Branding

The actual word ‘brand’ can be traced back to Old Norse, where it referred to a burning piece of wood, however, it didn’t become a verb until the late Middle English, when it changed to mean ‘to mark something permanently with a hot iron’, something most people would probably think of on hearing the word (especially helped by Westerns and cowboy stories). This definition directly involves marking something with a view of displaying ownership.

Despite the word arriving, somewhat, late on the scene, however, the practice of marking ownership itself dates back to the Stone Age. There are several cave paintings that clearly display cattle marked with symbols. It’s thought they first used tar and pigments, before switching to burning the marks somewhere around 2000 BC.

Meanwhile, over in the East, potters used engravings as a way to identify who had made the ceramic, and also what types of materials were used and where they were produced. Over time, these progressed from single artisans to a mark of the business, as artisans started banding together into one place.

Fast forward through history to the Industrial Revolution, and modern-day branding for businesses was born, as a way to persuade customers to buy from the businesses, instead of the local merchants, with businesses starting to specialise in products, instead of simply being a ‘catch-all’, for example, potters, instead of simply creating anything and everything pottery, would instead start to focus on, say, a bowl.

In 1875 the Trade Marks Registration act was passed, as a way to protect the company’s investment, and modern-day branding was born (although, it continued to be refined and certain styles would come into fashion, or fade away).