We all know branding and marketing are closely related to each other; branding is the process of developing an image in people’s minds, while marketing is getting that branding out there by whatever means necessary.
It’s like when someone asks you what company made your TV or laptop – if you don’t recognize the manufacturer’s name, then branding has failed. Okay, maybe not completely fail…but you get the point.
To better understand why branding and marketing are important, let’s check out their key differences.
What is branding?
Branding and marketing are not the same things. They aren’t interchangeable either.
One of branding’s main purposes is to give your product/service an identity so it doesn’t get lost in the clutter. Marketing helps spread that branding message, but branding gives the messaging its voice, tone, color, value, and more.
By branding something you create a symbol that represents what that product or service means to people – you put all of its intangibles into one package people can remember. You tell them what it feels like to use your product or how much better their life will be after they buy it – branding promises emotional responses, unlike any other advertising effort.
Branding also promotes name recognition, which helps customers identify with your brand over time as it becomes a household name. For these reasons, branding is more important than marketing because it’s what makes your product or service different from anything else out there.
The branding process involves finding out what your company stands for, what it values, how it makes consumers feel – practically anything that can be targeted by branding efforts, so branding sets the stage for the rest of the branding process. This is why branding is so crucial. Marketing can’t do much without branding in place first because you need something to market.
This isn’t to say branding is infinitely more important than marketing; they are both vital parts of promoting your product or service since no single one can carry all of the weight on its own. When branding and marketing go hand-in-hand, you get a successful branding campaign.
What is marketing?
Marketing is just one aspect of branding, though it plays a key role in all branding efforts. Think of marketing as the vessel for your brand.
The power of branding lies in its ability to create products that consumers can identify with or desire no matter what kind of angle the marketers take. This has always been true. However, digital media gives us more opportunities than ever before to promote our brands effectively. Today, branding is more important than ever.
Marketing is branding, at least to a large extent. Without branding, marketing would be just nameless advertising that does nothing for us except annoy people and cost money.
In Summary
People are busy with their lives – if they’re not users of your product/service now, they probably won’t become one unless you give them a compelling why.
Marketing can show potential customers all of the ways your product/service is better than the next guy’s, but branding brings people on board by showing them why this difference matters to them and how much better life will be with your brand in it.
Is it time to take your business to the next level? Consider help from the brand experts at Woods Creative.