Brand, branding, and brand identity all have different roles, that together, form a perceived image for a business, service or product.
Many people think of design as either a purely aesthetic profession, or even an advertising discipline 🚩
⚡️ What is a brand?
The word “brand” is used pretty loosely these days.
For example, people might use the word “brand” to talk about logos, though a logo or identity is not a brand.
But really, it’s much more than that 👀
Brand is a set of intangible assets of a company, service or product.
It is a definition of an emotional relationship between customers and the business.
⚡️ What is brand identity?
So, if brand is what they think about you, when you’re not in the room, then how you can influence that perception?
This is where the term “brand identity” comes into play.
Brand identity is tangible so it appeals to the senses.
Brand identity is what you can see.
It fuels recognition, amplifies differentiation, and makes big ideas and meaning accessible.
Brand identity consists of elements like:
⚡️ Logo or wordmark
⚡️ Different logo lockups
⚡️ Key colours (colour palette)
⚡️ Typefaces
⚡️ Consistent style for images
⚡️ Consistent graphic elements
All of which comes together to form a Brand Identity Guidelines document.
⚡️ What is branding?
Branding is a process.
It is a disciplined process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product, company or service in the consumers’ mind.
The discipline has come a long, long way, form starting out as the stamping of marks of ownership on the backsides of cattle…Through the manufacture of identities for products competing on supermarket shelves…
To the creation of complex marketing and communications glue for countless global organisations.
The process of branding is a communication of characteristics, values, and attributes that clarify what this particular brand is and is not.
And it’s up to you how you communicate those characteristics.
We can distinguish the following types of branding:
⚡️ Co-branding – partnering with another brand to achieve reach
⚡️ Digital branding web, social media, search engine optimization, driving commerce on the web
⚡️ Personal branding the way an individual builds their reputation
⚡️ Cause branding aligning your brand with a charitable cause; or corporatesocial responsibility
⚡️ Country branding efforts to attract tourists and businesses
What ties those types of branding together is the desire to clarify of what is being offered.
Whether it is a product, service or person – image and consistency (brand identity) play a huge role in branding.
Here’s the list of some of the terms related to branding:
⚡️ brand positioning – is how the brand is perceived in the context of competitive alternatives
⚡️ brand promise – is the unique value proposition (brand benefit e.g. for Volvo is “safety.”)
⚡️ brand essence – is the “heart and soul” (e.g. for Starbuck’s is “Rewarding everyday moments”)
⚡️ brand associations – are anything that people link or associate with the brand in their minds.
⚡️ brand personality – is the composite of personality traits (e.g. trustworthy, friendly, innovative)
⚡️ brand voice – how does your brand “speak? Do you use teenagers language or you’re more serious?
⚡️ brand values – they define on what guides your company’s decision-making
Brand is a relationship between customers and the business.
Brand identity is what we can see, it’s the design of a brand.
Branding is a process of building awareness and extent loyalty.
Need help with your branding? Get in touch today, I offer all kinds of branding packages 📧