Marketing and Branding: What’s the Difference?

In the age of misinformation, strategists know that simply initiating communication is not enough—future-minded companies must also learn how to communicate in such a way that their message will be best understood by their intended receiver. Both marketing and branding are crucial in achieving this, but drawing a distinction between the two is also necessary.

Does a business need work on defining insights that will help bridge their product and the consumer’s pain points? Or does a business need help with its core identity that resonates with its target market? These are two very different asks, and that’s why distinguishing between marketing and branding is important, especially in strategic discussions where objective-setting needs to be clear to all parties involved.

It’s helpful to think of branding as who you are, and marketing as how you share who you are. Marketing encompasses a breadth of activities: understanding consumers, invoking insights, creating the strategy, and executing the plan. Branding is approached with more deliberation. It is the identity and personality by which people have come to recognize and know a brand. A strong brand, bolstered by tools like its logo, font, colors, and voice, will evoke thoughts, associations, and emotions from people the moment they see or hear it. Marketing communicates through a slew of action points, but branding creates a conversation without even saying a single word. Branding creates a sense of trust between you and your consumers, while marketing enforces the loyalty that branding creates.

Clear branding serves as a north star to businesses. It reflects their purpose and mission, their set of values, and the people they serve. Some of the most valuable brands in Spain—fashion company Zara—and the Philippines—fast food chain Jollibee—have distinct branding that makes them recognizable across generations and socioeconomic classes. Given the constant fight for mental availability in people’s minds, you can consider your branding strategies a success if you are one of the few immediate associations across any topic.

As branding and business consultants, BetterBrandLabs considers brand building as a foundation for every company and its stakeholders. Businesses that do good and champion sustainability begin with a purpose-driven, beautifully-designed brand. Our strategies for branding rely on insights that are communicated to consumers with authenticity—a combination of science and art that go beyond what can be learned in a classroom or online. We believe that when a brand is built responsibly, it can be a touchpoint in people’s lives and a catalyst for positive change.