What is branding?

Marketing and branding are related, so it’s easy to get them mixed up. However, branding is a more nuanced and complicated process. As previously stated, if you run a business, you will undoubtedly engage in some form of marketing. On the other hand, a lot of businesses don’t really brand themselves. It is possible to run a business, even a moderately successful one, without branding, but this definitely limits your potential.

What is branding?

If you google search the word branding, you will find a multiple of definitions. Among all of the definitions, there’s one that resonates from oberlo.com:

“Branding is the process of creating a strong, positive perception of a company, its products or services in the customer’s mind by combining such elements as logo, design, mission statement, and a consistent theme throughout all marketing communications”. 

Marketing and branding are related, so it’s easy to get them mixed up. However, branding is a more nuanced and complicated process. As previously stated, if you run a business, you will undoubtedly engage in some form of marketing. On the other hand, a lot of businesses don’t really brand themselves. It is possible to run a business, even a moderately successful one, without branding, but this definitely limits your potential.

Every company is required to market itself. You need a good sign, menu, or other collateral to show customers what you have to offer, even if you have a store or kiosk in the middle of a busy area. To promote themselves, most businesses require more extensive marketing. You probably use a variety of marketing strategies and tools today. Print ads, inbound marketing, pay-per-click ads, social media marketing, SEO, videos, signs, and billboards are just a few examples. Marketing is basically anything you do to attract customers, leads, or attention to your store or website.

“Customers are aware of a brand. That’s all. Branding is the promise that you make to your customers as a solution maker. Your brand is how people think of you. Businesses have identities in the same way that individuals have personal identities”.

Brand Awareness and Brand Identity

Customers are aware of a brand. That’s all. Branding is the promise that you make to your customers as a solution maker. Your brand is how people think of you. Businesses have identities in the same way that individuals have personal identities. This includes your personality, values, and image. It may seem odd to talk about a company having a personality, but in reality, they do! Consider Jack Daniel and Apple as examples of businesses with distinct personalities. If Apple were a person, it would be a people’s person, Outgoing, trustworthy, and a hipster, and most likely geeky smart but fun. On the other hand, Jack Daniel would exude self-reliance, American spirit, and toughness. We just know–the brain creates that link with the brand. The process of identifying and communicating personality traits is what branding is all about.

“Some marketing or advertising campaigns include branding strategies, at the risk of confusing things”.

Branding that is unrelated to selling or a specific call to action. It focuses more on intangibles. Some marketing or advertising campaigns include branding strategies, at the risk of confusing things. Consider companies like Apple, Amazon, Kellogg, Pepsi, and McDonalds that excel at branding. Regarding the latter, advertisements featuring the Kellogg’s Toni The Tiger are well-known to everyone. The advertisement consists mostly of branding. Nike, with its “Just Do It” marketing drive, has been able to link its brands to a productive and thriving lifestyle. Apple’s advertisements focuses more on the company’s creativity and innovation. Finally, fast delivery is what you envision when you think of Amazon.

The advantage of Branding

As previously stated, you can run a business without having to worry about branding. To go back to the busy kiosk in a big city, you could sell newspapers, coffee, cookies, or burgers from a food cart, store, or kiosk without branding. On a larger scale, a lot of stores and websites only focus on their products and don’t show any personality or image. However, there are some real drawbacks to this method. While products can be sold without branding, customer loyalty cannot be developed. People won’t even notice the difference if they buy something similar from another store or website. The aim is to build a long-term business with customers who value your distinctive identity requires branding.

It’s imperative for a company to learn how to employ branding for the best results. Even if you don’t have as much money as a big company, you can still use your brand’s identity in your marketing. To accomplish this, you must be clear about the image you want to project for your brand, and you must maintain the delivery of that promise to the customers. Then you can incorporate branding into every facet of your company.

If you’re ready for serious branding and marketing results, contact us