"Belong, feel like you are from here" or My first "branded" impressions

I'm writing as my second day of classes finishes. I've been in in Kellogg only for hours but it already feels good.

I see myself -per career and personality- as a "communications-people" person. I'm here because of a master in marketing. I've been formed strongly by semiotics, critic thinking and all that -now- linked to branding. Meaning is key to whatever we do (and with this I'm saying culture, language, history, context...). I believe in it.

Based on that position, one of my first impressions and thoughts once my first two classes finished was: "where is branding in all I'm hearing about innovation, products, products and more products? Did I choose the right courses?". I did.

Then, of course, I thought twice and found "semiotics" (not as discipline but as in act) and especially branding not only in the clear and lively way of thinking of the teachers but in the environment itself, in the institution and the way to show itself to us.

Prof. Sawhney said today in class: "You rarely brand a product, you brand the company. Generally speaking brand assets come from the corporate brand". I immediately started thinking of well-known products with a strong brand... I couldn't quickly find one which I ignore the company behind it. That definitely plays a role in our perception/consumer behavior. This point is particularly relevant if you think of services or tech industry. What examples come to your mind? If I see around I'm living in one example.

So here I am with all my possible ID-objects, and an actual mailbox, and a name tag in my room door, that say I am studying in Kellogg. It's not "merchandising", it's not a "nice-to-have", it's creating experience, it's branding. It's making me feel I can be fully a part of this even for just a quarter. It's in these small items, in the e-mails, on the screens. It's in the walls, it's in sign posts, it's in the way professors talk to us saying "you all can do it, dare to". I feel today that Kellogg itself is a great case of branding to look at.

I'm feeling welcome, even when there is a necessary distance. For example: -it needs more thinking and time to live from me but- there is a gap (not sure if that's the word but can't come up with another one) in the class experience. The impression is: it's all first-world-countries oriented and most of my colleagues are thinking that way. Not saying right or wrong. It's an initial impression. I'll give it my second, third thought and maybe share back. In the end, the exercise of looking for ways to meet what we think, see, talk in here, to our emerging markets realities is ours, or not? We are the ones going back. We are the ones who wanted to get prepared on this to do that.