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“The marketing world thought it would be a good idea to borrow a word that meant “burning a symbol into a cow” to represent the act of claiming customers as your own.”

Isn’t branding the act of claiming a PRODUCT as your own? Wouldn’t customers be branding themselves if they make it a point to display the brand?

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Yes, and. Companies use branding to claim their products, and they also use it to claim their customers.

Think: Companies giving away products to influencers for free in exchange for them promoting the brand and driving word of mouth.

That said, the promotional products industry is just under $18B in 2024. (It's declining post-Covid — a sign that it's not as effective as it used to be).

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