WHAT'S DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BRAND AND BRANDING?

Navigating the Space Between Your Business and Customers: A Brand Challenge

In the realm of branding, bridging the gap between your business and your customers stands as one of the most significant challenges. While this gap may not be visible to the naked eye in day-to-day operations, it remains profoundly real. Brands grapple with the task of closing or even eliminating this gap.

We refer to this elusive space as the “gray area”. The most successful brands we collaborate with manage to bridge this gap effectively. Our brand expert, firmly believes that achieving this requires a consistent brand experience across all customer touch points.

We positioned at the critical intersection of digital and physical brand experiences, understands the evolving landscape. In today’s digital-first world, your initial interaction with a brand often occurs online—well before you consider visiting a leisure spot, retail store, hotel, or hospitality venue.

Our expertise lies in connecting these dots. We guide your brand through a strategic process, ensuring a cohesive experience across these pivotal touchpoints. By creating clarity around your brand, we aim to eliminate the grey area and forge a stronger connection between your brand and its customers.

Term “Brand” and “Branding”

When the term “brand” is mentioned, our minds naturally conjure up visual elements. For those not steeped in branding, this instinctive association makes perfect sense. We envision aesthetics—look and feel, logos, typefaces, colors, and icons—as the initial touchpoints.

However, succinctly defining what a brand truly represents can be challenging. In Marty Neumeier’s insightful book, “The Brand Gap,” he astutely identifies what a brand is not:

• A brand is not merely your logo.

• A brand is not confined to a product.

• A brand transcends a corporate identity system.
  

So, if a brand isn’t any of the above, what is it? In simple terms, your brand isn’t solely what you proclaim it to be. Instead, it is shaped by your audience or community—their emotions, values, and perceptions regarding your business.

Allow me to share a concise definition that brings clarity to the concept of a “brand”:

“Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.” — Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon

In essence, your brand lives in the collective consciousness of those who interact with it. It’s a dynamic interplay of perception, reputation, and shared experiences.