Q: What do business and marketing strategy, evolutionary biology, and art & design have to do with each other?

A: Everything! Sensory biology is a rapidly developing field in evolutionary biology that deals with the evolution and maintenance of signals and signal reception and perception. While mostly focusing on the biological mechanisms, this area grew out of studies of sexual selection and now overlaps significantly with cognitive science. Strategic branding and identity design with these principles in mind is one way to engage an audience.

The following is an excerpt from TechnoBrands: how to create & use “brand identity” to market, advertise & sell technology products by Chuck Pettis. New York : AMACOM, c1995.

**I’ve commented on each of these points in bold red

Brand Defined

What exactly is a brand? A brand is:

• The sensory; emotive, and cultural proprietary image surrounding a company or product

–Indeed sensory is the key concept,relyingg on social and cognitive architecture for its success. Evolutionary dynamics affect sensory trends, especially across developmental stages (+5 years).

• An assurance of quality, making selection worry-free

–What biologists call “an honest signal.” Yet, there are also dishonest signals and signals that perform multiple functions which may or may not affect the outcome of the selection.

• A significant source of competitive advantage and future earnings

–Signals have typically evolved as displays of competitiveness (intrasexual competition), attractiveness (mate choice), or reproductive potential (e.g. good genes).

• A promise of performance

–In some ways, branding is the extension or re-situation of an individual’s signaling to that of a social group (e.g. company).

• An enhancement of perceived value and satisfaction through associations that remind and entice customers to use the product

–There may be a few different implementations of this including sensory bias- a
preconditioned receptivity to a particular stimulus.

• Arguably, a company’s most important asset

–Depeending on the goals of the organization, yes.

Branding goes back to the beginnings of history, when people began putting symbols on products to identify the maker of the product. From ancient Egyptian bricks to trade guilds in medieval Europe, people have been using “trademarks” on their products as a guarantee to customers of authenticity and quality and to protect their products from being copied by others.

–or even earlier, as in when frogs developed mating calls or birds bright plumage…