Personal Brand Affinity Check-in

I talk often about my love for brands. Most times, it is hard to pinpoint favorites, but an objective approach might be to examine which ones follow along in my life for many years and various stages. As a branding and marketing professional, these self-reflections area more fascinating than they might be for the average person. (Easy for me to say. And weirdly elitist?)

An important side-effect is how these affinities affect our willingness to give a "pass" to some brands or organizations based on that brand-love. Where we might disagree with some design choice, product offering, feature, decision of leadership, location, and so on, we might not walk away as easily, if ever.

I attempted, during this exercise, to nail down a "top five" list in ownership of all these notions and self-awareness. I don't know that these are rankable amongst themselves, but here they are.

Apple

While not the earliest brand loyalty I acquired (that spot goes to Sega of America, Inc. ), the next one to emerge was likely Apple . Though I am more critical and objective now than ever before, I hold to a lifelong love of the venerable "fruit company," and their products over the years. And despite the collection of flaws in co-founder Steve Jobs, I consider him a hero. He's not the only one, as I've admired other high profile Apple legends as well, like Guy Kawasaki and Jony Ive.

Aside from the firing of Jobs, I've never found my faith truly shaken by Apple, and having grown up dreaming of working for them one day, I got that chance as a Campus Rep in college and remained Apple-adjacent as Marketing Director of MacAuthority - an Apple reseller with six regional stores. (I guess if you count my two-week negotiation with Apple legal concerning the rebrand of our company, there are two major moments of disagreement, but like Jobs' hiatus, the results turned fine when the saga concluded.)

Honda/Acura

Sometime around becoming a Sega kid, my parents had clearly settled into a loyalty to American Honda Motor Company, Inc. , and by the time I had my eye on a Genesis game system, they had added one of the first models of Acura to our family's transportation lineup. My first car was a Honda, as was my second. I took a brief detour for a while, owning a Nissan 240SX (because why not?), but returned to my first auto love with two more Hondas before making the move to the first Acura TL. I'm now on my third TL (one from each generation aside from the first). I've spent some time lusting over the eventual move to a TLX, if they don't truly blow my mind with the revival of the ZDX.

Speaking of the ZDX, that's probably the only time I've truly been Acura-disappointed on a larger brand scale. They fumbled the ball quite a bit in marketing ZDX and the similar Honda Crosstour. As usual, they were ahead of their time, and profit pressure caused those models to be cut. Of course just a few years later, competitors would be going wild with various low-slung, sporty, fast crossover SUVs.

Marriott

Through the years for both leisure and business travel, as well as event planning and production, I gained a major preference for Marriott Hotels properties. It was the realization that the best teams and best locations I did events with seemed to stand out as Marriotts. It also became evident that my own customers seemed to like them better. A close second was Sheraton Hotels & Resorts , but then their merge made that a non-issue. So the primary loyalty was galvanized at that point. Relationships and amazing service by folks like Erica Qualls- Battey 's Atlanta Marriott Marquis would further that.

Of course, when a bar is set that high, it can make critique more clear when you step outside your "home turf" to travel or do business. I've come across occasional times when I needed to entertain a that "didn't seem very Marriott" thought, but it always worked out in the end. (Though the loss of their Nashville Airport location was disappointing as it was an ideal event hotel in so many unique and handy ways.)

New Holland (and, specifically, Dragon's Milk)

You can only be a craft beer enthusiast and occasional reviewer for so long before you settle in on a favorite beer or even entire brewery. But, if I said that was my path, I'd be lying. I decided Dragon's Milk was the best thing I ever tasted in a beer glass from moment one. That bar got set, and has remained high. Of course, like any loyalist, I am a sucker for anything New Holland Brewing Company slaps that cool dragon onto. Have I rated other beers higher by the numbers at times? Yes. But the brand affinity keeps it in favorite status even though some others may join it at the top of my Untappd list.

I am a bigger fan of the recently-retired branding for the brew than the new concepts for the most part. But I don't look at it as a real weakness as much as a personal opinion. That skepticism is only about design and livery, though, as the new packaging and extensions of product varieties are smart, chef's kiss marketing. I do often wonder if I would be more bothered by change if I didn't understand the realm of branding. Another area where brand affinity tints the. color of our glasses.

And Finally... Okay, It's a Tie

This is the slot that's always in flux. I can't quite choose, among my "geek culture" options, a true favorite. When thinking objectively, this is probably based on the fickleness of currency. Whatever is on the front burner in pop media may tend to drift into focus more. Should this spot go to Marvel Entertainment , Hasbro 's Transformers, Paramount Pictures ' Star Trek, Lucasfilm 's Star Wars, or DC Comics in some form? Tough one.

Objectively, it seems Marvel manages to stand out, but the others have many more life years invested. So this one gets to be ambiguous.

Overall, I was a bit surprised at the spread of industries and categories my list represents, and the fascinating sectors where I have no favorites (or too many to even make a short list). Food, shoes, personal care... there are go-to preferences, but hardly any names to add here.

In your own self-evaluation, what brands top your list?