Is a Brand a Logo?

Have the Marketing Gurus Got it Wrong?

The term branding comes from the age-old practice of using a hot iron to mark livestock to identify ownership. The graphic created by this process acted much like a logo does today, to identify and differentiate a product or service. An animal that hasn’t been branded is called a ‘slick’. There are many marketing gurus suggesting that a brand is not a logo, this may be true but I’m not sure a ‘slick’ business could ever truly be a strong brand.

These days the term branding is much more than a single logo or graphic. Branding is the whole package of who a business is and what it stands for. Branding creates the perception associated with a company based on rational and emotional drivers.

A great brand short cuts the buyer decision-making processes as it provides a customer an existing understand or experience regarding the product or service provided. The more distinctive the branding, the less likely a customer will accept a replacement.

There are many aspects of a brand businesses don’t have control over although they can influence them. The look and feel and general graphics used is one key component of any brand development that the business has direct control over. The branding image is one of the most important aspects of any business, large or small. A good branding strategy gives you a great advantage in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Branding is a part of daily business life, and creating a unique brand experience will set you apart from the competition.

A brand is the vehicle by which an organisation represents itself to all its audiences. Building a brand rather than a product provides a way of building long-term success. If your business results are simply built around a particular product or service you provide and that product or service is superseded by a developing world, your business is destined to fail. Be careful you are not keeping a computer chip out of a job. If you have a strong brand that has developed loyalty and respect with consumers you can transform your product and services to suit a changing world. For this reason building a brand is absolutely necessary for any company. There are a wide variety of ways to build your brand that suit all kinds of budgets. The most important thing is to be aware of the impact your branding has on your business success.

Branding is really all about creating a set of beliefs and feelings about a product or service. It doesn’t have to take a lot of money and effort to do. The main thing is to plan and get started on your branding journey with purpose and direction.