Do You Know The Difference Between Brand, Branding, and Brand Identity?

Our tagline sums up what we do but not in its entirety. Yes, we are in the business of building brands but what exactly is a brand.

When we say brand, what do we mean? You may have heard other people use that in marketing meetings or consultations and they may interchange it with branding and brand identity as a synonym.

The reality thoughis that brand, branding, and brand identity are completely different concepts that all work together but have very different roles.

At BrandNation we make it our business to be well-studied experts in each of these modalities in order to achieve the success for our clients that they have come to expect from one of the top marketing agencies in Houston.

That being said, let’s break down this oft-confusedtrifecta and help you understand why all three are critical to your business for the unique role each plays. Let’s start at the beginning.

What Is A Brand?

When you think of a brand, you are probably like many people and think of logos such as the Nike Swoosh, The Golden Arches of McDonald’s, or the infamous LV monogram of Louis Vuitton.

But let us dispel that notion as bluntly as possible:

Your logo is not your brand.

Even though you may see the logos without the company name and know what company it is and the feelings you have about those brands it still isn’t the brand. As we’ve stated brand, branding, and brand identity have very different roles that create the image for a product. You could if you wanted to; categorize them all under one umbrella as corporate design elements that all have their own part to play.

A brand is a term for the intangible assets of a service or product that define the business.

Basically, your brand is how a person feels about your company.

Every day in life new products and businesses try to get our attention. Whether it’s a billboard on your way to work or a commercial during our favorite show. Companies from all industries are vying for our attention. Competition makes for an endless variety of choices so companies must get creative with ways to connect with us on an emotional level. So brand is a relationship—it’s not who you say you are but who your customers say you are.

Because it is a relationship with people, they need to find reasons to believe in your business or product as much as you do—not unlike a relationship between two people. So, to have a strong brand you have to find ways to make people fall in love with your company and forego the competition for you and you alone.

Take Apple for instance. Apple consumers are almost religious in their devotion to Apple products, even when there are better choices such as Samsung or LG phones. Why is this?

Because Apple has evangelized their consumer base into believing Apple is superior despite what reality may be. How Apple is perceived affects how successful they are, —a brand is a promise of quality and reliability to customers. But if a brandis what customers think of your company, how then can you make their perception a good one? That leads us into your part of the equation and the most important part of BrandNation’s commitment to building your brand—brand identity.

What Is Brand Identity?

Brandis what your customers think about your company, you can’t create that. However, you can influence it and that is where the term knownas “brand identity” enters into the equation.

Brand identity is something tangible so it appeals to your senses. It’s something you can see, hear, touch, hold.

Brand identity encompasses components such as:

logos or wordmarks

color palettes/schemes

corporate fonts

image styling standards

library of graphical elements

Basically, everything that you can see, the visuals—that is brand identity and the number of elements that go into your brand identity can vary wildly from business to business.

That is why the brand identity designers at BrandNation are so crucial for the development of new businesses. Again, we build brands but we design the identity to influence it with visual cues and meaningful aesthetics.

If Brand Is Intangible And Brand Identity Is Tangible—Then What Is Branding?

Branding is actually the process that comes together from the first two elements. It is highly structured and has protocols to maintain consistency in creating an image and name for a business.

Good branding can make or break your company. It is important when you look for a marketing agency such as BrandNation, you are very clear on your perception.