Branding & Marketing, the Difference
Two major discussions that regularly come up within Creation are marketing and branding, but they are often mixed up and used interchangeably by non-industry professionals. To explain the difference between them it helps to understand what each term means on its own. They both refer to the means of spreading information, but they each have their own specific uses.
This can be defined as the process by which a company’s reputation is reduced to a single word. Brands are representations of a particular company that are easy to recognize, it means that a user can instantly know who they are dealing with. When at Creation we are branding a company we set set out to give personality as well as attaching a set of attributes that will appeal to the primary audience’s demographic. Two different examples of this are Toyota, a company that is regarded for its production of reliable cars, or Volvo, who have high safety records. By building their brands based on an easily recognized attribute, there is a unique appeal created for their customers. This gives the business more depth and prevents it from becoming another faceless organisation.
The term marketing refers to all interactions with the customer and the use of models in the development of targeted advertising that reaches out to specific types of consumers. It includes all forms of advertisement. Furthermore, it deals with comprehending the consumer or audience before finding ways to use this in depth understanding.
How are Marketing and Branding Connected?
Marketing and branding are concerned with distributing information to the customer. They are different features of a companies overall content development scheme. When marketing, it is important to incorporate branding in order to acquire loyalty from your customers. Through branding, you can represent your company in a particular way and build from the information that you gain by marketing.
On the other hand, marketing allows for the growth of a mutual relationship with your customers and thus introduces them to the branded theme. These terms are not interchangeable, however they still go hand in hand.
What Is the Major Difference between Branding and Marketing?
In short, marketing is considered tactical whilst branding is strategic. Marketing is the presentation of the company and this will contribute to the overall branding. Once the marketing campaign has ended, the brand loyalty will still remain it doesn’t try to impact the consumer’s feelings towards the product in the long-term. In summary, it simply convinces the customer of the products benefits.
In contrast to this, branding seeks to grasp the long-term view of the consumer. Through the brand’s strategic leverage, a customer’s loyalty can be used to help gain a sale with the company. By cultivating your brand image in a specific way, the customer will learn to associate a particular idea with the brand.
So marketing discovers buyers and then encourages them to buy. Branding takes this even further, by converting these consumers into loyal customers.
By building brand loyalty you are able to make loyal customers from one-time buyers, you can then develop a ready audience and market that look forward to hearing your message.
Which Is Better to Invest In?
They are both good investments and produce their own different types of returns. It is easy for marketing to be done wrongly, which as a result could become a black hole, where a lot of budget is invested with limited results. However, well-researched marketing can produce great investment returns, but it is important to remember that a campaign’s success depends on the amount of effort that is invested as well as the amount of money. Returns can be seen in conversions and sales.
Due to being a long-term investment, branding is often more easily adjusted as time goes on. Although catastrophic failures do sometimes occur in branding, it is often the case that these as these are a result of bad planning, not a lack of budget. Customer loyalty is the return that you can get from branding; it can then be used repeatedly. Marketing is required in order to make branding work successfully, but the main benefits come from securing a base of loyal customers that can be called on when a new product is released.
Through obtaining a body of supporters, you can gain far more than through simply renting an audience of customers. Without gaining a loyal following, you must return your borrowed audiences and whatever efforts you have put into the marketing campaign that targets them becomes worthless. Merging your marketing and branding allows you to retain a customer base.
Furthermore, once you have gained a loyal following, you have also created a network of customers that will help to promote and spread your brand. Through cultivating a brand you potentially create “brand evangelists” that will support and boast your products without taking up your time in spreading the word. This is where Engagement Marketing comes into play with Social Media.
Branding Is the Way Forward
Without branding, marketing won’t allow you to develop an audience that is open-minded and engaged to the message that you are giving out.
Without branding, marketing won’t allow you to develop an audience that is open-minded and engaged to the message that you are giving out. Branding is the foundation of an audience’s interest in the message you present; it can help to save you a lot of time and effort each time you progress your marketing content. Your marketing is to be used to develop your branding, but there is a clear distinction between the two. It is important for you distinguish one from the other in order to confirm what you will accomplish with each. Creation have the skill and ability to create content for both branding and marketing purposes.
This is what you should aim to achieve so that you can develop your branding in a professional manner.
To find out more about Branding design or Marketing from Creation, contact Nick or Katie who will be happy to discuss this in more detail.
