Denise Seith & Co. Marketing, Advertising, Travel Writing

Branding is a big buzzword, but what exactly does it mean? Simply defined, a brand is the essence and purpose of what your business stands for in the minds of your customers—it is their impression of what they are purchasing—both tangible (physical) and intangible (subtleties and feelings). For example, Nike physically produces athletic goods, but Nike also "sells" speed, fitness, power, and style. An Allstate Insurance policy covers physical items such as cars and houses, but it also "sells" you peace of mind based on a "what if" scenario.

A brand is not accidental; you must purposely SHOW & TELL the public what you want them to know and remember about your unique business. Branding is the foundation of good marketing—the way you will stand out and be distinguished by your unique capabilities.

Branding is the action of conveying your brand to a target market and creating an emotional tie to your unique product or service. Branding attracts, satisfies, and retains customers. Nike does this visually through their consistent, distinct logo and slogans and using well-known athletes as spokespeople to convey the non-tangibles of their brand.

Branding is important because it solves a problem for consumers. Branding helps them to select a product or service whose quality, safety, or function cannot be fully determined until after the purchase is made. Branding builds trust and eliminates some risk of the unknown— especially when doing business with big companies located outside a local geographic area (credit card companies, brokers, buying on eBay).

Without branding, all comparable products and services would simply blend together—every financial institution, insurance agency, chocolate bar, coffee bean, and athletic shoe would be indistinguishable from another—even though in reality huge differences exist in their quality, price, taste, and service.

The logic behind branding is simple: if your target market is familiar with your brand and has a favorable impression of it, they are more likely to purchase your products and services. But consumers won’t know what your business is all about unless you tell them!

Is your company branded? If a distinct graphic, slogan, or feeling doesn’t emerge when buyers hear or see your company name, that means your business brand has yet to be defined and developed. Customers must clearly understand and agree with the essence, character and purpose of your product or service before they’ll buy it. And how are they to know if you don’t inform them?

It’s never too late to embark on your own branding campaign—no matter the size or age of your business. Establishing a successful brand takes thought and deliberate execution, but the sooner you start, the sooner you’ll see results in your bottom line. Here’s how to begin:

• Define who you are, what you have to offer, your method of doing business, your target audience, and ask yourself why customers should use your products or services.

• Convey those decisions and distinguish your company from all others with a strong visual reference—a logo, typeface (font), color palette, slogan, jingle, theme, or tagline.

• Commit to consistently carry your brand through every aspect of your business—stationery, marketing materials, advertising, signage, product packaging, customer service, website, etc. From the smallest item, such as a business card, to brochures, newsletters, billboards and back-of-the-bus ads, EVERY bit of marketing and advertising should portray your unique brand.

Investing in your brand is investing in your company’s success. Know clearly who you are and what you have to offer, and then loudly and consistently portray that image to your target market. Your brand is a powerful business asset, so maximize its value-- Denise Seith & Co. Marketing/Advertising can help by blending creativity & common sense with robusta marketing skill to get you the results you want, without wasting your time and money! 

Common Branding Terms and Meanings:
Brand equity: A brand’s valuation, sometimes quantitative, based on an audience’s positive and negative perceptions of its quality, relevance, scale, influence and similar factors.
Brand identity: The attributes, characteristics or personality that a brand aspires to communicate.
Brand loyalty: When consumers’ disposition toward a brand is so favorable that it makes it difficult for other brands to compete.
Brand positioning: The simplest expression of what an organization wants its products or services to stand for in the mind of a target audience. It is the nuts-and-bolts idea upon which a marketing message is built.
Brand strategy: The communications system that governs all points of contact with an organization’s (or product’s or service’s) stakeholders and directly supports the business strategy.

Need a little help with your branding efforts?  E-mail Denise Seith & Co. Marketing/Advertising now.

Our specialty is working with non-profits and start-up companies. We understand real budgets and real deadlines and won't waste your time or money while we help you to establish your brand, design your first logo, and create key collateral. Need a copywriter, a travel writer, a graphic designer, ghostblogger, creative-idea-generator, media buyer, print manager, help with a website, and a double-tall-skinny-latte right about now? Or simply some well-written text for a newsletter and a cup of black coffee? Denise Seith & Co. Marketing / Advertising can help! We're in Dallas, just a few minutes from downtown Salem, Oregon, but our clients can be located in any state.