Brand and Branding

A few years ago I was in a seventh grade classroom where the students were studying the American West in the 1800s. A man dressed in chaps, boots and a 10-gallon hat brought his rope and a branding iron into his story. That was the first time I connected my marketing concept of branding with an earlier model.

I also realized that there is a difference between branding (an act) and a brand (an object). A company can have great branding, a great name, slogan, color scheme, but still not have a great brand. Likewise some companies don’t have good names, may have ugly colors and horrible slogans, but they have great brands. The brand does a great job of communicating what this business does well.

1. Nothing is as important as your brand

Nothing is more important than your brand. Once you decide on it and establish it you are going to want to do everything you can to make it the best. When we talk about brands here, we are talking about your brand whether it’s a company, product or personal brand. We are also talking about your brand whether you are a brick and mortar business, a computer business or an m-commerce (mobile marketing) business.

2. Some components of a brand: Name and Color

Your company name can be your legal name or you can do business under an assumed name. For example, if I run a charity called Family, Mother, Child Charity, I can do business as (d.b.a.) New2Need Charity. When you select the name that will be your brand, remember that it should suggest what your company does, what it does better than the competition and what it will do for the clients or customers. If you want to have a business that will become international or multi-generational, avoid names that tie it to a time or place. If your name is easy to remember, pronounce or is catchy, you have a better chance at once.

3. Using the right color can become a part of your brand. What cab company uses the color yellow? What parcel service uses brown? Research colors and what they mean to see which one is best for you.

Now you can see the importance of creating the perfect brand. What have you done to help you stand out?

Jaco Grobbelaar, owner of BroadVision Marketing, helps business owners and business professionals put marketing strategies in place that consistently secure new clients. He can be reached at jaco@broadvisionmarketing.com or 707.799.1238. You can “Like” him at www.facebook.com/broadvisionmarketing or connect with him on www.linkedin.com/in/JacoGrobbelaar.

What is Branding? (isudio.wordpress.com)

Personal Brand (slideshare.net)

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