What Is Branding?

Branding is a common and essential term used today in the business world. Many people haphazardly throw the word around, at times, leaving many business owners confused and wondering what branding is? Is it a logo? Is it marketing? What is it, and is it even necessary?

My goal in this article is to give you an overview of what branding is. In future articles, I’ll discuss some of the nitty-gritty of branding and how you can apply it to your business.

First, let’s talk about what branding is not.

Branding is not a logo. Your logo is part of your brand identity a logo creation is often a part of the branding process. However, a logo on its own is not a brand.

Branding is not marketing. Marketing is, as Merriam-Webster aptly states, “the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service.” Branding and marketing must work hand-in-hand.

Branding is not complicated. I hope this article will tell you that it is not some nebulous concept that only a few people can get. Yes, there is work involved, and it most often will require outside help, but it is a concept you can understand.

You’re tired of hearing what branding is not? What is it?

Brand strategist and author Marty Neumeier defines the word brand as “a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or organization.” Branding then is the process we take to influence that gut feeling and help prevent our audience from creating a false brand built on mistaken and often preconceived ideas.

The following are some of the components of the branding process.

1. Research and Strategy A good brand is built on a foundation of research and strategy. This involves researching the competition, creating customer personas, and defining the brand personality. It includes reviewing your core values and company mission and vision. With that info, you can create a strategy to help you build and grow our brand.
2. Psychology By researching and building strong customer personas, you can figure out what makes a potential customer “tick”. It gives a very good idea of what needs and wants you can cater to for your customers, leaving them happy and satisfied with their experience. It’s a bit of psychology, really.
3. Visual Design and Messaging. Here is where logo design, type, color, and copywriting style come into play. Through carefully crafted design and messaging, you can can communicate your brand values and personality. You can connect with your ideal customers and help them create an accurate gut feeling about your brand.

Ok. But is branding necessary?

Over the years, consumer thought processes have changed. At one point in time, people made their purchasing choices based on a USP (Unique Selling Proposition). They looked at what was different between two products and made their choice based on which one had the better set of features.

Today, however, we are flooded with too much info and too many choices of the same product. Because of this, consumers are making purchases based on less physical aspects of the product. They are asking questions such as:

• How will I feel if I purchase this product?
• How will I look to my peers if I make this purchase?
• What company is making this product?
• Who else is purchasing this product?

Think about it. Are Nike shoes that much better than other brands. Possibly not. However, people choose them because of the image. Nike = Athlete. I want to be an athlete (or at least I want to look like one), so I’ll go with Nike.

Let’s discuss branding vs. marketing.

There is a fairly common argument that occurs between marketing and branding specialists. Marketing specialists say, “Branding is not important. You should first spend your money on marketing and only then should you tackle branding.” On the other side of the coin, brand designers say, “Brand is all that really matters. If you have a great brand, people will be drawn to you and buy from you”. Both of these arguments are flawed as they misunderstand the other side and don’t consider that both need to exist together.

Branding influences a gut reaction. Marketing, on the other hand, puts your brand in front of people. As you can see, both are important. As a general rule, work at defining and crafting your brand and then promote it through marketing. The two processes need to happen in close succession or even simultaneously to be effective.

In conclusion

As you should see by now, branding is about more than graphic design. It’s a process that is vital to business growth. It’s not as complicated as it might first seem. Go, Grow your brand!

Need assistance with growing your brand? Lyndon Gehman is a brand identity designer at Lyndo Design. His passion is helping companies create engaging and effective brands. Visit his website at www.lyndo.design.