I really love …

Honest Tea.

Is it weird I’m blogging about a tea I love? (It’s probably weird). That I actually TOOK PHOTOS of the inside of the caps of my tea? (Definitely weird). That I COLLECT these caps? (Yep, you’ve definitely just envisioned me as that woman, the one who sits in her apartment on a velour floral sofa covered in plastic, surrounded by afghans and knickknacks). But there’s a reason I go to such great lengths for this tea. IT HAS AN AMAZING BRAND. No really, hear me out…

Sometime over the summer, post-workshop, I started thinking a lot about branding and what branding means to me. It’s not just a logo (which I think a lot of photographers misinterpret it as being and thus lose too much sleep stressing over). It’s about the experience. The way you feel after you buy a product or engage with a certain company. That certain something that keeps you coming back for more.

I started paying attention to the brands that have found a way into my routine. Starbucks was up there (I mean, why else do I pay $4 for a cup of coffee?). Method cleaning products too (seriously, have you ever read their packaging? I want to go have lunch with their marketing department). And then I started paying attention to everything that made me love my favorite brand of tea.

It’s not just that Honest Tea has less sugar than its counterparts (which is how this love affair got started). It’s that this is a company with a certain set of beliefs (organic, fair trade and environmental awareness at the top of that list). It was created by two guys with a love for something so great they wanted to share it with the world and are now wildly successful in their pursuit. And on top of it all, they’ve been unique enough to stand out in the crowd (I mean, Honest Tea, “Honesty”…. beats the heck out of Snapple )

And then, well, then they REALLY had to go and suck me in with these quotes. A new one on the underside of every lid I pop off. That little extra something that keeps me coming back to this brand in the aisle of my grocery store. That I keep a collection of in a little jar because those quotes? They make me happy. So, in turn, THIS BRAND MAKES ME HAPPY.

Call me a giant dork (I would, I do), but I love finding inspiration for my own business in the businesses that I believe in. And I hope in some way I’m building that same kind of brand for my work — one that, without clients perhaps even thinking about it, makes them keeping coming back to me, referring me, checking out my work on this blog.

When’s the last time you thought about the brands in your life? Photographers, have you thought about branding in this light? What are your favorite brands?