The Staples Center, Miller Park and Wrigley Field. Can you figure out what these things all have in common? Yes they are all sports venues, but they are also prime examples of branding at its best.

Branding has become the next big marketing technique used by corporations such as Nike, Coca-Cola and Roots Canada. These companies, along with thousands more, are no longer just a product: they are a way of life.

Nike could be considered the epitome of branding. In the ’60s when Nike first appeared they were just a small shoe company that made running shoes. Today, Nike is a chain of stores, a clothing company and their logo, the “swoosh,” is the symbol of athleticism, determination and success. This symbol is branded across every single piece of merchandise Nike manufactures. Currently, Nike is even working on constructing its own sports-themed cruise ship.

Furthermore, Nike pays coaches millions to have their players wear Nike products. Now every time you watch a basketball game you aren’t innocently watching the game, you are seeing how branding is invading our lives. After all, Michael Jordan lives for his Air Jordan’s (of course produced by Nike)! It’s not just the famous athletes who are being paid to advertise for Nike, but we the consumers are actually paying to advertise for Nike every time we buy a product with the “swoosh” engrained somewhere on it. The real genius here is that they have actually figured out a way to make money and have their customers do the advertising for them!

Don’t get me wrong — Nike isn’t the only company doing this; many more companies are doing the same thing. Take Coca-Cola for example. Coke is actually trying to brand an entire city. Yes, that’s right, Coke wants to make it so that only their products are sold on the streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Coca-Cola has proposed that its vending machines, and only its vending machines, be placed entirely throughout the city. If this proposal is successful, the citizens of Milwaukee will no longer be able to find Pepsi or its products on the streets of Milwaukee.

With big companies like Coca-Cola and Nike branding like this, it gives us, the consumers, less products to choose, leading toward homogenization. If we are all running down the streets wearing a “swoosh” or drinking out of a red can to quench our thirst (did I mention that the Coca-Cola red is patented?), then how do any of us differ?

But it isn’t just the big companies doing this; smaller companies like Roots Canada have grasped the concept of branding as well.

Roots, which started as an outdoor clothing company in Canada, has now become a resort to retreat to, furniture to rest in and a book to read. Roots is not just a shopping experience anymore; it is living the full-branded experience. Roots Canada opened a flagship store in New York and a branded hotel called “Roots Lodge” in British Colombia. The Roots Lodge is filled with Roots merchandise that is branded with the company’s logo and, of course, it can all be purchased.

With these types of companies expanding across all horizons, our choices as consumers are being minimized. Today, five conglomerates own the majority of media. How will America and the rest of the world feel if this extends beyond media? Branding has gone beyond advertising, products or companies; it has managed to seep through into our everyday lives.

So now my question is: what’s next? Nike New York? Coca-Cola Milwaukee? And furthermore, is the world okay with everyone and everything being alike? Have we given up on expressing our individuality and given in to becoming branded?

Kate Meacham ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism and women’s studies.