What is the difference between ‘brand’ and ‘branding’?

The difference between ‘brand’ and ‘branding’ is simpler than you might think.

A brand is the total vision and mission of the company and its products. The brand represents how the company engages and emotionally connects to its customers. Typically a company will develop a brand strategy which informs everything that comes next.

Branding, on the other hand, is the method and execution of the brand. Branding creates elements which are then used to reinforce the vision and mission of the brand. The act of branding focuses on the customer touchpoints, that being the moments that a company engages or comes in contact with an existing or potential customer.

What are touchpoints?

Traditionally, the main touchpoints of a business are your logo, your website, your print material, and your marketing efforts. These touchpoints are critical, as many times they are the first point of contact with your customer, but there are so many more touchpoints which differ from industry to industry.

Let’s imagine a new wellness clinic. By not focusing on the whole experience, you can easily create a disconnect between the brand’s intentions and the overall experience of the customer. Let’s say you focus heavily on your graphic brand assets to be sleek, modern and high-tech, but then customers are greeted by a bland, sterile and overly clinical environment. These two opposing experiences create confusion, or cognitive dissonance, of what the brand represents.

A good branding or marketing agency takes a specific approach to creating a brand: they focus on a holistic approach. They look at all the ways in which a customer comes in contact with your company to provide a cohesive & well-rounded brand experience. This comes in many forms, from traditional assets, like logos and websites, to physical objects and space design. The goal is the same for all the elements and the connection between them: to create a seamless experience for your customers.

Great brand design drives great results.

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