A sign of the times
Even though investing in branding and marketing are both ways of building your business, many owners and stakeholders that I speak to are unclear about the difference. Adding in the word digital simply complicates the situation. In this article I am going back to basics to clarify the difference between brand, brand identity, branding and marketing, and what adding the word “digital” adds or subtracts, to help you prioritise where to start.
Brand – a short history
The term brand originates in Old Norse, a North Germanic language, where the word “brandr” meant “to burn.” Herdsmen used a burning piece of wood to brand cattle with a unique signature to show their individual ownership. Branding was all about making your mark, both literally and figuratively.
By the 19th century cattle owners created wrought iron branding shapes that were unique to the ranch itself thus the verb to brand was defined as “to mark permanently with a hot iron”. These early shapes were simple, distinctive and instantly identifiable – the first application of distinctive product branded logos.
Once these ranch owners had branded their cattle they then had to take them to market where they had to confirm their origins, heritage, breeding and quality.
Brand, brand identity & branding explained
A brand is basically a company’s promise, or purpose, and personality defined when developing a brand strategy. This applies to any company, organisation, movement, person, product or service.
The brand identity is the set of design choices made when creating and communicating the business. It includes a logo or marque (and its variations), a set of font choices, a colour palette, the types of graphic elements you use and your tone of voice and copy styles.
Branding defines the steps a company takes to express the brands character (outlined in the brand strategy). When it’s done effectively, branding positions the branded entity as a leader in their recognised field and communicates to consumers that it’s the ideal choice for them and their lifestyle – it helps to build a reputation. Branding happens anywhere a brand is visible. It appears in the places where the brand will take up space and be seen—online and offline. Ultimately, the goal of branding is to build a trustworthy, unique identity that differentiates you from competitors and communicates to your target audience that you’re unique and exactly what they want.
Marketing
Marketing refers to the communication and promotion tools, methods and campaigns you use to take your brand to market, using the media which best enables you to reach your potential clients or customers.
There are various marketing methods to choose from, depending upon your type of products and services, your message, as well as your target customers you choose to serve, and the media you choose to use.
Any message about your company on social media accounts, websites, any social media interactions, collaborations with influencers is marketing.
So, therein lies the difference…
Branding is a strategy. Marketing is a tactic.
Branding is who you are while marketing is how you build business awareness. The branding process must come first, before you build a marketing strategy. To determine your brand, you need to know your core principles and values as well as your professional sense of style. Branding is what your company believes in, why it exists, and how consumers feel about your business and products. It promotes loyalty and long-term commitment.
What is a digital first brand?
We are now in the age of the brand as experience and people explore brands online and across mobile devices.
A digital first approach considers all aspects of the brand identity and how it will appear online – all of the touchpoints – the website, the App, video, animation, titles, infographics – the complete visual experience and tone of voice. It is dynamic, not static, on screen and not in print.
The value of having a brand design team with digital experience at the outset is critical for brands now. You can future proof your business with a digital first approach.
Whether you’re considering a brand refresh to get your branding digital-centric, or launching a new business, you should choose to adopt digital-first thinking to build a robust, innovative business that is equipped to flourish in a diverse and ever changing, multi-channel economy.
Branding should be digital first every time.
By Bill Wallsgrove, Brand Director
Header image: Hispano-American cattle brands Texas c.1845. Our brand identity for Freeeco (QR code embedded) 2021
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