Defining “Brand”

For The Brand Establishment, “Brand” is all about differentiation.

When you look at the table on the left, it's easy to see why so much attention is now being given to brand. The real dollar value of a strategically developed brand – financially quantifying the power to influence choice – is enormous.

What is it about you that will motivate me to select your product or service rather than your competitor’s – while you make a profitable margin?

Those last few words are the kicker.  Any company can motivate buyers by offering the lowest price. Without distinction, you’re Brand “X,” a generic – or worse – a commodity. And we all know how commodities are traded –  price.  When price becomes the only measurement of value, you lose – big time.  The real challenge is building a brand that will stimulate strong sales at a profitable margin – where buyers perceive brand VALUE that makes the price feel appropriate.

Our definition of “Brand”

A brand is a “Claim of Distinction.” It’s whatever separates the business or organization from its competitors, makes it stand out as extraordinary or, better yet, more valuable to the customer.  It’s not just a promise, however.  It’s also the compelling evidence that makes your claim credible – your evidence of distinction.  Communicated effectively, it instills confidence in the purchase decision.  It’s the sum total of all the perceptions you want the marketplace to have about your company at the moment of purchase decision.

It can manifest itself in:

• A colorful founder, who inspires confidence – like Orville Redenbacher, or Frank Perdue.
• A distinctive positioning statement – like Macintosh Computers’ “The computer for the rest of us” or Nike’s “Just do it” or Volkswagen’s “Drivers wanted.”

What a brand is not

You hear the word “branding” tossed out in virtually every agency/client conversation these days.  But for the sake of precision and good communication, we need to clear up something here.

Brand development is a process to translate a business strategy into a brand strategy by identifying the business or organization's Claim of Distinction and the compelling evidence that supports that claim – what differentiates it from competitors.

Branding is tactics – creating the tactical marketing plan to translate Brand Strategy into Brand Expressions (TV, radio, web site, etc.) that communicate the brand’s unique positioning with a personality and precise targeting to influence purchase decisions.

Branding tactics can include the consistent use of graphics, spokespeople, color, typefaces – all tools used to communicate a brand’s distinction.  But don’t think that the graphics or spokesperson is the distinction.  Those could change with the next campaign.  They are simply branding tactics and not the ultimate reason for purchasing the product.

It is the brand’s distinction – the characteristics that make it stand out as more valuable to the customer than its competitors, and that instill confidence in the purchase decision – that is the true foundation for long-term success.

One more time because it’s so important

A brand is not just a promise of distinction. Any company can make a claim of truth. A brand is evidence of distinction – evidence of the core truths about your company that will influence a purchase decision.  It’s what the purchaser of your product or service can count on from you – consistently.

Click here for a Glossary of Brand Terminology.