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by
Steven R. Van Hook, PhD
HowToMarketing.us
 Some
say the primary purpose of advertising and marketing communitions is
to advance your company brand, a program theme or slogan, or even the
personal brand of *you*.
Branding can be
considered the graviational center of much of our work as business
communicators. Much of what we write has to do with increasing brand
awareness, and boosting our brand value and competitiveness in the
marketplace.
Branding is typically
achieved through our efforts in marketing, advertising, public relations,
direct contatc -- just about any means where you can get your image and
message out to the general public, a targeted audience, or a single
person.
Here is a standard
textbook definition:
A brand is any name,
term sign, symbol, or design intended to differentiate the goods or serves
of one seller from those of another.
In other words, what is
so special about you? What makes you so different from everyone
else?
Here is a noteworthy
quote on the value of a strong brand name:
And that gets to the
heart of what branding is all about. What we are striving for as
brand-builders is to create a relationship with our customers or our
target audience, so their life feels more complete because we are in it.
We should note there is
a difference between brand value and company value. The brand value is how
much the brand itself and alone is worth -- not counting production lines,
distribution routes, supplies and resources.
This value is measured
by how much public good will you have for your product or service, and how
much more returns you can expect simply based on the value of your brand.
Of course you can brand
companies, products and services. You might also create brands for
organizations, and for social programs and their associated messages such
as Please Don't Litter.
Politcal parties are also a brand of a
sort, with their associated causes and positions.
And consider that you -- yourself --
are a brand. Your name is assoicated with what you are; your stock value
can rise or fall to an employer; people can like you more or less,
according to how well you maintain your brand value.
Be sure to watch the video
below to see more concepts of branding at work.
Fundamental Branding Basics
You can find more
articles on fundamentals of marketing and communications on pages here,
and on our sister website
AboutPublicRelations.net
And visit our YouTube video libraries on
Communications & Business, and
Personal Development.
Steven
Van Hook
has
taught MBA and undergraduate marketing
and
communications courses for colleges and universities in the
United States and abroad for more than a decade, and
has
developed more than a dozen courses with an
international focus.
srvanhook@wwmr.us
http://howtomarketing.us
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