BRANDING

BY ANUSHA MALHOTRA
BATCH OF 2024

Branding is the process of creating a strong positive image of a company, it’s products or
services in the mind of the customer by combining elements such as logo, design,
mission and unified theme through marketing communications. Effective branding
helps companies stand out from their competitors and build a loyal customer base. The
goal is to attract and retain loyal customers and other stakeholders by delivering a
product that always matches the brand promise.

Who is affected?

1. Consumers: As mentioned above, a brand provides consumers with a shortcut to

make decisions when they feel unsure about the same product from different
companies.

2. Employees/Shareholders/Third Parties: In addition to helping consumers

differentiate between similar products, successful branding strategies also enhance
the company's image. This asset can affect many people, from consumers to
employees, investors, shareholders, service providers and distributors. For example,
if you don't like or feel connected to a brand, you probably won't want to work for it.
However, if you feel that the brand understands you and offers products that inspire
you, you would probably want to work for it and be part of it’s world.

How to do it?

Businesses usually use different tools to create and design their brand. Branding can be
achieved, for example, in the following ways:

• Brand definition: purpose, values, promise

 • Brand positioning statement

• Brand identity: name, tone of voice, visual identity design (which includes logo
design, color palette, typography… )

• Advertising and communication: TV, radio, magazines, outdoor ads, websites, mobile
applications…

• Sponsorship and partnerships

• Product and packaging design

• Retail experience

• Work experience and management style

• Customer service

• Pricing strategy

Don't be afraid to revise

If you're committed to a certain corporate image, don't be afraid to change. Your brand
can evolve as your business grows and becomes established in your industry. For
example, a travel agency has branded itself as a helpful tool for domestic and
international vacations. However, following the trend of study abroad, work and
volunteer programs, they are expanding their services to help people plan and
implement educational experiences abroad.

Why is branding important?

Branding is important for the following reasons:

• Establishes your business in your industry: The right brand identity can help
establish you in your field. It can also help you compete with those offering similar
services as your brand gets more exposure.

• Communicate your purpose to consumers: Your brand is also important

because it helps communicate the value your product or service can provide to

consumers. For example, if your cleaning products company has the slogan, "Less time

cleaning, more time having fun," you're letting consumers know that your product line

helps clean up messes quickly so customers can do more of what they love doing.

• Increases company awareness: a strong and recognizable brand can attract new

customers.

• Reminds existing customers of your products and services: Your brand can

also help existing customers remember your services. For example, if you own a pest

control company, running ads or updating your logo can remind past customers that

you offer organic pest control for their lawns.

Branding vs. Marketing

What is Branding?

In short, branding is who you are - and marketing is how you build awareness.

Branding is your strategy, while marketing covers your tactical goals. To determine who

your brand is, you need to ask yourself several questions. Questions that go beyond

industry generalities, the services or products you offer, and also questions that define

who you are as a business and most importantly, who you are as a brand. The questions

below are a great place to start:

• What are your core principles and values?

• What is your job?

• What inspired you to build your business?

• Why do you want to offer your products or services to the target group?

• What makes you unique?

• What is the internal culture of your company?

• What is your professional sense of style?

What is marketing?

Talking About Marketing vs. branding, marketing refers to the tools you use to

communicate your brand message. Marketing is constantly changing and evolving, just

like the products and services you offer are constantly changing and evolving. Marketing

is aimed directly and specifically at the sectors of your target audience, while supporting

your brand's core values.

Marketing is vast and wide. It can be heartfelt, funny, or serious. It can be any mix of

text, keywords, photos, charts, graphs, and videos. Marketing will be performed by a

variety of online and offline methods—some of the most common being:

 SEO

 Content Marketing

 Social Media Marketing

  Pay Per Click Marketing

In a nutshell, marketing is defined as the set of tools, processes and strategies you use to
actively promote your product, service and business. Think of marketing as the actions
you take to connect with customers and get them to buy your products or services.

Branding, on the other hand, is a marketing practice that actively shapes your brand.
Branding is who you are as a business. It is your mission, your value and what makes
you special and unique. It is your core elements like your logo, website and brand style
guide. If marketing is what gets people to contact your business the first time, branding
is what keeps them coming back for years.

Think of it this way: If your brand was a Big Mac, your brand would be the "special
sauce" - and your marketing would be everything you do to get your customers to eat it
(like your ads, social media ads, and other campaigns ).

Learnings on brandings based on successful entrepreneurs

1. Brands Do Not Make A Company

Paul Rand’s brilliant and genius piece for Steve Jobs, the NeXT logo, exemplified all his
rules of design. It proved the fact that simplicity is not the goal, but a by-product of
modest expectations and a good idea.

Yet the demise of the company played out this critical brand lesson.

“It is only by association with a product, a service, a business, or a corporation that a

logo takes on any real meaning. If a company is second rate, the logo will eventually
be perceived as second rate.
According to biographers, Jobs was forced to shut down his hardware company, NeXT,
which shattered his soul. So Rand's breezy logo became synonymous with the founder's
downfall and the underperforming, overpriced computers he was trying to sell to
universities around the world. (Fortunately, Apple acquired his NeXT and its software,
which became the heart of all his iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches.)

The NeXT logo kept at MoMA was impressive and beautiful. But in the end it didn't
work. This is probably the most important point for entrepreneurs. Don't expect your
brand identity to improve your product or business. Sure, it's important to take things
seriously, but being perfect down to the last pixel doesn't guarantee business success.

2. Do Not Go After The Popular Vote

Critics might question his messaging tactics, however, Elon Musk is a risk-taker that
boasts the net-worth of over $20 billion. He has dismissed digs at his work style, saying
to the New York Times,

“In case you have anybody who can do it better than me, kindly let me know.”

Evidently, he hasn't turned out to be the most efficient leader in tech through being
well-liked.
When it comes to learning lessons on branding, take note that while the majority of
CEOs consult legal counsel before they share messages with their audience, Musk fires
off content with almost no regard to legal, financial, or political consequences to his
firms.

Most of Musk's projects will still take years to complete, so he is not done publicizing the
potential of his companies for disrupting almost every global program and major
industry in existence. Through investing in sustainable technology , intensely pushing
innovation and leveraging all and any platforms to spread his philosophy, he has
transformed himself into one of the most revolutionary innovation and business leaders
in the past decade. While NASA staff may be concerned that his accomplishments are
inadequate and expectations are too high, Musk has a strong commitment to space
exploration, sharing information and ideas, and inviting supporters to participate.

As the era of hyper-interactive executives looks set to continue, other CEOs would do
well to rethink their brand messaging tactics.

3. Pay Immense Attention To The Quality of Your Content

Of course, if you want to market something efficiently, you have to do it right. Many
brands try to reach their audience with average content. They invest little energy and
money in production quality, instead promoting their budgets with uninspired content.
Crazy Egg & Kissmetrics co-founder and digital marketing industry expert Neil Patel
once said:

“You can choose to put in the time and work required to create great content and build
a prosperous brand. Or you can choose to take the easy path and write poor content –
a path that ultimately will get you nowhere. It will only result in a waste of time,
energy and resources.”
Image source: neilpatel.com

Your content is usually the first thing people see. If what they see isn't impressive, they'll
assume your service, team, product, and company are also average.

Similarly, working with influencers that your target audience is relatable to and creating
quality content can add value to your brand. It has proven to be a successful marketing
strategy for raising the bar. Influencers who reach a wider audience help create better
content. Having their help in telling your brand's story is a huge benefit.

4. Innovation is Key

As the popular quote by Microsoft’s founder Bill Gates goes,

“This age’s entrepreneur is the one who discovers where the world is leading towards
and goes there first.”
But not everyone creates something from scratch. Sometimes you need to look at what
has been created and create something new from it. For example, instead of developing
the world's next Samsung, you can invest in creating the best music application for the
Samsung Galaxy.

You can't predict what you will produce or what it will turn into, so you need to do what
you love and try to be as creative as possible. If millennials started thinking the same
way about innovation, they would be encouraged to engage in entrepreneurial
innovation instead of making it a hard job.

Louis Tremblay, CEO and President of AddEnergie, is also a millennial entrepreneur.

He says his company is at the forefront of innovation and prides itself on making EV
charging more convenient and accessible. Innovation is sometimes called making a
product that already exists easier for people to use.

5. Stay Transparent

Trying to cheat your customers is the biggest mistake you can make as a business
owner. Discovering the truth is just a few clicks away in the connected economy.

Remember, success stories are one of the best marketing tools for your business.
because they are real. They are open to everyone there. Not only that, your customers
will be happy to share the positive changes they have made in their daily lives through
the use of your products/services that have helped them improve their lifestyle,
confidence, focus, quality of life and energy. These stories are exactly what brand
storytelling is all about.

The famous quote by Warren Buffet, CEO and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, says
it all.

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation but only 5 minutes to destroy it. Keep that in
mind to do things differently.”

Image source: quietrev.com

In today's social media world, customers want to see the real thing. To learn these
important branding lessons, we need to understand that there is nothing more
motivating than human history. Especially in the healthcare industry, people don't want
to see photoshopped images. They want to see honesty and vulnerability. This may be
what people need to hear as encouragement to make similar changes in their lives.

The point is not to sell a service or product to a target group, but to provide the service
or product in the form of a viable solution.

6. Go Beyond Your Customer’s Expectations

Every entrepreneur wants to delight and surprise their customers. Ultimately, this is
what makes a successful business. There's no denying that customer service success
stories happen when someone exceeds expectations. Many successful entrepreneurs
have found that when they see their successful business grow, it's also when they bid the
most.

Steve Jobs, Co-founder of Apple, said

“Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need
well before they realize it themselves.”

Image source: zdnet.com

Many companies have gone a step further to provide a pleasant experience for their
customers, and it is often used in the e-commerce industry. A good example is Amazon.
They offer prime benefits such as free and fast shipping, online video and music
streaming. They also have cashback, extra discounts on purchases, and ecommerce live
chat support for providing instant service. Some call this a “marketing strategy”.

Case Study

Package design is a silent salesperson that captures the attention of busy consumers in
the store. It tells consumers about the product's features and visually differentiates the
brand from competitors on the shelf.

For example, Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola has been in business for over 125 years and their brand focus is a key part of
standing the test of time. A Coke product consists of a few key elements - primarily a
logo whose font hasn't changed much in over a century, a color palette revolving around
shades of red, and a recognizable can or bottle.

Although Coca-Cola has gone through several brand relaunches over the past century,
they have kept the basic brand formula the same. Their glass bottles are particularly
recognizable because they have been around for generations. When you see white text
on a red background in a store or on a menu, you know you've found Coca-Cola.

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