What is Branding?

Published: April 20, 2024

Businesses today are not selling products; they’re selling experience. And how do they do it? Extensive branding strategies.

How you position your brand in the market plays a vital role in creating a solid impact on the audience. From captivating visuals to exclusive messaging, everything has a role in branding and how your audience connects with you.

So, do you want your brand to stand out, too? Let me break it down for you so you can do it correctly.

Hey there. I am Kate, the founder of one of the leading branding agencies in Melbourne, BrandVillage. I and my team at BrandVillage, the leading branding agency in Melbourne, have been helping businesses craft unforgettable experiences for all businesses alike. We help you build brand stories that your audience connects to.

We craft strategies for you that your customers are sure to love. We will make your brand more likable and differentiate you from your audience.

My team has been doing it since 2014, and it’s been almost a decade since our strategic wizards cast the spell to shine brighter in the marketplace. So, if you want to learn all about branding and why you should include it in your business, we’ve got you covered.

This branding guide is aimed at helping you create a differentiation from the competitors. Let’s take a look at what your audience wants and how you can offer value to it. More so, let’s learn why you should integrate branding.

What is Branding?

Branding refers to the process of creating a strong perception of your brand. It combines various elements like logo, design, mission, values, and more that contribute to establishing a strong brand. Strong branding cuts through the huge crowd of competition and allows you to stand out. It’s a key step in offering a unique value proposition for your business.

How is Branding Different from Marketing?

Although branding and marketing are often used interchangeably, there’s a huge difference between the two.

Some of the major differences between branding and marketing include the following:

Branding	Marketing
Branding plays a key role in establishing the brand identity.	Marketing comprises a lot of other activities. It establishes the trust, mission, and goals of the brand.
The brand story helps to win customer trust.	Action strategies are implemented to win customer trust.
The strategy and tactics will help build brand identity and a story.	Marketing involves the use of strategies and tactics that promote products and campaigns.
It reflects the story behind the company.	Offers complete support to the brand for overall growth.
Establishes brand perception. Contributes towards developing a particular feeling towards the brand.	The main focus is on what the audience wants from the company. This can help us understand better goals and foster a strong brand identity.

Importance of Branding

Your brand is one of the biggest assets of your business. So, it is extremely important to build it the right way. It provides an identity and recognition for your brand. Some of the major reasons why branding is extremely important for business include the following:

Influence Purchase Decision

How you present your brand contributes to influencing the purchase decision. Establishing a strong brand is essential so your customers buy from you. For example, people are likelier to buy sneakers from an established brand like Adidas than any generic or home-grown sneaker brand.

Help Customers Remember Your Business

Branding can play an important role in fostering memorability for your business. The better you do your branding, the faster your audience will be able to recognise your business. It helps to distinguish your business from others.

Build Brand Identity

Branding extends beyond offering products and services. It is crucial to establish a strong brand identity with proper branding. This allows the customers to connect with your brand. Thus, they no longer need to relate to only products or services but also your stories.

Boosts Advertising and Marketing

Good branding can boost the advertising and marketing efforts of businesses. It can help with online and offline promotions, which can help get extra recognition for your business.

Who Does Branding Affect?

Your branding affects your stakeholders, employees, and consumers. Here’s how it does:

• Stakeholders: Improving your branding strategy can help you stay one step ahead and drive more business. This can increase the share of stakeholders.
• Employees: Your employees want the best business. Better branding helps create a positive work culture and can foster productivity, too.
• Consumers: The better you do your branding, the more your audience will recognise you. Strong branding can contribute to influencing purchase decisions and fostering brand loyalty.

Elements of Branding

If you feel that your branding is just your logo and design, it’s not. In fact, it is more than that. Every successful branding has elements integrated across different spaces. This is what caters to their success.

Here are a few elements of branding you need to be mindful of:

Brand Mission and Values

Want to know what’s the north star of your brand? Your mission and value. Your branding should come down to brand values, which contribute to the growth and scaling of your business.

Have stronger values so that your consumers connect with you. For example, the GenZ or younger audience usually prefers partnering with brands representing a cause or value. They want brand transparency.

Brand Tones

The tonality of your brand is extremely important. You must be very specific about how your brand communicates with the audience. The brand tonality is what will establish relatability with your audience.

Make sure that your brand tonality aligns with the industry and values. Understand how your target audience works so that you can polish the tone accordingly.

Brand Story

Storytelling—visual and verbal—is a key element of your brand. Consumers want authenticity from brands, so always tell your story so that the audience connects with you.

Establishing a brand story helps humanise the brand. The more humanity you reflect, the more it helps establish brand affinity and credibility. Make sure to use the brand story across all stages so that your audience feels connected to you.

Brand Identity

Brand identity usually revolves around the visual aspect of your brand. While establishing a brand identity, have a mood board so your audience can feel connected with you.

The visual identity of your brand establishes the vibe, too. So, follow the graphic design trends. Apart from that, you may use different types of fonts, too. Combine colours, typefaces and other visual elements which will help in enhancing the impact of your business.

Tips to Grow Your Brand

As your business grows, your brand may be losing touch. Therefore, consider rebranding. Although you don’t need to start from scratch, keep updating to boost your business’s health.

Here are some of the prominent tips that can help you grow your brand:

Identify What’s Working

Always know what is best for your brand. In this regard, you need to know what your target audience wants. What are your key differentiators? Maintain the brand elements that work best for you.

Reset Brand Values

Do your brand values align with your values? If you don’t believe in your brand values, your audience won’t believe you either. Therefore, while opting for a rebrand, revise your brand values. Please properly communicate the message. This helps you connect with your customers.

Update Brand Identity

No matter what type of business you have, it is advisable to maintain your brand identity. Over the years, I have worked with numerous brands and ensured that their values were aligned and that aesthetics were maintained. The blend of modernity with old-age aesthetics contributes to the success of business.

Final Thoughts

Branding is about taking your business to new heights and boosting your presence. Through our integrated branding strategies, we ensure you become a recognisable and memorable name. We help you become established among your customers. At BrandVillage, we specialise in crafting stories for brands of all sizes. We help you tell stories that your audience will connect to. Connect with us to improve your branding efforts.