If you want to build a brand, you need to first understand what a brand is and what it is not.
Let’s start with what it is not.
A brand is not your logo.
A logo is a mark for your business, a symbol for what it stands for.
A brand is not your product or service. A brand is not advertising. It is not your tagline, slogan or name.
All of these are parts of what makes a brand, but they are not the brand.
So what is a brand?
A brand is what people say about you.
It’s a person’s gut feeling about your product, service or business.
It’s how people perceive you.
Your brand is like your reputation. You can’t control it, but you can influence it.
Your brand is the perception that people have towards your business. And branding is simply the act of shaping how people perceive your business.
So again, your logo is not your brand.
It’s a part of it.
But it is not your brand.
When you see the golden letter M, you know it’s McDonald’s.
When you see the green mermaid, you know it’s Starbucks.
When you see the black swoosh, you know it’s Nike.
A logo is an identification symbol. It’s a mark for your brand.
Yes, having a good-looking logo is important.
But what matters more is what’s associated with the logo.
Reliable fast food?
A comfortable place to meet people?
The pursuit of athletic greatness?
A logo can be much more than just a mark if you make it so. A logo doesn’t give meaning to a brand.
It’s the brand that gives the logo meaning.
A good logo doesn’t make the company great.
It’s the company that makes the logo great.
Branding is beyond just logos and visuals.
It’s the deeper meaning behind it.
The reason why you do it, who you do it for and how you do it.
That’s what branding is really about.