The Role of Branding

Branding. Marketing. Advertising. According to a recent article written by Karen E. Klein for the small business online section of Business Week, these three can easily and often are mistakenly interchanged.

Ms. Klein recommends thinking of marketing as a toolbox. Within that toolbox are all of the tools a firm can use to motivate or persuade a consumer in a certain direction. These tools include advertising and branding as well as market research, direct mail, public relations, etc. Advertising is primarily a tool for communicating the desired action or reasons to take the action. It can come in the form of TV and radio spots, billboards, web banners, or in magazine and newspaper print.

On the other hand, branding is something that happens before the advertising rolls out. It is one of the first steps in the marketing strategy. The brand is the identity or personality of the firm. Branding is the process of creating that identity. The other aspects of the marketing strategy are either internal to develop the brand identity or external to communicate that identity to the consumer.  

Effective branding goes even farther than just communicating to the consumer. Rob Frankel, a branding expert, states, “Everyone knows about cancer but how many people actually want it? Branding is about getting your prospects to perceive you as the only solution to their problem.  Once you're perceived as 'the only,' there's no place else to shop.  Which means your customers gladly pay a premium for your brand." Successful branding isn’t something just accomplished by big companies either. Many small businesses have developed effective brands. To read more about branding, see this Special Report at BusinessWeek.com.