The Magic of Thinking Branding for Business
Branding as an action term can be illustrated, allowing us to clarify how each vital aspect and component of branding dovetails together with the others. Just as an engineer must plan out a bridge before constructing it, so, too, must you lay out your branding strategy before developing and marketing it to your target audience(s).
Branding extends well beyond the boundaries of what most people in business conceive to be “the all” of branding: the brand identity. There are three elements in branding which I refer to as The Branding Triangle.
Brand Identity
The core elements of what we traditionally have referred to as a “brand” are contained within its visible “brand identity.” The components of the brand identity are created by the business itself. In other words, brand identity is the way in which a business wants its potential consumers to perceive and remember its brand. Brand identity forms an important base within the activity of branding, as this is how we first perceive it, as well as continue to recognize the brand in the future. The brand identity forms the foundation of the Branding Triangle.
Now, how a brand is actually perceived by the consumer is different, and referred to as the “brand image.”
Within a brand’s identity are:
• The logo
• Symbols and icons
• Type style
• Colors
• Packaging
• Art work
