What is Branding?

Have you ever watched a commercial that made you feel like you did when you were a kid? Ever seen a billboard that made you think you might seem a little younger and cooler if you tried their product? You may look at these advertisements and see them for what they are; marketing ploys. But, you wouldn't be giving that marketing team enough credit. You see, marketing is a multi-faceted field. While advertising is one function of marketing, branding is the term for the connection between you and a product.

Branding is literally defined as a component of advertising that creates an affinity between the product and the consumer. More specifically, it creates an emotion between the two of you. The idea behind branding is creating feelings that keep you purchasing the same item over and over.

Marketing directors and ad agencies can't simply hold a press conference with the world to tell them what to eat, drink or wear. It's a much more sophisticated process than that. It requires a great deal of research and psychology.

First, a marketing team determines what the company they are working with wants to be known for:

• Does this product have a lower price than its competitors?

• Is the product much more luxurious than its competitors?

• Is the product geared toward a younger crowd?

These are all questions to ask in order to decide how to begin branding.

Here's an example of branding that we see every day:

Coke vs. Pepsi

Both taste similar but they vary greatly in branding. Coke exudes a nostalgic feeling. The company brands their product as such with their ads and packaging. They want their consumers to feel comforted by knowing they will be getting the same great Coke taste that they've been used to all of their lives.

Pepsi, on the other hand, has set themselves apart from Coke by taking the younger and cooler route. Their ads are flashy and so is their packaging. They constantly change their branding to keep up with that younger crowd.

These two seemingly alike products have distinctly separated themselves from the competition with branding.

Generics Go Mainstream

Not too long ago, it was almost shameful to purchase generic products. I'm not referring to the Publix or Wal-mart brand items that we now know as generics; I mean the real generic products of the past. They came in unidentifiable packaging with names nobody had heard of. For the most part, they were of the same quality as the brand name stuff, but it was still very taboo to purchase them. So, what ever happened to those generic brands? They are now Publix, Wal-mart, Walgreens, and CVS brands. They are the same exact products, only with a label we all recognize and feel comfortable using. Marketing teams made shoppers feel all warm and fuzzy with brands they recognized and thus, these otherwise generic products began flying off the shelves. Pretty darn genius right?

Branding isn't easy. Connecting emotions with a product is always a challenge. But, that's what marketing teams and ad agencies do. They build a connection of trust with the consumer to create a customer for life. It's incredibly effective and as much as we would like to think of ourselves as skeptical consumers, we fall into the trap quite often. If you can effectively brand your company, you'll likely experience great success. If you haven't done so already, I would suggest hiring an ad agency or an incredible marketing director to help. But, your marketing team is only as good as your product so build it to stand out from the rest and create customer loyalty through quality.