This weekend I was tasked with explaining the difference between “branding” and “branding” to some old friends of mine. When most people hear the word “brand” they immediately think of logos; likewise, most “branding” agencies are really creative design or advertising firms that specializing in creating and promoting logos.
When I say brand, I refer to the entire character, behavior, and driving principles of an individual or corporation. Branding is the act of discovering the driving characteristics of a company’s behavior and using those to deepen existing customer relationships and build new lines of loyalty within the market.
A colleague of mine forwarded me a great article on the same subject today. “Brand Work is No Job for Ad Agencies” highlights the differences between traditional advertising firms and branding consultancies. While I give sound advice on advertising strategy, my work is focused on discovering, examining, and building solid strategy around your brand. These are two very different fields, which are commonly mistaken as being the same thing.
