Understanding Branding: Beyond the Logo

Hello, I’m Pankaj Arora, founder of KifferAI. Over the past three years, I’ve been helping individuals and businesses learn about e-commerce and branding strategies.

Branding is a term that often gets tossed around in marketing discussions, but it's essential to clarify what it truly means. Many people use "branding" interchangeably with concepts like logo design, identity design, or even typography. To set the record straight, let's explore what branding is and, perhaps more importantly, what it isn’t.

What Branding Isn’t

1. Not Just a Logo
   One of the most common misconceptions is that branding is synonymous with a logo. While a logo is a valuable tool for a business, it serves merely as a symbol of the brand. A logo is a visual representation, but it doesn’t encapsulate the entirety of what a brand represents. It’s the first step in building a brand, not the sum of it.

2. Not a Product
   When people discuss “buying a brand,” they often refer to specific products. However, the brand itself is not the product. A brand represents the overall perception and experience associated with a company or service, encompassing much more than just individual items for sale.

3. Not Merely a Promise
   Many marketing professionals describe a brand as a promise that a company makes to its customers. While this can be true in terms of customer expectations, it fails to capture the full essence of branding. A promise is part of the equation, but branding transcends mere commitments; it’s about the experiences and feelings that customers associate with a brand.

4. Not Just Advertising
   Some may argue that branding is the sum of all impressions a company makes on its audience. While impressions can certainly influence brand perception, they don't define it. Brands are built over time through various interactions, experiences, and engagements, not just through advertising campaigns.

What is Branding?

So, if branding isn’t these things, then what is it?

At its core, branding is a result—it’s the customer’s gut feeling about a product, service, or company. It lives in their heads and hearts, formed through every interaction they have with the brand. Customers take the raw materials (like logos, products, and advertising) and craft their own perceptions and experiences. In this way, when you create a brand, you aren’t just creating one identity; you’re creating millions, each shaped by individual customer experiences.

A Brand is Like a Reputation

Think of a brand as a reputation. Just as individuals have different reputations based on their actions, every business has a unique reputation that customers perceive differently. As long as a company is mindful of where they want their reputation to land and ensure it benefits the business, it’s okay for perceptions to vary among consumers.

The Broader Perspective on Branding

When we approach branding, it’s easy to get caught up in the actions we take as marketers and designers. We often think about storytelling, messaging, and pitches. However, branding is ultimately about the results of those efforts—the reputation that emerges from our products, designs, messaging, and company culture.

From a designer’s standpoint, it’s essential to trust your instincts regarding whether a branding strategy will resonate with audiences. However, clients may often view branding as a checklist—getting a logo, tagline, and ad campaign. This simplistic approach misses the mark.

The Collective Impact of Branding

Branding involves nearly every aspect of a business, except for finance (though finances play a role in enabling branding efforts). Every employee contributes to the brand in some way, whether through customer service, product design, or corporate culture. Understanding that everyone in the company impacts the brand is crucial for fostering a cohesive and positive brand image.