How to Define What A Brand Is?
You are looking for a list of brand definitions to get a good grasp on what a brand is? You are in the right place. I was wondering too. For the sake of your time, let’s keep it short and straightforward.
Here are some ways and perspectives of thinking about the most important brand-related words and expressions.
“A brand is not a logo. A brand is not an identity. A brand is not a product. A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or organization.” — Marty Neumeier
“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.” — Seth Godin
Many think about the definition of branding something different. According to Wikipedia for example: “A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.” According to Investopedia: “A brand is an identifying symbol, mark, logo, name, word, and/or sentence that companies use to distinguish their product from others.” These two definitions definitely have something in common, however Neumeier’s definition does not align with this. In fact both Seth Godin and Marty think about the brand from the end consumer’s point of view and they neglect the idea that a brand is one single thing. Both of them align to the idea of defining the brand as a set of things that somehow in some way have impact on the consumer. All definitions are built on differentiation.
As an experienced Graphic Designer, I would like to add that a logo, the entire brand identity, the events, conferences etc. all account as different touchpoints (or features) that ALL together make a certain impression on customers as well as stakeholders. The brand touchpoints include the outcome of PR-related activities as well and every little thing that can be traced back to you.
Why Should You Care About Your Brand?
If you seek to differentiate your business in the market effectively, it is highly encouraged to try controlling all brand touchpoints depending on what your business goals are.
Of course, it is very difficult to manage all brand touchpoints and make sure that your set of features, products, the logo is seen only with positive emotions all the time.
To give you a concrete example: I was driving the other day and I noticed at a red-light that the local energy-drink producer’s product was on the side of the road in the dirt, thrown away by one of their consumers. It was atrocious to see that yet another item was not reused, recycled and ultimately I cannot disassociate that in my mind from the producer of that product. The image is stuck in my mind, and I have seen plenty of their bottles thrown away since then, so it’s just getting worse. I have a hard time associating them with positive feelings ever since.
