SEPARATED AT BIRTH?

What differentiates Marketing and Branding

People treat branding and marketing as equals. In every business, marketers pit their brains for the largest share in the market. But if a product has brand equity, the success story touches another level. Discerning entrepreneurs know how these two different fields of endeavor — marketing and branding — are separate entities. The ability to tell one from the other and use them properly can fatten the bottom lines significantly.

Some aspects of the business are embedded so deep in the customer’s mind that they trigger a quick recall. This mental aspect of the product or service is called branding.

Branding works on the mind of the customer. It can be a promise, benefit, value intricately associated with the product. It cements the product or service in customers’ awareness.

Your brand is the foundational asset of your business. It is what you are known for in the vast and crowded space of the market. It triggers emotions about some desirable quality that your product offers.

Branding is the strategic cultivation of the qualities that create a commercial distinction within a marketplace — through various media like print, web, or broadcast. When you list out the world’s leading brands, each of them represents a value. Think about McDonald’s, and the image of finger-licking burgers invades your mind. Each branding exercise conveys the exact quality of the product cloaked in graphics, colors, copy, and positioning.

Explained: The Difference Between Marketing and Branding

As discussed, branding deals with core business identity. This fundamental asset should find offshoots in every business communication. The exercise must engage the typeface, colors, and guidelines that are tied with the brand. This consistency of approach triggers the brand recall. It consolidates its image in the mind of consumers.

Investment in brand-building gives products and services a unique personality. This personality:

• Gives the product a strong visual identity

• Acts as a market differentiator

• Creates a favorable perception and goodwill

• Generates customer loyalty and increases business equity

Marketing is the means to achieving these brand objectives. It is a set of vehicles that carry the brand message. Marketing helps in product promotions.

A few common marketing tools and strategies are websites, advertisements, blogs, OOH, email marketing, and events, to name a few.

For best results, marketing must work in conjunction with branding. They must complement each other! Promotion efforts must be tied in with the brand personality that best describes a business.

For instance, if a brand is known for its after-sales service, the communication must illuminate this key aspect. Campaigns or stand-alone posts should emphasize the trademarked feature in creative and memorable ways. In this way, marketing is an essential tool to create brand power for mass-market products and services.