Branding is a term increasingly used by businesses and the general public. While its English origin lacks a direct Spanish translation, it comes from the word “Brand,” meaning Marca. Therefore, branding is the science—not the art—of creating and managing a brand.
What a Brand Is Not
A brand is not a logo. The word “logo” is short for “logotype,” which refers to the written part of a corporate signature, the business name.
A brand is not a corporate identity. Defining consistency through rules for colors, shapes, and typography does not, on its own, create a brand.
What Is a Brand?
LA brand is an emotion. It’s the feeling one has toward a business, its products, and/or its services. Like all emotions, this is human and varies from person to person.
When many individuals share the same feeling about a business, the company can proudly say it has a brand.
Branding is the management of everything that makes a business, product, or service unique and distinctive.
Marty Neumeier, author of books such as The Brand Gap, Zag, and The Brand Flip, uses a clear analogy to explain branding: If someone says the word “horse,” we imagine a four-legged animal with a long tail and mane. While each person may picture the horse differently—based on their past experiences or geographic location—there will always be shared attributes that distinguish it from any other animal or object. Branding works in a similar way: it’s about creating and managing those shared attributes that make a brand recognizable and relatable.
Marty Neumeier suggests that the secret to effective brand management lies in flipping the equation. Instead of focusing on the elements that make brands similar, the key is to highlight what makes them different, distinctive, and unique.
Why brand management is so important
The concept of branding isn’t new, but it has become increasingly relevant in recent years. This is largely because businesses have realized that simply listing the attributes and benefits of their products and services is no longer enough to stand out in the market. Additionally, copying strategies and ideas among competitors has become more common than ever.
We’re also living in an era of information overload, where there’s plenty of data but little time to process and consume it. In today’s world, people pay more attention to symbols and visual elements that help them quickly answer questions like: What does the product look like?, Who is buying it?, Where can I get it?, What tribe or social group will I belong to after purchasing it?
Branding helps address these questions by creating a unique identity that resonates with consumers and allows them to connect with the brand on an emotional and social level.
What is the key to purchase decisions?
The biggest shortcut to standing out and simplifying the purchase decision lies in one key factor: Trust.
Trust is now the most important value every brand seeks to build with its audience through branding strategies. Companies like Coca-Cola, Nike, Apple, and Xerox are excellent examples—they’ve remained in the market for decades, with a brand value that often surpasses their commercial value.
How Can We Measure the Effectiveness of Branding in Building Trust for Purchase Decisions?
The answer lies in combining two often separate areas within companies: strategy and creativity.
Two Hemispheres in Constant Communication
The more communication a business fosters between its first group—strategists, analysts, the logical, linear, verbal, and numerical thinkers — and its second group — designers and creatives, the intuitive, emotional, spatial, and visual thinkers—the greater its advantage over competitors who fail to achieve this integration.
This collaboration results in a clear message, a coherent and aesthetic brand narrative, and a presence that stands out in a world overflowing with information, appealing to a broader audience. This is what many call: charisma.
To create charisma in a brand, Marty Neumeier recommends mastering the five disciplines of branding. Each of these disciplines will be analyzed in the upcoming installments of this article.