Just how important is good branding? Ask a few marketing people (like the lot of us here at New Boston), and they’ll tell you it’s crucial. Ask the bigwigs at Apple, Nike, or Coca-Cola, and they’ll tell you it’s a must-have. But don’t take it from any of those schmucks. Take it from a more unlikely source: the anarchists. If anyone proves just how important branding is, it’s them.

By definition, anarchists want an absence of government or established order. Simply put, they don’t want to be told what to do. To hell with the rules and let us all just do what we please.

And yet they manage to play by the rules when it comes to marketing. Their modern-day logo — popularized in the ’70s by punk bands such as the Sex Pistols (whether intended seriously or not) — is one of the most identifiable icons out there. The haphazard, defiant A is busting out of the circle that’s trying to hold it in. If you see a kid wearing a black hoodie with an anarchy logo on it, you know what he or she is trying to say. It’s a message about the way that person looks at the world, thumbing his nose at expectations and society. But regardless of the message, it’s still a logo.

A good logo and design concept — your branding — should become immediately identifiable. And it should convey exactly what you want people to know about who you are, be it down-home, high-tech, traditional, irreverent, or insubordinate. The anarchy logo does just that. One look at it, and we know exactly which finger the anarchists are giving us.

And while I can’t help but chuckle at the fact that these rebels have such good branding, I understand why. Branding is important. Kudos to the anarchists for realizing it.