Brand, Branding, Brand Strategy, Oh My!
Brand 101
A quick glance at our view on brand and what it is (and what it isn’t).
What is a Brand
Scott Bedbury defined brand best (and we added some goodness to his definition): A brand is the sum of the good, the bad, the ugly, and the off-strategy. It is defined as your best product/service as well as your worst. It is defined by award-winning advertising as well as by the god-awful ads that somehow slipped through the cracks. It is defined by the accomplishments of your best employee–as well as the mishaps of the worst hire that you ever made. It is defined by your receptionist, the music your customers are subjected to while on hold, and even the smell of your office/store. For every grand and finely worded public statement by your leader to the idle chatter in the breakroom to the social world of Facebook and Twitter. Brands are sponges for content, images, and fleeting feelings. They become psychological concepts held in the hands of the public, where they may stay forever. As such you can’t entirely control a brand. At best you can only guide and influence.
What a Brand Isn't
A brand is a person’s perception of a product, service, experience, or organization. A brand is NOT”
+ A logo
+ A tagline or slogan
+ A spokesperson or mascot
+ A color
+ A product
+ What you tell a customer it is
Commodity vs Brand
COMMODITY: Compete on price or convenience.
BRANDS: Compete on their intangible attributes.
BRAND EXPERIENCE: The totality of all sensations, feelings, thoughts, and actions evoked by a brand.

Commodity
1-2¢ a cup
Commodities compete on price or convenience.

Brand
75¢ a cup
Brands compete on their intangible attributes.

Brand Experience
$2-6 a cup
Brand experiences raises the bar to another level.
Brand vs. Logo
Many clients say they already have a “brand” but what they really have is a logo and some colors that picked because they thought they were cool. Unfortunately, that’s not a brand. Your logo is just the tip of the iceberg. The rest of the brand may not seen as much but it’s just as important as the logo. It’s all the other stuff we talk about above, plus more. And if you don’t strategically plan your complete brand iceberg, it could start to melt.

Branding vs The Others
BRANDING: Branding is the process of executing and managing the things that make people feel the way they do about your brand.
The infographic helps explain the difference between branding, marketing, telemarketing, public relations, advertising, and graphic design.
