03 Feb Branding!!! What is it?

Branding is used in businesses and organizations of all sizes and types. Branding is intended to identify goods or services and deliver the message that a particular organization, business, or product is the only one that can suit customers’ needs.

What is Branding?
Branding is the process of using a word or an image to identify a company or its products. It is what separates competitors and helps consumers remember a product. The purpose of a brand is to increase sales by making the product or service the most visible and desired by the consumer. Branding is becoming more than a logo or a product. It is becoming a promise of quality and reputation! It encompasses everything about a company, sometimes good and sometimes bad, depending on the public’s perception.

Why is Branding Important?
In today’s fast-paced world, it is more important than ever to promote recognition of a product or service. If you’re remembered as a quality provider, then you will be encouraging repeat business. Branding is a great way to promote this recognition because people are busy and tend to adhere to familiarity. If consumers recognize a brand that they have previously used and they remember being satisfied with it, then they are more likely to choose that product or service again. This is especially true in the tremendous hodgepodge of advertising going on today.

Branding Strategy
Brand identity is a vital part of a business, and it should be incorporated into many key aspects and areas.

·       Company name, logo, or slogan
·       Company letterhead
·       Company forms
·       Marketing materials and advertising
·       Signage
·       Web sites
·       Uniforms
·       Promotional items such as pens and pencils, key chains, ball caps, tote bags

Branding Approaches
– Individual product branding – Each new product is assigned a new name with no connection to other brands owned by a company.

– Family branding – New products are placed under an existing brand.

– Co-branding – The marketer partners with another firm that has an existing, established brand in hopes that the theory “two brands are better than one” will stimulate interest.

– Private or store branding – When suppliers produce products for other companies, and place that company’s brand on the product.

– No Name Branding – Also referred to as generic branding, this is a “brandless” product that is sold as a low-cost alternative to a brand name product.

Business and Branding
Branding your business with promotional items is a great way to advertise. The placement of a business name or logo on promotional products is sure to bring in new business, and they can also be used to reward existing customers and employees for their loyalty. Leaving pens and pencils in high traffic areas such as banks, doctors’ offices, libraries, and colleges will bring recognition to a company and its
brands.