What is Branding?

Branding is a buzzword that is used a lot in the Marketing industry. So, if I asked you, what is Branding? You’ll probably tell me it’s a logo.

These are not a brand. These are logos.

Logo

The term logo is an abbreviation of Logotype, which is Marketing jargon for a trademark made from a custom lettered word.

“Logos” is Greek for Word.

Graphic Designers use the word Logo in place of the word trademark. Which is a custom lettered word.

Trademark

A trademark can be a Logo, Emblem, Monogram, Symbol, or any other Graphic. A trademark is not the Brand itself. It is just a symbol for it.

If you think of what you do, it’s your trade, it’s what you do, and the mark is the symbol that represents it.

Branding

A Brand is an impression about a product, service, or company that an individual has.

You cannot control what people think, but you can influence it.

Now forgive me as I subject some of the WEtech staff to illustrate my point. (Pun intended.)

 

This is Marketing.

 

If someone else says it for you, this is Public Relations.

 

If you keep saying the message repeatedly, that’s Advertising.

 

If you say it with a symbol instead of words, that’s a Graphic. A visual manifestation of the words.

 

When someone else tells you, that’s Branding!

 

It’s not what you say it is, it’s what they say it is.

Now that you understand Branding, you now know that looking at a logo it’s not the brand. There are a lot of components that define the Brand:

• Graphics
• Customer Service
• Staff
• Product
• Logo
• Messaging
• Packaging
• Signage
• Website
• Décor
• And more…

Branding is the secret sauce that makes your business memorable.

• Dove, improves your self esteem
• Apple, is the best at innovation
• Amazon, is the easiest way to buy anything

Are these statements correct? Might be, might not be. Most people believe them to be true because a company will invest money to make you believe it. That’s Branding. So, let’s talk about your own Branding.

Try this:

Write down 2-4 positive adjectives that:

1. You think describe your Brand
2. What your customers or clients use to describe you

Then ask your most trusted friends that will be honest with you to review it. If they don’t agree, then you need to have a meeting and brainstorm until you portray your Brand right. These few adjectives will become the building blocks of your Branding. You need to remember that the person the Brand is truly for is the customer.