Sri Vikas. U a Branding, Online/Digital Marketing/ Social Media Marketing Specialist in India asked, “I am curious on what is the difference between Marketing and Branding. Where does marketing end and branding start?”
Well, it’s just the opposite. It’s not “where does marketing end and branding start?” It all starts with the brand. The reality is, marketing is a tool that let’s people know about your company or product. The brand is the core message about your company that people know or find out about. Without a clear understanding of the brand you can’t do effective marketing.
Of course, you can still DO marketing; you and your client will just keep wondering why it isn’t as effective as you thought it would be. With our clients we don’t do ANY marketing until we understand their brand and brand message. The Brand Message has to be understood by you first.
There are a few excellent books on the subject. Al Ries wrote one called “Focus.” It describes how to really focus your brand to show a distinction between you and your competitors. Dave Dunn wrote “Branding: The 6 Easy Steps,” which is actually a work book and very easy to use. Dave describes it, “Put very simply, your brand amounts to what people think of your business. It has a specific value, called brand equity, which can be a substantial part of the worth of your business. Branding is the practice of using a wide range of tools, including your Web site, to influence customers’ perceptions so they choose your product or service versus others.” I used to work with Dave. I still use his “Branding: The 6 Easy Steps.”
Tags: elements of branding
