algorithms themselves heavily influence how we share and absorb information.

So, rather than unique perspectives and diverse ideas, you get hundreds of recycled articles titled “Generate More Sales with These Five Secret Tips”. It sounds juicy at first, but it’s the same generic advice everyone else is giving. It’s playing off of people’s desire to learn and understand (which is ultimately a desire for agency), but doesn’t deliver real value.

Barf.

Cultivating Brand Literacy

So let’s circle back:

Body literacy gives us more agency through understanding of our physical bodies.

Textual literacy gives us more agency through understanding of the written word.

Media literacy gives us more agency through understanding of all forms of media communication.

Brand literacy gives us more agency through understanding of the language and function of branding.

Agency is our capacity to choose for ourselves. Having true agency means being in better control of outcomes. The more agency we have as small businesses, the more likely we are to make choices that align with our goals.

Small business owners, who don’t have endless budgets to throw at brand development and marketing campaigns, are often mystified by everything that goes into branding and marketing. There is a serious lack of open conversation and education about what branding means and how to achieve it. This compromises people’s ability to make good business decisions and truly use branding to their advantage. It robs them of their agency. Most people feel like they’re stabbing in the dark, hoping to hit something.

How are small businesses supposed to succeed when the big guys have seemingly unlimited resources and power, and the tools are locked behind a secret door?

I want to counter this narrative. To do that, I advocate for brand literacy. My goal is to cultivate clear and accessible communication about branding. I don’t have some secret magic that’s gonna solve all your problems, and I don’t claim to be the best. I just believe that my knowledge, creative thinking, and unique perspective can offer value to people who want to do what they love. I also believe that when small business owners are empowered with better knowledge about branding and marketing, they are in a better position to succeed.

And I really, really want small businesses to succeed.

Do I offer a unique, insight-based approach to brand strategy? Yes. Am I good at designing quirky, cheeky brands? Yes. Am I a skilled, passionate artist who lives to draw? Also yes. But even if you don’t hire me to do any of those things, I still hope for your success… assuming you’re not a jerk.

Effective branding and sound marketing are touted as assets we all need in order to do well as businesses. I think that’s mostly true. If that’s the case, I think education on these subjects should be more accessible.

That’s the purpose of this blog, in case you were wondering.