Marketing vs. Branding: How They Differ and Why You Need Both
Struggling with where to start? For a step-by-step guide on assessing the power of your brand check out our free Brand Analysis Tool here.
Ah, the age-old question: What’s the difference between marketing and branding?!
It’s one we get a lot – especially since people outside the field tend to use the terms interchangeably.
And, since we love this stuff, we thought we’d get a bit ‘inside baseball’ and break it down.
Marketing vs. Branding: What’s the difference?
The simple answer?
Quite a bit.
Marketing and branding are two related, but different practices.
They’re both critical for business success and are most effective when working together.
Let’s start with some basic definitions:
A brand is the core identity of a company or product. It includes things like your company’s voice, visual identity (fonts, colors, logos, style), mission and values. It’s who you are, and what you do.
Branding is the practice of defining that identity.
Marketing is how you communicate that identity to attract an audience. Your company website, social media presence, campaigns, events, communications and content all fall under the marketing umbrella.
If you think of your company as a person, their brand would be their unique personality – their tastes and style; who they are, what they do, and what motivates them.
How they present themselves to the outside world and find their tribe (whether meeting new friends, dating or applying for jobs) would be their marketing.
Key Differences Between Branding and Marketing
So what are some of the key differences between branding and marketing?
We’ve laid out a side-by-side chart below to help you understand in more detail;
Benefits of branding and marketing and why you need both
When starting out, it can be tempting to forgo the introspective work of defining your brand. After all, you want to go to market with your new product or service! But skipping this step is a mistake.
To make the biggest impact (and drive the greatest success), you need both branding and marketing, and they need to work together.
Your brand should be at the core of your marketing strategy, and your marketing should reflect and reinforce your brand identity.
Good branding makes your company recognizable (using a signature brand color can increase recognition by 80%), and helps differentiate it in a crowded market. It can also build trust with your customers, which is crucial since 81% of consumers say they need to trust a brand before buying from them.
Branding can even help employees connect with your business.
When you build your marketing on the foundation of a solid brand identity, it helps make your marketing more authentic (which 86% of consumers say is a key factor when deciding which brands to support) and consistent (which can increase revenue by 33%).
It can also make it easier to make marketing decisions. When you know who you are, you’re more likely to choose the right strategies and channels to reach your audience.
Similarly, on-brand marketing helps reinforce and bolster your brand.
Where to start: Three tips to drive success
Start with your brand, then let the marketing follow. Since your brand is your company’s core identity, you want to define that before creating your website or product collateral.
Get to know your target market. Branding is about defining your company’s identity, but since your company was created to deliver a product or service, you need to take your audience into account when building your brand. Get to know your target market and the competitive landscape to identify your unique strengths. Then use those insights to inform your brand.
Bring in reinforcements. When starting out, it can feel like you need to do everything yourself. But, unless you’re starting a branding agency, branding and marketing may not be your areas of expertise. Work with professionals so you can get it right the first time, and set yourself up for success.
Start making your mark
Branding and marketing are two peas in a pod, working together to amplify your message and connect you with your audience. It’s exciting, but can be overwhelming when you’re just getting started.
That’s where we come in! Drop us a note and tell us about your project, and we’ll let you know how we can help get you started.
