In a time before fences were used in ranching to keep one’s cattle separate from other people’s cattle, ranch owners branded, or marked, their cattle so they could later identify their herd as their own.
The concept of branding also developed through the practices of craftsmen who wanted to place a mark or identifier on their work without detracting from the beauty of the piece. These craftsmen used their initials, a symbol, or another unique mark to identify their work and they usually put these marks in a low visibility place on the product.
Not too long afterwards, high quality cattle and art became identifiable in consumers’ minds by particular symbols and marks. Consumers would actually seek out certain marks because they had associated those marks in their minds with tastier beef, higher quality pottery or furniture, sophisticated artwork, and overall better products. If the producer differentiated their product as superior in the mind of the consumer, then that producer’s mark or brand came to represent superiority.
Source: Dave Dolak
