A question I get asked a lot is ‘what is branding?’

Well it’s not an quick and easy question to answer, but 1 aspect of branding is about is ‘positioning yourself in the marketplace seperate to your competition’. And to do this you must build up a perception about your brand.

Remember your brand does not exist out in the market, it only exists in the mind of the consumer.

A great example to illustrate this is from the car industry. Manufacturers spend millions promoting their products and reinforcing their brand through advertising and marketing. As consumers, subjected to these messages, we start to build up a picture of what each manufacturers strengths are. We perceive what each manufacturer represents, yet very few try all manufacturers cars in person.

Take this table below detailing 3 different cars available on the UK market:

Car comparision

If you were given the opportunity to pick one to and keep, which one would you choose?

Now some of you may go for car 1 for boot space. Other may go for car 2 for acceleration. Each to our own. We judge our selection based on our own criteria and what is important to us. Without branding and pre-conceptions it’s hard to choose.

Now if we add in the Brands and prices, does this influence your decision? Have you changed your mind, or re-evaluated your choice?

Brand Car comparision

If you have or haven’t changed your mind, please leave a comment below and let me know either way.

Our perception of each one of these brands influences our choices. If I was to also add that the BMW was the best selling out of the 3 in 2008, it shows that price is definitely not the major factor when selecting a car. Each vehicle has a very similar spec and does the same job, yet the one for £24,000 is the best selling. Why?

Well consumers buy in to the brand. BMW are constantly reinforcing their brand and what they stand for in the marketplace. BMW’s don’t just get you from A to B and carry the luggage, they make it a pleasure traveling from A to B. If you’re driving then it’s not a chore it’s a great experience, and one that you’ll want to do again and again.

Skoda, positions itself as the cheaper alternative. The one for people with more sense than money. If you’re intelligent and can see past all the marketing gimmicks of the other manufacturers, you’ll know a Skoda offers great value for money and practicality.

The irony with Skoda is the fact that the marketing gimmicks are used to convey the message.

And Ford is in the middle, neither one or the other. I’m sure they have a brand strategy, but from seeing their advertising and marketing, I don’t know what it is. And which of the 3 manufacturers have been in financial trouble this year?

There is lots more to branding, but I hope this gives a clear starting point of what branding can do for your company, products or services. If you’d like to know more, then give me a call or send me an email.