I just found a site with a bunch of things that I like about branding which I want to try and dissect and apply to religion/story-systems.

A brand is an identifying mark, image, name or concept which distinguishes a product or service. A brand is a symbol created by a marketer to represent a collection of information about a product or group of products.

The things I like the most here are (1) that something is being distinguished, and (2) that it represents a “collection of information“.

A brand name is that part of a brand consisting of words or letters that can be verbalized.

This makes me IMMEDIATELY think about how in many religions, there are “unutterable names of God.” And also about how the word “God” is merely a verbalization of a much grander concept.

A brand name that has been given legal protection is referred to as a trademark.

Using my terminology, I would rewrite this to say:

A story-system that has been given legal protection is referred to as a religion.

Or something along those lines…

A brand is often associated with the product’s promise, the product or services point of difference among its competitors which makes it special and unique.

I like thinking about the “promise” of a product to customers, as compared to the “promise” of religions to adherents.

And this, this is just plain interesting:

A branded laundry detergent is usually sold twice as much as a store-brand detergent. Although it’s almost exactly the same people always think that the branded product is better and because it’s more expensive it has a better quality.

Oh wait, I just found the true source of this info over at Wikipedia. The “brand” entry; the wording’s a little different & better:

A brand takes the form of a symbolic construct created by a marketer to represent a collection of information about a product or group of products. This symbolic construct typically consist of a name, identifying mark, visual images or symbols, or mental concepts which distinguishes the product or service. A brand often carries connotations of a product’s promise, the product or service’s point of difference among its competitors which makes it special and unique. It is an attempt by marketers to give the product a “personality” or “image”. Because of this, it can form an important element of an advertising theme: It serves as a quick way to show and tell consumers what a supplier has offered to the market.