A brand is how a company differentiates itself from its peer brands. A brand can be thought of as the personality of the company, communicated through an identifying mark, logo, name, tagline, voice, and tone. Some of the oldest and most recognizable brand names in automotive, toys, and food and beverage have been around for decades, with some surpassing more than a century of consistent and recognizable branding.
There are three main types of brands, including company/corporation brands, product brands, and personal brands, which apply to individuals. The rules of brand marketing apply, regardless of type. Now that we know what a brand is, let’s talk about how to create a brand marketing strategy.
What is brand marketing? A complete guide
Brand marketing is promoting a brand’s products or services in a way that elevates the brand as a whole. It involves creating and maintaining brand-consumer relationships and marketing brand attributes—the traits that people think of when they picture a particular brand. In this guide, we’ll provide an overview of all things branding, including brand marketing strategy, types of brands, brand awareness, brand equity, brand relevance, and brand recognition, as well as highlight branding solutions from Amazon Ads.
What is a brand?
What is brand marketing?
Brand marketing is the process of establishing and growing a relationship between a brand and consumers. Rather than highlighting an individual product or service, brand marketing promotes the entirety of the brand, using the products and services as proof points that support the brand’s promise. The goal of brand marketing is to build a brand’s value – and the company’s value as a result.
The channels available for a brand marketing strategy are the same channels that companies can use for product marketing activities, such as digital, social, and paid search advertising. A good strategy is to use different channels together to create a media mix that reaches a wide audience. For example, brand marketers might use a brand advertising strategy supplemented by email and content marketing efforts to drive brand awareness and reach potential customers across multiple digital spaces. But when it comes to deciding the right messages for the right audiences in these spaces, we first have to consider brand attributes.
What are brand attributes?
Just like people have their own unique combinations of personality traits, brands have unique attributes, as well. Attributes are identifiers that consumers see as part of a brand. These can include the name and tagline, colors, or even music or sounds often associated with the brand. In addition, attributes can be the feeling that a brand evokes. Example “feeling” attributes include authentic, innovative, dependable, honest, or transparent.
What is brand equity?
Brand equity is the value of a company’s brand, or the measure of consumers’ perceptions of the brand. Strong brand equity has to do with how well consumers know the brand, their preference for it over others, their level of connection with the brand, and their level of loyalty to it. Strong brand equity opens doors for brands to innovate and expand their businesses with the support of their loyal base of consumers.
Brand equity is measured by comparing brand awareness, brand loyalty, preference, and financial metrics.
- Brand awareness is determining how many consumers are aware of a brand, and is measured through surveys and focus groups, social listening tools, and search and web traffic insights.
- Brand loyalty is measured using purchasing behavior insights like repeat purchase behavior and time between purchases.
- Brand preference is measured through insights such as purchase intent metrics and surveys.
- Financial metrics relate to sales lift as a result of brand marketing campaigns.
In order to build strong brand equity, it’s important to establish a strong brand-consumer relationship.
What is a brand-consumer relationship?
The brand-consumer relationship, also called the consumer-brand or brand relationship, is how well a brand and consumers are connected. Is it a strong connection or a weak one? A positive connection or a negative one? Are consumers functionally connected to the brand or are they emotionally invested in it? The best brand connections are strong, positive, and emotionally rooted. These are the connections that help turn buyers from one-time purchasers into lifelong brand advocates.
Why is branding important ?
Branding is perhaps more important than ever as marketplaces become more saturated and it becomes harder to make genuine connections with consumers. Branding allows companies to tell their unique stories and shift perception by giving customers something to believe in. It sparks interest, and invites customers to discover, learn about, and establish a memorable relationship with their brand. Rather than specs and features, branding is about what a company stands for – who it is at the core. Branding is about making consumers feel good about supporting a company and establishing an emotional connection. Those that brand effectively create a lasting impression that helps grow advocacy and loyalty among customers for the long term.
