Brand, brand identity and brand strategy: What's the difference?

People often use "brand", "brand identity" and "brand strategy" interchangeably. But these terms have important differences that start-up founders should know before they begin creating a new brand, product or service.

In this blog, I break down the definitions and explain what each term means and the order in which you'd typically approach each activity.

Brand and branding

Let's start from the top. When you go through the process of creating a brand for your business, you will, of course, ultimately end up with a "brand". But first, you're going to undertake the process of "branding".

There are, as you might expect, many definitions of branding. Some are convoluted, and others are steeped in insider jargon that can leave people who aren't branding experts a bit confused.

With my own business, I wanted to change that and make the definition digestible. So as the owner of The Identity Bureau (a naming and branding agency), I came up with my own definition that attempts to explain the word "branding" straightforwardly:

"The act of branding is to go through the thought process of how you want your company to be perceived, and then taking the steps to create that perception."

The key words in this statement to remember are:

• thought process (the thinking part)

• perceived (how your audience will understand you)

• taking the steps (the doing part)

So, understanding that the act of branding is a process to undertake, we then split this into two distinct activities.

Activity 1: Brand strategy

Brand strategy is the thinking part. You're asking all the questions behind:

• why your business exists

• what you hope to achieve

• who the business is for

• why they should choose you (over your competition)

Here's my definition of brand strategy:

"Brand strategy is the questions, conversations and the thought process you have to plan your brand and decide how you want people to feel about it.

"This is where you look at your competitors and your customers, and work out what makes your brand different and why people should buy from you."

Brand strategy can sound boring, especially if you want to jump straight into the creative part (which comes later). It can also sound a little intimidating. There's a lot to consider, look at and analyse.

It's really important to remember that brand strategy shouldn't feel intimidating. But if it does feel that way, try reframing it as a "brand plan".

I talk about reframing brand strategy as a brand plan in this blog. But you can consider a brand plan as a series of questions that will cover several key areas:

• What are the reasons for starting the business?

• How is it different to other businesses in that space?

• Who is the target audience?

• How will you attract them and why should they care?

• Who is the competition?

• How should you present the brand (visually and verbally)?

‍In my brand strategy workshops, this is very much a conversational, back-and-forth activity, often revealing some surprising truths and points of consideration. At the very least, it doesn't have to be dry or a "snoozefest".

Thinking about the answers to these broad questions will allow you to make better-informed decisions when the time comes to design your brand identity and write the messaging that accompanies it.

Activity 2: Brand identity

Once the strategy is clear, the next step is brand identity, the creative side of branding.

I define brand identity as this:

"Brand identity is what you look and sound like, and what everyone will see. It's your brand strategy made visible.

"This is where you design your logos and colour schemes, choose your fonts and decide on how you come across, while keeping your audience in mind at all times."

More specifically, your brand identity will include some or all of the following elements. Each one is designed to resonate with the audience you defined in your brand strategy.

• Logo files

• Colour palettes

• Typographic recommendations

• Additional illustrations and patterns

• Photographic tone-of-voice

• Social media page branding

• Brand guidelines

• Social media templates

• Tonal values

Your brand identity will be a suite of visually (and verbally) cohesive assets and tools that you'll use in all of your future communications and when creating your other marketing assets, such as your website.

Depending on your budget for developing your brand identity, you may start with the minimum requirements of a logo, colour schemes and some social media page branding.

But regardless of how comprehensive your asset suite is, the goal of your brand identity (and ideally your brand name as well) is to make your brand distinctive (to the competition) and memorable (to your target audience).

Designing your brand

So, you've undertaken the process of branding, through brand strategy groundwork and designing a visual identity system.

You now have the beginnings of your "brand", as your brand identity assets work together to create certain perceptions about your company in your audience's minds.

I define brand as:

"The feeling other people have about your business, product or service when they compare you against your competitors.

"This feeling is what you intentionally set out to influence when you undertook your brand strategy and brand identity design."

So your brand as a finished result now begins to take on a life of its own. It projects an immediate first impression, but it's also shaped over a longer period in the minds of your audience.

It's formed from:

• your reviews

• referrals

• the language you use

• how you show up on social media

• how you treat your customers

It's your thought leadership, your website, your employees' happiness and even the way you answer the phone.

Your brand, therefore, becomes your reputation. It's not only about that first impression, but how you show up and act as a business every day – making good on that promise and maintaining it over time.

More from The Identity Bureau

• Find out more about brand strategy and brand identity design with my free eBooks.

• Learn all about branding at my YouTube channel, Slow Branding.

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• How to build a brand for a small business or start-up

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