BRANDING
Brand Or Be Branded
By Coach Deo Kateizi
Growing up my Parents used to tell us whenever we wanted to run over to the neighbour ’ s house to play or have a casual visit ; “ Dress up well and look smart do not shame us ”, and if it was around lunchtime they would add “ Don ’ t go there and eat too much , otherwise they will think we don ’ t feed you well ”.
You may not believe it but our parents were speaking about Branding and being Branded . Yes , they got the concept of branding from the perspective of what you stand for and how others perceive you . So then what is Branding and can we even discuss Branding without acknowledging its relationship with Marketing ?
Before we deep dive into the technical aspects of both Branding and marketing , it goes without saying that one must ask themselves the following questions whenever they are in the realm of branding : What is my Life ’ s blueprint ? This is a question that the great Martin Luther King , Jr always posed to those who sought a definition of what their lives should be . Denzel Washington another great Actor takes this further by always saying in many of his presentations , “ What we think , we become ”. Tyler Perry another great actordirector and writer renowned by the Madea movies brings it home when he asks , “ What is your Dream ”.
All these great Black American personalities speak to one ’ s Brand and show the importance of one clearly and deliberately defining their Brand .
Defining Branding
The American Marketing Association defines a Brand as , “ A name , term , sign , symbol or design , or a combination of them , intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors ”.
The definitions make it clear that a brand is very different from a product or service and that , Brands are intangible and exist in the mind of the consumers .
It ’ s this aspect of Branding where brands get positioned in our minds that make the statements of the great black American personalities hold strong positioning . Not only them but very many other successful personalities who have mastered the Art of Branding were and are mindful , that if you do not invest in “ Brand You ”, others will do that for you . This is because a brand is built not only through effective communications or appealing logos but rather through the total experience that it offers . So this begs the question , “ what is the relationship
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What is your promise to those that choose you or those you market or position yourself to ? What is your Unique Customer Value Proposition ? How do you differentiate yourself from others , from the crowd ? between Branding and Marketing ?”
Marketing Vs Branding
To answer the question above , I am always drawn to how Ms . Anneli Hansson so simply yet so illustratively put it on her Instagram page with posts titled “ Marketing Vs Branding ”. She says Marketing invites you to a first date : Branding makes you feel so good that you ask for a second date ; Marketing spends a lot of time talking about himself : Branding spends most of the time asking about you ; Marketing brings flowers : Branding asks the restaurant to play your favourite song ; Marketing attracts ; Branding makes you fall in love .
On close appreciation of the descriptions above of marketing and branding , one will note that each needs the other given that in reality , the two complement each other . One can further see that Branding is strategic while Marketing is tactical . Marketing unearths and activates buyers , while Branding makes loyal customers , advocates , and evangelists out of those who buy .
Branding is as vital to the success of a business or non-profit as having financial coherence , having a vision for the future , or having quality employees , as Marketing is . So in light of all this , why should the world choose “ Brand You ”?
Value Proposition is the answer . What is your promise to those that choose you or those you market or position yourself to ? What is your Unique Customer Value Proposition ? How do you differentiate yourself from others , from the crowd ? In other words , what are your competencies ?
For the world to choose you , you must
88 MAL51 / 22 ISSUE