Branding for All Ages on President's Day

Recently, I told my young art students about the Gilbert Stuart George Washington painting. We've talked about how contemporary artist Peter Max has used the Stuart image in a series of paintings he has done of Washington. Everyone sees the Stuart image used for the one dollar bill. I've been thinking about how that's an example of branding that's carried over through the ages. No one was concerned with branding during Washington's lifetime, but his image became a brand anyway.

Now branding is everywhere. I love the gecko for Geico and wonder who managed to come up with that. I also wonder about those old-fashioned bathtubs that are the symbol for the drug Cialis. Amazing use of the imagination!

Then we have the simple Nike brand image. Looking down at the tennis shoes I'm wearing, I see K-Swiss branding all over them. I recognize Adidas brands on many pieces of my tennis and other athletic clothing. And who will ever forget the birds on the bats of the Cardinals baseball team?

As authors, we have the issue of branding that is growing and becoming more important every year. We are branding our book series. My publisher created the Passenger to Paradise brand image for my books. I plan to make luggage tags to promote my brand at upcoming book signings and elsewhere.

I would love to hear what ideas you use for branding your books. How do you brand yourself?