Brand ≠ Marketing

Many folks hear the word Brand and immediately think “marketing.” The fact is, while marketing and Brand are closely associated, marketing, for the most part, isn’t how a company builds Brand.

(Yes, we’re using big B for Brand as I am writing about the overarching concept as opposed to a brand of soup.)

What Brand Is

The fact that many equate brand with marketing is understandable. Usually, people talking on and on about Brand or writing about it are marketing folks (me included).

But here’s the thing, Brand is so much more than marketing.

Brand is the sum total of everything a company does, how it acts in the world, and how the world perceives it.

The reality is that almost all Brand building is not done by marketing. That might sound surprising coming from a marketing guy but hear me out.

Marketing is a Subset

Think about it from the viewpoint of a consumer. They first hear about your product or service. Then maybe they see an ad or two. Maybe they see it on a friend’s Instagram feed. And they decide to buy or sign up. 

That is just one part of the customer experience. And yes, it is important, but from there the customer goes on to interact with the company’s website, maybe shipping experience, notifications, email communications, product or service quality, perhaps customer support, and more. 

All of that is what builds Brand. But while it is a subset, that doesn’t let marketing off the hook.

The Brand Bank

It helps to think of Brand as a bank. This Bank holds the equity of all your perceived efforts. Some activities are deposits into the Brand Bank, others withdraw. Given that there are a lot more interactions with a customer post-purchase, those experiences, when done well and cohesively, are deposits into the Brand Bank (build brand).

Marketing, by design, is for the most part, intrusive and always demanding attention. Even useful content marketing is vying for consumers’ attention. All of those activities have the unfortunate distinction of withdrawing from the Brand Bank.

But it’s not all bad news for marketing. Because when marketing messaging is rooted in a solid Brand Position, it can help, if not build a brand, mitigate the withdrawal from the Brand Bank.

How Brand and Marketing Fit Together

When we were at Netflix, our marketing messaging was derived from themes that were derived from our Brand Promise :  “Movie enjoyment made easy.”

Yes, we wanted consumers to have a general notion that Netflix represented “movie enjoyment made easy.” But, as employees, we also knew that everything we did had to drive toward paying that off, including our marketing messaging and visuals.

A great Brand Position speaks to the role that the company’s product(s) or service(s) play in the lives of consumers. This not only provides a clear signal to consumers about how they should think about the Brand, but it also signals to employees what they should be focused on to pay that off.

Brand is Everything

Brands are built over time. By having a well-researched and mapped out Brand Position, companies can apply it consistently across everything they do, including marketing. And in doing so create a Brand that lasts.