What Actually is a Brand?

One of the biggest misconceptions in brand development is that too many people still consider their company logo as their brand – when actually a brand is so much more. Without question, a logo is important because, generally speaking, it becomes the visual image and rallying point of a brand, but a logo is not a brand.

In fact your brand is made up of every aspect of your company. From your website to your presentation down to how your receptionist dresses and answers the phone – your brand is the history of experiences a customer, prospect, vendor, neighbor, employee, and the general public has with your company/product. When I mention Subway, you probably do not think of their logo (even though it’s there on the right). You may think of your favorite sandwich, their $5 foot long promotion, or even the smell of baking bread when you walk into their stores. I smile and think of the “artists” calling my friend & co-worker, Ryan, “Spicy” because he would always order a Spicy Italian sandwich. These are all parts of the brand. Subway gets this and the smell of baking bread when you walk in is intentional.

Obviously, we all perceive a brand in different ways since a brand is built on the culmination of our experiences and we are all unique. Working for a company, especially when you’re in marketing or ownership, you will also have a different take on your brand. This is the difference between brand identity and brand image. Brand Identity is what you think you company looks like to others while Brand Image is what others perceive of your brand. Basically, the brand identity is what you’re projecting out and brand image is what they’re catching. You can probably think of a few marketing/PR fiascoes in recent years when the executives just didn’t get it (e.g. BP during the Gulf Coast Oil Spill, Netflix price hike, and politicians throughout time).

The picture of the branding iron to the right has an interesting point that illustrates brand identity versus brand image. To the person holding the iron, the “R” is correct while anyone looking at the iron actually sees the letter backwards.

A friend summed up a brand like this, your brand is what people say about your company when you walk out the door. Now, how do you feel about your company’s brand?