When launching a new product or service do you wonder about the differences between Branding and Marketing?
Branding and Marketing work very closely side by side but there is a huge difference.
The difference between branding and marketing is a bit like dropping a pebble in water. If you drop a pebble in water it causes ripples which in time will disappear. The later doesn’t sustain without the pebble, the pebble being your brand identity and the ripple effect being your marketing.
Your brand is your core to your product and service. Its authentic, sustains trust and honesty and ultimately determines if clients become loyal customers.
If you don’t have a professional brand identity that is consistent and trustworthy your marketing will not deliver results.
Get it right and your clients will recognise you instantly and want to buy into your brand, get it wrong and you can end up losing prospective clients to your competition.
Branding is strategic. Marketing is tactical.
Branding comes first and marketing promotes your product or service in a tactical and influential way. Marketing is your message and branding is who you are.
Branding establishes, reinforces and enhances your business they build on your foundations. It communicates your values, missions and messages which installs trust and will attract your ideal client. Marketing can then be used alongside your brand identity to influence a client’s decision to buy but you must always practice what you preach. It is no good having a strong marketing campaign without the backup of a strong brand to reinforce it after the media frenzy!
When I think of the differences between branding and marketing some of the phrases come to mind for each:
Branding
- Branding is the core ethic to your business
- Branding gives us more of a reason to trust
- Branding is the value to your client
- Branding is the vision of your product or service
- Branding builds trust and honesty in a product or service
- Strong branding is memorable
Then we look at Marketing. Marketing is actively promoting a brands product or service across all form of media to engage your target audience. You have control over your marketing message, the images you use in your posts or tweets to engage your audience and then you measure the conversation and awareness to determine the success or failure of a campaign.
Marketing
- Marketing is actively promoting your product or service
- It’s the push tactic
- Marketing attracts customers
- It’s a direct approach no matter what form
- Marketing activates buyers and influences decisions to buy
However, your look at it, marketing promotes the intended values of a product or service, whereas branding reinforces the fact! The brand is what remains after the big marketing butterfly effect and leaves you with the lasting impression. Whether you bought into the brand or not, branding is in it for the long run!
