Brand Development and Branding
When discussing brand development and branding, there are three key clarification points and definitions that are essential for everyone involved in the process to share a common understanding from the beginning:
First, let's discuss the definition of brand:
A brand is a “Claim of Distinction.” It’s whatever separates the business or organization from its competitors, making it stand out as unique, extraordinary or more valuable to the customer. It’s not just a promise - it’s the compelling evidence that makes your claim credible. It might be better to say that your brand is your evidence of distinction.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BRAND DEVELOPMENT AND BRANDING?
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.
Branding (also called brand strategy) is tactics - creating the marketing plan that communicate the brand’s unique positioning with a personality and precise targeting. These tactics can include the consistent use of graphics, logo, colors, spokespeople, etc, but none of these things are the distinction or the brand itself. These can change from campaign to campaign and are the vehicles for communication. It’s the brand’s distinction that makes it stand out as more valuable to the consumer than its competitors, and a good branding strategy is vital to accurately communicate this message.