Brand vs Branding vs Brand Identity - Knowing The Difference
Why is Brand Identity Important?
With time, each growing industry develops its jargon. While it makes communication easier between two people of the same field, those new to these words can feel perplexed about their meaning. And, if they come across multiple similar-sounding words with vastly different meanings, this gets even worse.
In such scenarios, people tend to use these words interchangeably without knowing that each has a different meaning attached to it. Among these words are Brand, Branding, and Brand Identity, which many consider as synonyms. However, using these words without adequately understanding their meaning can cause a lot of confusion. Just so you don’t have to stress about it, we have decided to write this article to elaborate on the meaning of these three terms.
What is Meant by “Brand”?
Unlike the common perception, a brand is not based on aesthetics and visuals. By brand, we mean the qualities and reputation of a company. How do people perceive it? Do they trust the brand, and does it make them happy? Does the brand deliver what it promises? All these questions are related to how people see a brand. And if they see it as the most reliable and go-to product or service, it succeeds in creating a solid brand. That’s the whole point of it. Otherwise, why not conduct a business anonymously?
Why is Branding Important for a Business?
Businesses create brands to stand out amongst their competitors. What makes them different from others is defined by all the qualities associated with their brand. These qualities are what attract customers to keep buying from a business. Eventually, a brand can make a business credible enough in the market to charge a higher price for its product or service without negatively impacting sales. A perfect example of this is Apple, which has one of the most expensive phones in the market, yet manages to remain increasingly popular due to its credibility.
Brand vs Branding VS Brand Identity - Apple laptop
What is the Difference Between Brand Vs Branding?
A company’s effort to deliver customer satisfaction , relationship building and marketing campaigns, distinguishes 'brand' from 'branding.' In other words, a brand is a noun, defining the ‘Who?’ of a company. In contrast, branding works as a verb, which describes the ‘How?’. How will a company deliver and convey its message, and how will it convey its mission statement, objective, and vision. Planning and strategizing the ‘How?’ in branding can help a business stay consistent in its marketing efforts.
To better demonstrate the difference between these terms, take the example of Realme and Techno. These brands focused on providing “value for money” phones to their customers amid the market domination of the giant mobile manufacturers. They targeted the younger consumer base with low-priced phones that delivered a high performance for a smooth gaming experience. The companies were soon able to attract its market share because of its relationship with young people. They saw the market gap and a need for high-performance phones at a low price and seized the opportunity to stand out from the other brands. Their success is a result of effective brand positioning, which allowed them to have a reputable place in the hearts of their young target audience as a brand that shared their interests and values. The marketing strategy planned to create this bond between the company and its consumers is what we can call “branding”.
What is the difference between Brand Vs Brand Identity?
These two terms are the most notorious culprits that frequently confuse branding and marketing discussions. Consider a brand the spirit of a company, while brand identity as the body. Brand identity is based on the aesthetics and tangible aspects of the brand, so it’s something that triggers our five senses.
Often “brand identity” is also confused with a brand’s logo. While that’s not true, a logo design can be considered a part of what constitutes a brand’s identity. It can trigger all of our senses and can be regarded as a part of sensory marketing, which includes the logo design, the banner, signature color palette, smell, slogan, or the way the products of a brand feel in your hand. All these components combined create the brand identity of a company.
Why is Brand Identity important?
What’s the point of creating a brand identity, you ask? The point is to use different elements to create a brand personality, to give your brand a voice amid the growing competition. Thus, brand identity plays a pivotal role in marketing your products and services, making it necessary for your brand identity to remain consistent.
You must have noticed several changes in a brand’s logo design. However, in their essence, these logos usually remain the same. Consider the Instagram Logo with its gradient icon that has significantly changed but still depicts a camera. Or, consider the Pepsi logo, which has changed multiple times in more than a century but still retains the blue and red colors of the logo, and the unchanged round shape of the emblem that has remained the same for a very long time.
Brand vs Branding VS Brand Identity - Instagram logos throughout the years (Credit: 1000logos.net)
Brand Identity Examples to Learn from:
Brand vs Branding VS Brand Identity - Pepsi can
Consistency is vital in creating a solid brand identity. While a business may get away with a few drastic changes to the visuals of their brand, making any change to an essential element of a brand identity can spark negative feedback from the consumers. One such event took place when Pepsi conducted a very famous marketing campaign in 1975, where they asked people to taste Pepsi and Coca-Cola blindfolded, with the challenge that they would like Pepsi better.
They won this social experiment, which caused Coca-Cola to change the formula of its syrup to create a better-tasting drink. The result was outrage by loyal fans, who found the new drink distasteful. In this case, the taste of Coca-Cola was an essential part of its brand identity. People identified Coca-Cola with its taste, and without it, the brand lost its face. Soon, due to this failed rebranding, Coca-Cola reintroduced its original taste with Coke Classic.
Today, the power of brand identity is apparent in the form of cloned iPhones and fake sports shoes carrying the famous Nike “Swoosh” on them. The iPhone's signature-style, trend-setting notch display or triple camera designs make it easier for people to identify it and help the products stand out from the rest. By copying those elements, counterfeit product makers give their customers nothing but the value that a company’s brand identity provides when attached to an item.
This value is reflected by the Apple logo's worth, which exudes credibility and is estimated at a whopping 107 billion dollars.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, a company's brand is intangible, and related to the values and culture of the organization. In contrast, brand identity is tangible, associated with the sensory appeal of the brand. That is to say, we build a brand, but we do not build a brand identity. Instead, we design it. On the other hand, branding means to market your business's tangible and intangible aspects. Eventually, the effectiveness of branding determines how well your brand positioning has succeeded in impacting the target group.
Author: Anas Hassan
