Imagine a world without any brand names, brand logos or brand messaging – I’m talking no branding whatsoever. What would the world be like? What would it look like? Ok, well maybe school-aged children could benefit from this. You know, no more getting picked on for not wearing the hottest brand name clothing. And there’s a high probability you would no longer be bombarded by a McDonald’s ad every five seconds…which might be ok.

But other than that, does anyone really benefit from a complete lack of branding?

In fiction, we’re talking George Orwell’s 1984. In reality, we’re talking Communist Russia. Without branding, there is no business – and without the right to have your own unique business identity, there is no competition. Want coffee? Where are you going to go? Starbucks doesn’t exist, so you go to a generic coffee house with just any ground coffee beans brewed in just any water. Want toilet paper? You’re left standing in line for just any toilet paper – because any toilet paper is better than none at all.

Everything looks the same and feels the same. It’s bland, it’s boring and it’s just plain awful. Why? Well what incentive do business owners have to improve their product if they cannot get their particular goods out to the public?