According to the Cambridge English dictionary, branding is: “the act of giving a company a particular design or symbol in order to advertise its products and services”. So why do so many people using different words to describe the same thing?
To answer that question, I’ve prepared a Branding Dictionary that the rest of the team and I use to get our job done right!
Let’s get started with:
BRAND IDENTITY:
Brand identity is the way people recognise the brand. It may be through the logo or other associated visuals.
BRAND POSITIONING:
Positioning is the way a product is placed in the market. It basically defines what segments of the market it is targeting.
BRAND PERSONALITY:
Brand personality is just like the personality of human beings. It is specific emotional or personal qualities that we associate with a particular brand.
Every element of the brand identity including the colour of the logo and the typography on the brand name adds to the personality.
BRAND IMAGE:
Brand image is the idea of the brand that people develop in their minds. Its also dictates what they expect from the brand.
It's hard and sometimes impossible to change the brand image, so it's best to know what you're aiming at before you invest hard-earned money.
BRAND EQUITY:
Brand equity is the value of a brand. It may include a tangible financial value such as market share and revenue as well as intangible aspects such as strategic benefits of the brand.
So it is not only the sales but the sheer image that takes the equity to a different level altogether.
BRAND EXPERIENCE:
Brand experience is a combination of everything that a customer goes through while purchasing and using that brand.
For example, how does one feel while ordering food and eating at KFC? How did the food taste? Since it has many outlets all over the world, all of them are expected to maintain uniform standards of experience.
BRAND DIFFERENTIATION:
Differentiation, as the words suggest is how a brand stands out the crowd
BRAND COMMUNICATION:
Brand communication is the message it delivers through various sources like adverts, brochures, punch lines and hoardings.
BRAND EXTENSION:
Brand extension is basically the idea of going beyond one’s origins and exploring newer fields. For example, Google started as a search engine. But now it provides many other services including emails and mobile operating systems.
Now you do understand that branding is not that simple! When the time comes that you’ll create your own brand or re-brand what you already own, make sure to read this dictionary and be a branding expert!
Thanks for reading :)