Brand attachment is more than just preference. It’s about a brand becoming an extension of a consumer. What brand are you attached to?

This is the major topic Larry Vincent, executive director of UTA Brand Studio, has been researching, asking questions such as how and why people attach to brands.

He will be discussing his research on brand attachment in his panel “Followers Attached” at SXSW on Friday, March 7 at 12:30 p.m. in Sheraton Austin, Capitol ABCD, 701 E. 11th St. Review the research

Vincent said branding is not just about a slogan or a logo, which can be some of the tactile elements that come out of branding, but it’s also about the culture and about what is true about the brand.

“What’s the look and feel that we want people to experience when they interact with this brand?” he said. “Every brand is different because culture is different.”

He said if you can’t execute against that brand idea and the culture, then the brand is going to fail.

“99 percent comes down to execution and ability for the team to execute,” he said.

Vincent discussed on instance when a brand failed. He said in the discovery process for that client, he sensed right away that there was not a lot of commitment or consensus inside the organization to a rebranding effort.

“No one really agreed… no one liked the compromise,” he said. “You really have to have people inside the organization believing in it, understanding what it is and knowing how to execute against it in order for it to be successful.”