Development of the Concept of Brands

One of the first identifiable uses of a brand dates back to the Gallo-Roman period. In particular, during the 1st century AD, brands were used to identify the work of different potters. Earthenware was fired in collective ovens holding large quantities of work; one firing lasted two weeks and around 20 different potters used the same oven at one time, consequently a way had to be found to distinguish the work of different craftsmen to avoid any confusion or disagreements. Archeologists have been able to study the period’s economic organization from the signed pottery marked with a stamp printed on the bottom of the container. This stamp signified the work of a particular potter. Usually stamps were in the form of pictograms or the initials of names of potters: these were the first logos in history (Figure 1).