Branding Strategies Communications Case Studies Resources The Club Subscribe!

  

What Is Branding? Welcome!

The Branding Journal is an independent online
journal that publishes information and
resources about branding strategies worldwide.
Author: Marion • October 27, 2015 • 6 min read
The website reports on the importance of
branding within marketing strategies and how it
empowers organizations and shapes consumer
behavior around the world.

Search

Search 

Recent Articles

What Brands Can Learn From a Last Will and

Testament

Case Study: Visit Estonia

Green Design: An Introduction by Sustainable

Designer Emma Fanning

Hot New Branding Course – Join Branding Now

The Best Online Branding Courses & MOOCs in

2021
Share Tweet Share Pin Email

Learning from the Gap Logo Redesign Fail

Unsure about the meaning of “branding”? Don’t worry! Branding is one of those
Luxury Branding: An Introduction by Philippe
marketing concepts that are a bit vague and can quickly become confusing, even Mihailovich

for people who have studied marketing.

All You Need To Know About Brand Image

Today we are going to take a look at “what is branding” and try to provide a clear
answer with simple words and examples!
Explore
Advertising Brand Brand Architecture
In order to understand the concept of branding, rst we need to know what
products and brands are. Let’s go! Brand Experience Brand Extension

Brand Identity Brand Image Branding

Branding Awards Branding Concepts

Table Of Contents Branding Industry Branding Strategy

Brand Positioning Brand Visual Identity

Product de nition
Case Studies Co-branding Consumers

Brand de nition Digital Education Interviews Logo

Branding de nition Naming Strategy News Packaging

Conclusion Product Rebrand Trends

Working in Branding

Product definition
“Broadly, a product is anything that can be offered to a market to satisfy a want
or need, including physical goods, services, experiences, events, persons,
places, properties, organizations, information, and ideas” (Kotler & Keller, 2015).

This means that a product can be anything from a hotel stay, a ight, a language
course, to clothes, food, a toothbrush etc.

To illustrate the de nition of a product and the role it occupies in de ning

branding, we will use the example of water:

Water is a free resource that every human being needs to live and survive. Yet it
became a product the day humans and companies started to commercialize it, for
example by selling mineral water in glass and plastic bottles.

But water always looks the same, isn’t it? It is liquid and transparent. So, how can
different companies sell the same product but still convince people to purchase
their bottled water instead of the one from the competition?

The answer is: by creating a brand.

Brand definition
“A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identi es one
seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers” (American
Marketing Association).

You can consider a brand as the idea or image people have in mind when thinking
about speci c products, services, and activities of a company, both in a practical
(e.g. “the shoe is light-weight”) and emotional way (e.g. “the shoe makes me feel
powerful”). It is therefore not just the physical features that create a brand but
also the feelings that consumers develop towards the company or its product.
This combination of physical and emotional cues is triggered when exposed to the
name, the logo, the visual identity, or even the message communicated.

A product can be easily copied by other players in a market, but a brand will
always be unique. For example, Pepsi and Coca-Cola taste very similar, however
for some reason, some people feel more connected to Coca-Cola, others to Pepsi.

Let’s illustrate this again with our water example. The product sold is water, but in
order to convince people to purchase a particular water, companies developed
different water brands, such as Evian, Perrier, Fiji or Volvic. And each one of these
brands provides a different meaning to the product water:
– Evian makes you feel young
– Perrier is refreshing, bubbling and sexy
– Fiji Water is pure, healthy and natural
…and so on.

In the end, a brand is a person’s gut feeling about a speci c product or company.
Each person creates his or her own version of it, and some brands increase or
decrease in popularity because of how consumers feel about them.

Branding definition
What is it?

“Branding is endowing products and services with the power of a brand” (Kotler
& Keller, 2015)

Branding is the process of giving a meaning to speci c organization, company,

products or services by creating and shaping a brand in consumers’ minds. It is a
strategy designed by organizations to help people to quickly identify and
experience their brand, and give them a reason to choose their products over the
competition’s, by clarifying what this particular brand is and is not.

The objective is to attract and retain loyal customers and other stakeholders by
delivering a product that is always aligned with what the brand promises.

Who does it affect?

1. Consumers: As discussed above, a brand provides consumers with a

decision-making-shortcut when feeling indecisive about the same product
from different companies.
2. Employees/shareholders/third-parties: Besides helping consumers to
distinguish similar products, successful branding strategies are also adding
to a company’s reputation. This asset can affect a range of people, from
consumers to employees, investors, shareholders,
providers, and distributors. As an example, if you don’t like or don’t feel
connected to a brand, you would probably not want to work for it. However, if
you feel like the brand understands you and offers products that inspire you,
you would probably desire to work for it and be part of its world.

How can it be done?

Companies tend to use different tools to create and shape a brand. For example,
branding can be achieved through:

Brand de nition: purpose, values, promise

Brand positioning statement
Brand identity: name, tone of voice, visual identity design (which includes the
logo design, color palette, typographies…)
Advertising and communications: TV, radio, magazines, outdoor ads, website,
mobile apps…
Sponsoring and partnerships
Product and packaging design
In-store experience
Workspace experience and management style
Customer service
Pricing strategy

In our example of branding water, packaging design and advertising are perhaps

the most powerful tools used by marketers:

Packaging design is the silent salesman that will grab busy consumers’ attention
in-store. It informs consumers about the product’s properties and visually
differentiates the brand from the competition on-shelf.

An interesting example is Fiji Water, which managed to create a bottle design that
perfectly re ects the brand’s values: purity is re ected through transparency
effects, and nature is perceived through the image of tropical owers and leaves in
the background.

However, it would be good for the brand to consider glass packaging instead of
plastic. This would be more aligned with the natural image they portray and be
better for the planet. Packaging is not just about design. The materials chosen can
also have an impact on brands.

Advertising is a powerful tool to create and shape a brand universe as it is very

visual and tells a story about the product/company. Here are some examples of
branding water through advertising:

Evian makes you feel young:

Perrier is refreshing, bubbling and sexy:

Fiji Water is pure, healthy and natural:

Conclusion
In very simple words, a product is what you sell, a brand is the perceived image of
the product you sell, and branding is the strategy to create that image.

I hope this article helped you to have a clearer idea of what branding means. If you
have any comments or suggestions to improve the article, please don’t hesitate to
share your thoughts in the comments below!

Sources: Kotler & Keller: Marketing Management (2015), American Marketing

Association (AMA)

Share Tweet Share Pin Email

BRAND BRAND BRANDING CONCEPT DEFINITION PRODUCT

BRANDING CONCEPTS WHAT IS BRANDING

Comments

John Dixon, October 30, 2015 REPLY

Great article. Good idea to take water as an example.

Ryan, December 10, 2015 REPLY

Simple and well laid out article. Loved reading it! Thanks.

Marion, December 11, 2015 REPLY

Very glad you enjoyed the article Ryan! Hope to see you around soon!

Kristoforus, March 21, 2016 REPLY

ty so much , helpful !

Milton Tony Taboada, April 20, 2017 REPLY

Great information. Thanks. “GLOBEARTH “

RIZWAN, June 11, 2017 REPLY

I earned my master in Development Journalism. My 10 years

experience is about electronic and print journalism. Now I am being
interviewed for the role of newly established air line brand Manager. I was not clear
about what actually branding is , how to start. After reading the subject article , I am
clear now and make my presentation best for the second phase of interview. BUT I
feel still many questions I want answers.

Marion, August 6, 2017 REPLY

Hi, I am glad the article helped you. Please do not hesitate to

share your questions, we will do our best to answer them!

Dyuti Sundar Chatterjee, August 4, 2017 REPLY

Very clear and crisp !!

Angela, October 7, 2017 REPLY

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your article. It was simpli ed, easy to read and
I de nitely learned. The article cleared up my misconceptions.

Marion, November 3, 2017 REPLY

Thank you Angela!

Raissa, October 7, 2017 REPLY

Hi Marion!!! I love this article, it was very helpful! I tried to nd the branding
AMA de nition you posted, but I couldn’t nd it on their website… Can you
tell me where did you nd? I’m writing a project about this subject, and I want to use more
of their de nitions… Thanks you so much :)

Raissa, October 7, 2017 REPLY

Brand de nition* (sorry :p)

Marion, November 3, 2017 REPLY

Hi Raissa! Thank you. Here is the source:

https://www.ama.org/resources/Pages/Dictionary.aspx?
dLetter=B&dLetter=B

BlueOcean, October 9, 2017 REPLY

thanks for this article

i love this quote
” A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken
together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over
another.1 Seth Godin”

Bikram prusty, October 26, 2017 REPLY

Wow.outstanding really..
The way you wrote is unique,user friendly and so much easy.i never ever
saw this type of article …
Thank you so much…

Marion, November 3, 2017 REPLY

Thank you Bikram for the kind words. Happy that you liked it!

MAnuel, December 7, 2017 REPLY

Dear Marion.

Great information!, smart way how you explained it. What will you do?.

You have sales numbers.

You have the big data of your costumer (General information)
You have many brands. (form others, you are a reseller).
You dont have a specially department of marketing. Or any other specially advise or any
other specially resource.
You have many stores.

What will you do, and how do you do?. To improve the sales. Any Idea?.

Thinking about a Latin America Market.

Greetings.

Marion, December 23, 2017 REPLY

Hi Manuel,

Thanks for your feedback! In you are interested in growing your brand, you could hire
a branding agency to support you with this.
Check our Top Branding Agencies article:
http://www.thebrandingjournal.com/2015/04/what-are-the-top-branding-agencies-in-
the-world/
Some are based in Latin America.

Alex F., December 28, 2017 REPLY

Simple and to the point. Very helpful as I am reviewing some of the

concepts.

Thanks for the post!

manuel, December 29, 2017 REPLY

Thanks for answer.!!!

But, I was thinking about some fast ideas from your experience , actually there is not any
budget for that in my company.
As you probabily know some stores does not think about the important of a Brand
manager or simlilar, then they don´t make efforts to take money for that.
I have read some real stories in your page about good and bad branding. Thanks for
share!!!.

I apreciate your previous answer.

Dimitrije Curcic, January 3, 2018 REPLY

Extremely useful. Thank you!

NJOFIE WILSON, January 5, 2018 REPLY

Thanks for this helpful article. Very straightforward and easy to understand.

Sundae, January 20, 2018 REPLY

Article was very informational, great example to use water!

Adela, February 10, 2018 REPLY

Very interesting and useful article :) great idea using an example during the
entire article

Shaheer, February 16, 2018 REPLY

Great Article!!! You really made me understand what brand and branding are
all about. Thank you.

Nkosi, February 23, 2018 REPLY

I loved it

lorraine mckeever, March 1, 2018 REPLY

Great clarity, just what a ‘start up’ needs to know. Thanks

Vertebrand, March 13, 2018 REPLY

Insightful read. Gives a perspective on the why & what of branding..

Jayden, April 8, 2018 REPLY

Interesting!

Francis, May 18, 2018 REPLY

Very helpful article. The clarity is on point.

alpha ryle, May 21, 2018 REPLY

thnx for the informative article,now i have an insight of what branding is.

crownsigns, June 4, 2018 REPLY

Am glad I came across this article even for the rst time of searching for
introduction and ideas on branding…
Reading this article makes me feels like a professional Brand designer coupled with my
7years experience in Logo and Graphic Designs
I have been using all the steps and they are all working I can now say something
professionally meaningful when am asked about branding with the detailed information,
examples, and descriptions I have learned here.

Thank you, Marion, for writing this article, I will follow your post from this time on for more
marketing and branding information.

nono, July 26, 2018 REPLY

thank you so much you helped me a lot

Anam Murtaza, August 13, 2018 REPLY

Very meaningful and comprehensive article. I gained a lot of information

from this article for my M.Phil thesis

Bikal Shrestha, August 26, 2018 REPLY

Very grateful to you as it helped me understanding about ” branding ”

clearly. Appreciate your simple technique to make understand the readers.
Thank you very much.

sonia, September 3, 2018 REPLY

Insightful read. Very clear and crisp !!

Andres, October 18, 2018 REPLY

Thank you! this article was simple and useful to understand these
concepts, I think was successful thanks to water’s example. great idea !

Giorgiana, January 8, 2019 REPLY

“Branding is endowing products and services with the power of a brand”

(Kotler & Keller, 2015)
Can I have the full reference for this, please?

Marion, January 8, 2019 REPLY

Of course, it’s the book Marketing Management (2015 edition) from

Kotler & Keller. The references can be found at the end of each article.

Alfred, January 21, 2019 REPLY

You gave clarity to the concept of brand and branding. Thank you

just click the up coming document, January 23, 2019 REPLY

My brother suggested I might like this blog. He was totally right.

This post truly made my day. You cann’t imagine simply how much time I
had spent
for this information! Thanks!

Zoe, January 30, 2019 REPLY

Thank you, very helpful :)

Pedram Amini, February 8, 2019 REPLY

Very useful article. I appreciate u for this post. I try to gure out what is
branding and how to use it for my website and this article help me a lot.
Thanks!

Olivia, May 22, 2019 REPLY

Agreed, sometimes to rebrand yourself or a company can be very time

consuming and tiring. I was having a lot of trouble creating a fresh
logo to reach the audience I wanted, but saw an add for http://nninjas.com and they
took care of it so quickly. Hope this helps you out with your website problem.

Donna, February 11, 2019 REPLY

Enjoyed. A good read! Thank you.

Vandana, March 14, 2019 REPLY

Thanks for sharing the article. Branding is a very important concept for
target audience, explained in a detailed way.

Valentina, April 11, 2019 REPLY

Awesome post.

Charles, April 15, 2019 REPLY

The best explanation so far in my search.

Christine Weeks, May 3, 2019 REPLY

Excellent content! You have certainly explained what branding is. Thank
you!

Abhishek Shrivastava, June 2, 2019 REPLY

This is an interesting article, good work, keep it up.

Naeem, July 6, 2020 REPLY

Maintaining a solid corporate identity not only helps your customers but,
your employees and potential investors as well. When your business has a
positive corporate identity, it will attract investors, motivate and encourage your employees
to stay with you and refer their family or friends to your business.

David, July 25, 2020 REPLY

Very insightful article, branding is so important in today’s business right

from day one of planning a company. Thank you for writing this, I enjoyed
the read!

Dinesh, October 25, 2020 REPLY

This One Article helps me to understand the complete branding methods

Claire, October 29, 2020 REPLY

Very informative and easy to understand. Great samples too.

Kumar Pradhan, November 10, 2020 REPLY

Breaking down the points bit by bit really helped us to upgrade our branding.
Hope you have an amazing day, thebrandingjournal!

sulaman ahmed, December 12, 2020 REPLY

Very insightful article, branding is so important in today’s business right

from day one of planning a company. Thank you for writing this, I enjoyed it
a lot.

Alan Jennings, January 7, 2021 REPLY

Found this really interesting, thanks for sharing!

What Is Branding?, January 24, 2021 REPLY

Thanks for providing such insightful information. The term “Branding” is

very vast in itself and people really need to know the true meaning of it. You
have done a fantabulous job by de ning and explaining things very nicely. Really
appreciate your hard work.

Jubair Bin Iqbal, April 6, 2021 REPLY

Thanks for the article. Its nice.

Rohan, May 4, 2021 REPLY

This has to be the best article I have ever read. thank you so much for
uploading this

lynn mokhtaru, July 5, 2021 REPLY

really helped for my MBA assignment…thanks so much the de nition!!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required elds are marked *

New Comment

Name E-mail Website

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Post Comment

PREVIOUS READING NEXT READING

Ten Truths For Targeting The Verizon 2015: Can You See Me Now? …
Tufty Club in the UK – Part 2 and Are We On Brand Now?

THE BRANDING JOURNAL SUBSCRIBE TO OUR WEBSITE TERMS OF USE GET SOCIAL
NEWSLETTER!
About Us Privacy Policy    
Contact Us Subscribe Cookie Policy
Careers

Copyright ©2014-2020 The Branding Journal. All Rights Reserved.  Back to top