Branding And Brand Identity: Everything You Need To Know
Table of Contents
The Basis: What Brand Means
Let’s start with the basics: the brand. A word that is omnipresent today but whose real meaning we often ignore: we continually hear talk of “brand,” but often the term is used inappropriately or incorrectly. So, let’s be clear: a brand, in English “trademark,” is a conceptual entity characterized by a delineated identity, which sums up the consumer’s purchase reasons and preferences. Therefore, a brand comes to mind when we think of a particular company and what drives us to prefer it to another.
What Is Meant By Brand Identity
Once we have clarified what we mean by the brand concept, we can define what is meant by the expression “brand identity.” Brand identity is the outward appearance of a company, the way you communicate your brand to the public. This includes various elements: logo, color palette, fonts, social media aesthetics, website design, possible packaging, etc. All of these elements must be able to summarize the brand and tell its identity, its values , and its personality. In conclusion, brand identity is, first and foremost, what makes a company distinguishable from its competitors.
At The Heart Of The Brand: The Logo
Often confused with the very brand concept, the logo is a distinct element within a company’s brand identity. A logo, or logotype, is the graphic representation of the brand or name of a given company. The first image that we tend to connect to a brand is precisely that of its logo, making it a central element in representing its values and objectives. This element must be inserted consistently within the marketing strategy to create a unique, captivating, and compelling logo to define one’s brand.
Creating A Brand: The Branding Strategy
Now we know what a brand is, how it differs from a logo, and what brand identity means, but how to make these concepts a reality? This is where branding comes into play. Branding is the strategy a company implements to show the consumer his identity: his brand, in fact. It is an articulated marketing work aimed at building the overall image that will be perceived by the consumer and the sensations that a particular company will arouse in the public who hear about it. In a nutshell: if the brand is the result a company aspires to, branding is the process implemented to obtain it.
Who Is The Brand Manager?
Today’s consumer is increasingly demanding: he knows the brands better, knows what to look for, and is less inclined to be faithful in the long term when he is not fully satisfied. Building a solid brand is necessary to dominate your market in an increasingly globalized business environment.
For this reason, today, more and more companies choose to include the figure of the Brand Manager in their team: a professional specialized in the management of a brand’s image, who acts with the aim of directing the consumer’s choice towards the company in question. By best communicating the brand’s values, objectives, and personality on the market through an ad hoc marketing strategy, it will be possible to convey a particular reputation and thus make one’s brand stronger.
And If You Operate In The B2B Sector? The Temporary Marketing Manager
Brand Identity and marketing strategy are fundamental tools. They are necessary even if your company operates in the business-to-business (B2B) sector or places its products or services with other companies and not with final consumers. In this case, the inclusion in the workforce of a figure dedicated to marketing activities is often over-abundant as they are not so large and extensive in terms of variety and size.
In these cases, not infrequently, it is preferable to introduce a figure of a Temporary Marketing Manager who can competently evaluate elements related to marketing processes, coordinate the different activities with suppliers, interact with the management level to adopt the fundamental decisions, support the sales processes and valorization of commercial data.
