What Is Branding?

The Branding process involved creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers’ minds, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme. Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customers.

It is one of the most important aspects of any business, large or small, retail, or B2B. An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets.

and It is a strategy designed by organizations to help people quickly identify and experience their brand, and give them a reason to choose their products over the competition’s, by clarifying what this particular brand is and is not.

“Branding is endowing products and services with the power of a brand” (Kotler & Keller, 2015)

The foundation of your brand is your logo. Your website, packaging, and promotional materials–all of which should integrate your logo–communicate your brand.

Who does it affect?

1. 

   Consumers: a brand provides consumers with a decision-making shortcut when feeling indecisive about the same product from different companies.

2. Employees/shareholders/third parties: Besides helping consumers to distinguish similar products, successful branding strategies are also adding to a company’s reputation. This asset can affect a range of people, from consumers to employees, investors, shareholders, providers, and distributors. As an example, if you don’t like or don’t feel connected to a brand, you would probably not want to work for it. However, if you feel like the brand understands you and offers products that inspire you, you would probably desire to work for it and be part of its world.

Brand Strategy & Equity

Your brand strategy is how, what, where

, when, and to whom you plan on communicating and delivering your brand messages. Where you advertise is part of your brand strategy. Your distribution channels are also part of your brand strategy. And what you communicate visually and verbally is part of your brand strategy, too.

Consistent, strategic branding leads to strong brand equity, which means the added value brought to your company’s products or services that allows you to charge more for your brand than what identical, unbranded products command. The most obvious example of this is Coke vs. a generic soda. Because Coca-Cola has built powerful brand equity, it can charge more for its product–and customers will pay that higher price.

The added value intrinsic to brand equity frequently comes in the form of perceived quality or emotional attachment. For example, Nike associates its products with star athletes, hoping customers will transfer their emotional attachment from the athlete to the product. For Nike, it’s not just the shoe’s features that sell the shoe.

A better brand means better marketing

—As a general rule, products have limited life cycles, but brands—if managed well—last forever. And once you’ve nailed down exactly who you are as a brand, it becomes much easier to market it.

In the end, digital marketing is the process that brings you leads and sales, but branding is the foundation upon which you build your reputation and customer loyalty.