Brand vs. Branding vs. Brand Identity: The Difference

Table of Contents

• What is a Brand?
• What is Branding?
• What is Brand Identity?
• Brand vs. Brand Identity

Thinking of a new brand, building a new brand, or defining an existing brand are important elements of the future of any company. Through these elements, a company can find its true success and stand out from the crowd. People often think these terms are interchangeable, but they’re not.

Brand vs. branding vs. brand identity is three of the most important elements in building a brand. Though they are inter-related and inter-dependent, they have their significance. In this article, we will examine the concepts of brand, branding, and brand identity.

What is a Brand?

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A brand is the sum of all experiences a customer has with an organization. It is how your customers perceive your business, products, and services.

● A brand is a relationship that an organization has with its customers and employees.

● Your brand is a picture or emotion created by others that describe the entire experience of having a business connection.

● It comprises the values, visions, and adaptations that create an emotional relationship between you and your customer.

● It is something that must be constructed and nurtured through time. It’s the mental image you develop or cultivate in the minds of your target audience.

● It sets expectations about what they can expect from your product or service, how it will make them feel, and how it will fit into their lives.

For example, if we talk about Apple, it is automatically associated with the iPhone. Even though they are not cheap, people are still fans of the iPhone and buy them as soon as the new product launches. This is a prime example of a brand that Apple has built over the years.

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What is Branding?

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Branding is the process of creating that relationship. We’re talking about developing content, building a social media following, designing business collateral, etc.

It defines your brand’s purpose, what it can do, who it serves, or how it adds value. Consumers, employees, and external partners can immediately recognize, connect, and discover your brand thanks to branding, which shapes perceptions.

Branding has evolved since its early days as a consumer-facing tool. Today, branding is a business-wide process that shapes internal and external perceptions and creates value in the hearts and minds of consumers.

It is a complex process; however, branding doesn’t end here.

A few things to note about branding are:

● Branding is a discipline. It is not something you do once. It’s ongoing, and it’s a journey, not a destination.

● It begins with strategy – not design.

● It requires cross-functional collaboration, leadership, and participation from all areas of the organization.

● It requires buy-in from the top down and supports from top to bottom and everywhere in between.

● It requires research to align with the desired brand positioning and target audiences.

● It requires consistent messaging across ALL touchpoints – both internal and external – all channels – all the time! And that includes how employees speak about your brand! (This is where most brands fail.)

● It takes time to accomplish, yet it’s never really “done”… as it needs constant nurturing to stay relevant and competitive in today’s marketplace.

What is a Brand Identity?

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Your brand’s visual identity is its visual expression. It contains elements such as your logo and color scheme; it’s what visually characterizes you and sets you out from the competitors.

Without a strong brand identity, it’s impossible to grow a business. A solid identity will help you build a strong foundation for the other pillars of branding like positioning, messaging, strategy, and design.

Every visual and verbal identity element should be well thought out, planned, and intentional. This includes everything from the logo, colors, typography, style guide, and imagery to the tone of voice, messaging strategy, grammar rules; the list goes on! This differentiates you from your competitors in the market, so these elements must be executed correctly at every touchpoint.

Brand vs. Brand Identity

Brand vs. Branding

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Brand vs. Branding vs. Brand Identity: What’s the Difference?

A brand is your business’s personality that helps your customers recognize you and differentiate you from other players in the market. A brand is what your business stands for, as well as how the public perceives your business. A successful brand can help build trust with potential customers and inspire loyalty with existing ones.

Branding encompasses how a company communicates its name, values, and unique selling proposition (USP). Branding includes everything from how a company names its products to answering customer service calls to the colors it uses on its website.

Brand identity involves the name, logo, slogan, color palette, typeface, etc., that make up a company’s public face. It is a visual representation of your company’s image and personality that you want people to see when they think about your company.

In Summary

Brand vs. branding vs. brand identity is three distinct concepts that need to be considered when creating an exponential brand experience for consumers. They are very similar, but there are differences. You should know what those differences are before making your next marketing campaign. A cohesive strategy from the beginning will help you create a brand that will grow and be successful in the future.

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