The simultaneity of Marketing and Branding and the stupidity involved

If every time I had a nickel someone did a stupid marketing vs branding comparison, I would have a lot of nickels.

Here are some whoppers:

The love comparison by your very own Neil Patel

Imagine an average person looking at this picture and trying to understand the contrast between marketing and branding, I am about to get my PhD in marketing and I am confused.

The Mr Right Conundrum

Here is another example of turning clarity into obscurity. These parallels do a fantastic job of confusing the reader.

As stupid as these conjectures get, the intention behind them is to explain marketing and branding in a fun way to an everyday entrepreneur. Although rarely fun, they do a great job of confusing the reader. As I write this blog, there is a video on YouTube that tells people companies should start branding after a decade of existence.

Why do people draw these parallels one might ask?

The answer is that many people try to dumb it down without actually knowing what these constructs mean.

So here is a no-fuss definition agreed upon by the body of branding researchers.

Simply put Branding is the sum of perceptions, emotions and associated buying behaviours customers have towards any business representation.

The sum of all those elements ie. the logo, colours, and fonts that make the compound is your brand. The better you capture the perception of your audience the better your ability to design your brand. Now that we have somewhat simplified the concept of branding.

Let's address the whole marketing vs branding conundrum and we'll do a thought experiment to understand this.

It's 12 am and you wake up in a rush after having a dream about the next trillion-dollar company. When you had that dream, you instantly imagine your business, and as soon as you have that image, your brand is already in existence. Bringing that imagination into existence with the following sequence falls into marketing.

• Researching your market

• Building your product

• Delivering the product

• Maintaining the customer bond

Every step of this process contributes factor towards the formation of a brand. Research tells you about the market landscape, the existing needs and the brand people look up to for that ned fulfilment and where you fit in. Building to make yourself distinct, delivering effortlessly and relationships, all of these steps are brand associations.

Marketing and branding are spontaneous reactions happening inclusive of each other as soon as you think of putting a product in front of the customer.

"Branding, it just happens"

How good it is depends on how well it represents your target.