Some popular types of branding

Branding isn’t one-size-fits-all; the most effective strategies are highly personalized to the companies, groups and creators using them. That’s because it’s all about personality.

A brand is basically a company’s personality; branding is the steps a company takes to express that personality. But, developing a unique persona does more than make a company feel like a character. When it’s done effectively, branding positions an organization (or an individual, or a movement, or even a specific product) as a leader in their field and communicates to consumers that it’s the ideal choice for them and their lifestyle.

As a new entrepreneur, content creator or simply an individual undergoing personal growth, understanding branding and how to do it well is one of the key ingredients for success.

What is branding?

Branding is the process of assigning characteristics and properties within and outside an offering to give that generic offering an identity which helps it to be recognised and differentiated in the market. Three points that should be noted in this definition of branding are:

• Assigning characteristics and properties within and outside an offering: Even though the characteristics and properties are offering-specific, they are not limited to within the offering. A Facebook post by the company represents the brand as well.
• To give an identity: The main purpose of branding is to give an identity to the generic product. The identity is very much human-like; with a name, voice, tonality, colour, and sometimes even sound.
• To help it be recognised and differentiated: Another role of branding is to be unique. A unique branding results in the product being more recognised and differentiated in the pool of competition.

Importance Of Branding

One should not ignore the importance of branding. It has become a necessity for products, organisations, and even humans today. There’s no dearth of offerings with similar properties and the only thing that separates the particular offering from the competition in such a case is the brand.

Branding the offering should be a priority before the launch of the product in the market as it helps to:

• Create an identity for the offering: Branding is what the product is known for besides the generic properties. It is the unique name, colour, design, and even the psychological experience that makes the product identifiable in the market.
• Create consumer preference towards the offering: The market is full of offerings with the same properties which often confuse the consumer to what he should buy. A way through which consumers can confront this problem is through leaning towards such brands which they know and trust. Popular brands are known to be safer investments as compared to the risky ones and they provide consumer satisfaction for the utility it provides them.
• Create a new asset and build value: A brand in itself is an asset that can be sold separately. Wonder why Apple products cost twice as much as the competition which sells the product with the same configuration? It’s the brand effect.
• Build trust: Branding an offering results in the professional appearance of the offering. It includes well-strategised labels and packaging according to the legal requirements and the planned positioning. This increases its appeal as consumers trust offerings with a professional outlook.
• Improves pride and satisfaction: Branding the company or the offering improves the pride and satisfaction of both the customers as well as the employees. It personifies the company and its offerings and helps everyone who associates with it to create a deeper connection with the brand.
• Develop marketing strategies: Marketing strategies without a brand will be nothing but futile as there will be nothing to identify the offering with. Branding is a core part of marketing as all of the marketing strategies have their roots in branding.

Elements Of Branding

Branding isn’t limited to just name and logo. It is a combination of characteristics and properties which have an effect on almost all of our senses to result in a uniform experience every time we have contact with it. Branding is made up of innumerable elements few of which are:

• Name: The name which we use to identify the product with.
• Logo: A symbol or other design adopted by the business to identify its brand.
• Colour: A colour mostly used by the business in its marketing messages to describe or complement the brand.
• Vision: The group of goals or objectives behind the brand that help guide its activities and its future.
• Message: the value proposition of the brand which it conveys through the brand personality to set the brand positioning.
• Shape: Either the distinct shape of the offering or the shape of the packaging.
• Aroma: The distinct smell which the user experiences before, during, or after he uses the offering.
• Graphics: The uniform and distinct aesthetics used in the marketing messages.
• Sound: The sound used in the marketing messages to reinforce the brand identity.

Types Of Branding

Branding isn’t limited to products. Today we witness the branding of organisations, products, services, places, and even people. Here are types of brandings one should know about:

1. Product branding

Products are all around us, each with its own identity or persona and purpose. Using strategic brand colors, thoughtful logos, memorable slogans and creative package designs, product branding works to not only identify specific products, but to influence perception both in the marketplace and in the mind’s of consumers.

Well-executed product branding can help create brand awareness and may encourage buyers to select your product simply based on aesthetic. Of course, looks aren’t everything. Product branding is also rooted in emotion, and the feeling that consumer’s get from using your brand.

Ensuring that you’re reaching the right audience is vitally important to developing a successful brand strategy. Furthermore, understanding the psychology of color, the power of typography and the experience of thoughtful design and real-life interactions, should shape your product branding decisions.

2. Personal branding

When you think of branding, you likely associate it with products or services, but a specific individual can also be considered a unique brand. Personal branding is just that. It is the combo of your one-of-a-kind skill set and the experiences that shape exactly who you are and how you interact with the world.

Personal branding takes place in all industries but is most common among politicians, musicians, athletes, fashion designers, actors and influencers. However, it is not just reserved for the rich and famous. Successful personal branding will make you stand out from the crowd, and give you a competitive edge, to not only advance your career, but also shape people’s perception.

Like other types of branding, cultivating your own unique personal brand will help build trust, shape your reputation and open new and exciting opportunities. Having a professional online resume website, and using thoughtful social media graphics can help build your online persona. Being active on social channels, networking with other professionals in your industry and most importantly, staying true to yourself is the best way to build an authentic personal brand.

3. Corporate branding

If a company is a person, their corporate branding is how they express their personality. Corporate branding, just like other kinds of branding, is the series of design choices and actions that communicate key points about the brand, like its:

• Values
• Mission
• Price point
• Exclusivity
• Ideal consumer

Similar to product and personal branding, corporate branding is the creation of a brand identity, but for an entire corporation. It is the total sum of parts of a corporate entity rather than just individual products or services. Corporate branding requires a great deal of strategy because it must account for every aspect of the company (or companies), which includes all products, customer service, employee culture and impact on the market.

When corporate branding is done well, it can make lasting impressions and foster brand recognition. This is why consistency is key in order to cultivate brand trust while also shaping perception. Things like your brand values, brand messaging, brand voice and visual brand style guide play an essential role in developing an authentic corporate identity.

4. Retail branding

When you walk into a brick and mortar store, its physical appearance has a look and feel specific to that brand. That’s retail branding in action. Deliberate design choices like its layout, the light fixtures, the decor, the music played, the display fixtures and even the type of flooring are all carefully selected to build a living brand experience for every shopper who enters the store.

Retail branding is a must-do for any business operating in a physical location. Ecommerce has seen immense growth in the past few years and that trend isn’t changing any time soon. So, to keep shoppers coming through the doors, retailers need to up their branding game and turn their stores into experiences that shoppers want to come back and relive.

5. Geographical branding

While this type of branding is often specific to the hotel and tourism industry, there are no hard and fast rules. Most commonly, geographical branding can work in two ways. The first is reserved for specific locations (cities, towns, countries, regions) who want to promote and boost tourism to support their local economies.

The second is for very niche products that are only produced in specific locations, like avocados from Mexico or cigars from Cuba. These are known as geographical indications (GI) and authenticate the source and quality of specific products by legitimizing the reputation of the specific location.

6. Service branding

Compared to some other types of branding we’ve covered in this article, service branding does not necessarily have a material or tangible product—rather, a service that is provided. Since many services do not have an immediate outcome, or instant result, they can be harder to brand.

Let’s say you want to start a tutoring business, offering various teaching services. You must find a way to convince prospective customers that your services will help them pass their test, get into college or learn a new language (depending on which kind of tutor you are). But if you don’t have any pupils yet, how can you build your reputation? This is where service branding requires creativity and strategy.

Since service branding is very experiential, it almost always involves customer relationships. Going above and beyond to offer first-rate customer service will not only help your brand, but also its reputation. Integrating a live chat feature into your website is just one way to give real-time responses and boost engagement. On the same note, keeping an active social media presence can bring awareness to your services in innovative ways.

7. Online branding

Online branding refers to the way in which a company positions itself in the marketplace using websites, social media platforms and anything that takes place on the internet. With this in mind, your online branding efforts must be consistent and in-line with your brand identity.

Whether this means the specific website design approach you take, the style of your email marketing campaigns or even the domain name you use, they must all carry the same brand persona in order for customers to recognize your brand and get the same kind of experience even online.

8. Offline branding

In contrast to online branding, offline branding simply refers to everything that takes place offline. Although we live in a digital era, attention must be paid to tangible branding assets and materials like merchandise, packaging, print ads, billboards, direct mail, bus or subway ads or benches.

Offline marketing can also be loyalty rewards programs, contests, events, pop-up sales and face-to-face interactions. Sometimes offline branding can also be supported by guerrilla marketing tactics, using out-of-the-box marketing strategies and attention-grabbing stunts to bring your brand to life.

Offline branding crosses boundaries because it is relevant to all other types of branding, from personal to corporate, and requires some creative thinking to truly reach customers in an authentic and meaningful way. This type of branding can help bring attention, and visibility in real-world environments and help consumers make connections to your business.

9. Co-branding

Co-branding is when two (or more) brands come together in a strategic partnership, in order to bring more brand awareness to all parties involved. What’s more, sometimes when two unlikely brands pair up, they introduce each other to new audiences. By using their coveted brand trust to essentially vouch for the partner brand, this type of branding is beneficial for everyone.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are lots of different types of branding that companies and other entities use to show the world who they actually are. Most companies use more than one kind of branding.

While there are certain variables that remain constant across all types of branding, like knowing your target market, building a brand identity, or creating your own logo, you must pay attention to the specific nuances of your field. Recognizing these subtle differences will not only help you build a more purposeful brand, it will make the experience for your customers more authentic and relevant.