Glossary of Branding Terminology from A to Z – What is a Brand?

Glossary of Branding terminology to help understand the many different branding terms in marketing that are used in the branding industry. Some of these brand terms are industry-specific and others describe what a well-developed brand should have. The A-Z Glossary of Branding Terminology is a reference guide for all things related to this topic. From understanding how brands work and how they establish themselves, this list will help you understand what it takes to build an engaging and effective brand identity.

What is a Brand?

A brand is the reputation and image of a company or product. It’s what people think when they see your logo, hear your name, or have contact with your business or product. So what is a brand? That’s the question that floats around every marketer’s head, and yet there has never been an easy or straightforward answer.

Brand definition is often a subjective process, with marketers defining it as they see fit. However, there are many common definitions that can help you better understand what it is and how to grow your brand.

It could be a symbol (such as the Nike Swoosh), a slogan (such as Just Do It), a set of values, or even just an attribute that someone finds appealing about something else.

A strong brand helps companies build a competitive advantage, create value for customers and increase profitability. The term “brand” can refer to different things depending on who you ask.

What is Branding?

Branding isn’t just the name of your business. It’s how all of your company’s products and services are communicated to consumers, and it can be done in any number of ways. The ability to use branding effectively is something that every business owner should take seriously. Remember: you never get a second chance to make a first impression! This article will help you understand the different components that go into building an effective brand identity so that when you create one for yourself or your business, you’ll know exactly what makes it work (or not).

Branding encompasses everything from naming and identity development to packaging design and messaging strategy, all focused on creating the perception that something has more value than it really does because it offers some special benefit over other similar products.

A brand is a promise, and brands can be broken. When your brand is broken, it sends a message that your business is not living up to its potential. It’s more than just a logo or tagline—it’s an identity you project every time you interact with customers and partners.

Glossary of Branding

In a world of ever-evolving trends and technologies, it can be difficult to keep up with the pace of change. Brands are no exception. In fact, brands are some of the most dynamic entities on earth because they must constantly adapt to changing consumer expectations, technology advances and new competitors—just to name a few factors!

But what exactly is a brand? How do you define one? And how do you determine if yours needs improvement? In this A-Z glossary, we’ll answer all these questions and more as we explore what makes up an effective company or product brand. So let’s get started:

To help you all navigate the world of branding we’ve created this glossary of branding terms. It’s what we believe is the most extensive list of brand terms you’ll find on the internet. From A-Z we’ve covered as many terms as we could think of so please do let us know if we’ve missed any.

A

Brand Aesthetic

Aesthetic: The visual appearance of a brand. In other words, the way your company looks and feels. This includes everything from its color scheme to its font choices to the graphics that appear on its website, marketing materials, and packaging.

The brand aesthetic is an important part of your brand identity because it can help you communicate what you stand for as an organization through design alone.

Brand Affiliate

A brand affiliate is an individual who is compensated for promoting a brand or product. Brand affiliates are usually bloggers or influencers, and their compensation may be in the form of monetary payment, free products, or other incentives.

Brand Ambassador

Brand ambassadors are people who represent a brand. They can be employees or external to the company and are often known as brand advocates, but their role is to spread the word about your brand and its products. Brand ambassadors are essential for building your company’s reputation because they provide an opportunity for customers to interact with you directly. This direct contact makes it easier for them to ask questions about how you operate, how you make your products or any other concerns that might come up when purchasing from you directly.

If someone has a negative experience interacting with one of your ambassadors it could reflect poorly on both parties: The ambassador may not have been well trained in providing accurate information about what sets apart from competitors while also being able to answer questions accurately; while on the other hand if something happens between two parties off-site (website order fulfillment) then that too reflects negatively back upon both parties involved–whether there was an error made by either party or not!

Brand Archetype

A brand archetype is a set of characteristics that describe a brand’s personality. They can be helpful in creating a brand positioning statement and also when developing marketing plans, product development, or communicating with consumers. There are 12 brand archetypes in total, each of which is based on a different combination of elements from the four quadrants of the Brand Architecture Diagram.

Here are some examples of brand archetypes:

Brand Architecture

Brand architecture can be used in both the planning and execution phases of design projects to help you decide what kind of content needs to go on which platforms, as well as how much time should be spent thinking about each element of the project.

Brand architecture is a tool that helps you understand how your brand works. It’s a visual representation of how the different elements of your brand are related to each other, and it helps you see where there are gaps in your brand messaging.

Brand Assets

Brand assets are the things that make up your brand. They can be anything from a logo to a slogan, or even something as small as a tagline on an envelope. It’s important to know what all of these different things are so you can use them effectively in marketing campaigns and other promotional materials.

In addition to being able to describe a brand asset, you should also be able to identify it when you see it. For example: if someone asks “What is the name of your company?” You might answer by saying “We’re called XYZ Company.” This would count as part of their identity – what makes them special? What makes them unique? Why should anyone want anything from them? By answering those questions we’ll be able to find what works best for us on our website/logo/business cards/etc.

Brand Attitude

Attitude is a combination of the brand’s personality, values, and character. This includes how it makes people feel when they interact with it. It’s what the brand stands for, what its values are, and what it says about itself.

Attitude is also known as “brand personality” or “psychographics”, which means that a brand can have many attitudes depending on who it is talking to, where, and why. Many companies have different attitudes for different audiences (such as customers or employees), or even within themselves (for example; an advertising agency may have one attitude towards clients but another towards fellow agency workers).

Brand Attributes

Brand attributes are the traits a brand communicates about itself that resonate with customers’ personal feelings and characteristics. This includes credibility, uniqueness, relevance, and consistency—traits that help brands stand out among competitors and be recognized by consumers. Brand attributes are the characteristics that make a brand unique. They can be tangible or intangible, but they’re the things that make a brand stand out from the competition. These include:

• Brand Personality
• Brand Promise
• Brand Purpose

Brand attributes can also be broken down into two major types: identity and experience. Identity refers to what external factors make up your brand; experience is how customers interact with your product or service as a whole. Brand attributes are often used as part of marketing strategies when identifying your target audience and how you want your product or service to be perceived by them. Brand attributes are the foundation of any strong brand. They can be used to help create a new brand or improve the existing one. They are also useful when it comes to measuring success by comparing them against competitors in the same industry.

Brand Audit

A brand audit is an evaluation of your business, or part of your business, in relation to its brand.

Why do you need a brand audit?

A well-executed brand audit can help you:

• Better understand what your customers and prospects think about you. This is vital for gaining insight into how they perceive your products or services, their attitudes towards them, and the ways in which they use them. In other words, a good brand audit can provide clarity about where things are going well for the business or where improvement may be needed. The outcomes from a good brand audit are also useful when planning future marketing campaigns and initiatives.
• Identify opportunities for growth within existing markets as well as new ones based on customer preferences and needs; these insights will help businesses develop strategies that have the potential to drive revenue growth without compromising on quality standards by either expanding into new markets or by increasing sales within existing ones through repositioning campaigns (also known as rebranding).

Brand Awareness

Brand awareness is the ability of a brand to be recognized in the marketplace. It’s a measure of how well-known a brand is and can be measured by asking people if they have heard of the brand. For example, if you ask 100 people if they’ve heard of Apple, 97 would say yes because it’s such an iconic brand that even young children know about it thanks to its advertising on TV, billboards, and in magazines.

Brand awareness helps companies increase sales as consumers become more familiar with their products or services which makes them more likely to purchase them in the future. Likewise, when customers feel comfortable using your product or service again because they know what to expect from it without having seen any ads for ages.

B

Brand Behaviour

A brand’s behavior is the way in which it treats its audience. Brand behavior refers to both the actions and words of a brand, as well as how it feels to be interacting with it. The best brands are those that have a distinctive voice and personality, allowing them to interact with their customers in an authentic way. This can be seen on social media platforms such as Twitter or Instagram, where brands often interact directly with their followers by replying to comments or posting images that showcase their products. For example, Oreo recently tweeted “You can still dunk in the dark” during New York City’s power outage after an ice storm.

Brand Board

Brand boards are a great way to present your brand in an easy-to-digest format. They’re the visual representation of your brand, and they can be used for internal purposes (like sharing with employees) or publicly. Brand boards typically include:

• A logo
• Fonts and colors that are used in other branding materials
• The tone of voice (i.e., “fun,” “friendly,” etc.)

Brand Book

A brand book is a compilation of the essential elements that make up your brand. It includes information about your name, logo, messaging, and visual identity. It’s a living document that should be reviewed regularly to ensure it reflects the most current version of your brand story.

A strong understanding of your brand story is essential to developing an effective marketing strategy and customer experience. The purpose of the brand book is to provide guidance on how you can use it to build those things into everything you do: advertising campaigns, social media posts, customer service interactions, and more.

C

Brand Catchphrase

A catchphrase is a short phrase or slogan that conveys the essence of a brand. Often, it is used as part of the marketing campaign for a product or service. A catchphrase can be used to sum up and reinforce a company’s mission statement and values.

Some examples of famous catchphrases include:

• “Just Do It” (Nike)
• “Think Different” (Apple)
• “Live Laugh Love” (HeART2Heart Charities)

Catchphrases are important to any business because they are memorable and easy for customers to remember when making purchasing decisions. They also help differentiate your brand from competitors in the marketplace by clearly communicating your value proposition (what makes you different).

Brand Collaboration

Brand collaboration is when two or more brands collaborate on a product, experience or event. It’s a way of showing consumers that the companies work together and share similar values.

The benefits of brand collaboration:

• Create new products/services
• Strengthen consumer engagement with your brand(s) using existing assets (e.g., social media followers) to promote the new offering(s).

Brand Commitment Scale / Matrix

Brand commitment offers a way to estimate the value that consumers place on a brand, product or service by measuring the emotional attachment between them. Marty Neumeier, author of branding classics like The Brand Gap and Zag, introduced his Brand Commitment Matrix in 2016’s The Brand Flip.

“Keep it simple. Start with a document that maps out the basic contract between you and your customer.”

Marty Neumeier, The Brand Flip

Brand Credibility

Brand credibility is the perception of trustworthiness, honesty, and competence. It is the confidence that consumers have in a brand to meet their needs. Brand credibility can be perceived by consumers through several different factors such as:

• The ability to deliver on promises
• Good customer service
• Transparency

Brand Culture

Brand culture is the way employees feel about their jobs, the company, and its products. It’s a combination of the corporate values and mission that employees identify with, as well as the behaviors they display in everyday interactions. A strong brand culture will encourage staff to be proud of their company and eager to serve customers. It also helps retain key talent, enhances employee satisfaction, and improves productivity by creating a positive working environment for people who want to contribute.

Brand culture is the set of values, beliefs, and behaviors that define your brand. It’s what people think and feels about your company and its products or services—and how they behave in relation to them.

D

Brand Damage

Brand damage is a term used to describe the effects that a brand can have on its business. Brand damage can be caused by a number of factors, including the actions of competitors and consumers. Here’s an example: A competitor may be able to influence consumers’ perceptions of your brand. This could include changing the way people think about your product or service, or even negatively impacting how they feel about it as a whole. This type of negative impact is often referred to as brand equity erosion, which occurs when external factors cause customers to lose faith in your company or product line.

Brand Definition

Brand definition is the sum of all the associations, feelings, and perceptions that customers have about a brand. The brand definition is the foundation of a brand and it defines how people think about your company or product. It’s at the heart of what you stand for and provides value to customers by helping to differentiate you from competitors

The power of defining your brand can be seen in the way consumers respond to different brands based on their definitions. For example, if you ask consumers about Apple they will likely mention something along the lines of “simple design” or “easy to use”; if you ask them about Google they’ll mention something like “comprehensive search results”. These definitions help make these companies stand out from others in their categories because they appeal to consumers’ needs in ways other brands don’t.

Brand Development

Brand development is the process of developing a brand. This can involve:

• Building a brand’s equity
• Establishing a brand’s identity
• Developing a logo, color palette, and messaging platform (to give you an idea of how this works in practice, check out our previous article on what makes up your company’s visual identity)
• Developing communications plans to support the reputation management strategy

E

Brand Efficiency

Brand Efficiency is a measure of the effectiveness of your brand in getting your target market to buy your product or service. It’s calculated as the ratio of sales revenue to advertising expenses. The higher the Brand Efficiency, the more effective your marketing efforts have been at generating sales revenue for each dollar spent on advertising.

Brand Equity

Brand Equity is the value of a brand, or how much it’s worth. The concept of brand equity is based on the idea that brands are assets that can be financially valued and managed like any other asset. Brand equity measures both intangible and tangible value, with intangibles including things such as loyalty and trust.

Brand Experience

Brand experience is a term that encompasses all interactions with a brand. It’s not just the product or service you buy; it also includes how you interact with the company and what they do to help or hinder your purchasing process. For example, if your customer service representative is rude, this will tarnish your perception of the brand experience—and it’s something you can share with others on social media or other channels.

Brand Extension

Brand Extension is a strategy that involves extending a company’s brand to a new product category or market. Brand Extension can be done in two ways:

• Create New Brand: This is when you create a whole new brand with its own name, look, and feel.
• Use Existing Brand: This is when you use an existing brand to enter into a new market or product category.

F

Brand Familiarity

This is the extent to which a brand is known to consumers. It’s one of the key factors in brand equity, along with perceived quality and the ability of the brand to fulfill consumer expectations.

Brand Fatigue

Brand fatigue is when consumers become tired of seeing the same brand everywhere. It’s often caused by over-exposure and poor quality. Brands can overcome brand fatigue by finding new ways to engage with consumers, such as using social media, pop-ups, and experiential events.

Brand Function

What is the brand’s function? What does it do for you and your customers? What is the functional benefit of the brand? How does it help you and your customers get things done or feel better about themselves, their lives, or the world around them?

For example, Coca-Cola can help me quickly quench my thirst while making me feel like I’m being part of something bigger than myself. A Chanel handbag helps make me look fashionable while helping me organize my things so they’re easy to find when I need them.

The functional benefits of Coca-Cola are refreshing and satisfying thirst; providing access to a universal language; connecting people across cultures through shared experiences; strengthening relationships between generations through shared traditions; promoting social inclusion among all people by offering an affordable beverage option regardless of socioeconomic status (elevating one’s self-esteem).

G

Brand Gap

The brand gap is the difference between your customers’ perception of your brand and what you’re actually delivering. It’s caused by a lack of alignment between the different parts of your business—marketing, sales, and operations—which leads to an inconsistent customer experience.

The size of the gap will depend on how closely aligned your marketing efforts are with other parts of your organization. The more closely aligned they are, the smaller the gap will be; when they aren’t aligned at all, there may be no bridge at all between advertising and reality. The best way to avoid a large brand gap is by setting up a structured process for measuring it in real-time (and using those insights to drive continuous improvement).

Brand Glossary

Each brand can have its own glossary of terms that are used within that company or product range. You will usually find the brand glossary within the brand book.

This is the only Glossary of Branding Terms you will ever need.

Brand Goals

Brand goals are specific, measurable, and time-bound. They are the basis for all brand activities and should be SMART (specific, measurable, assignable, realistic, and time-bound). They should be aligned with business goals and communicated and owned by the brand owner.

Brand Governance

Brand governance is the process of managing, advising, and directing the business on matters relating to its brand. This includes developing, implementing, and reviewing the brand strategy and ensuring it is implemented. It also involves managing brand assets such as logos and slogans to ensure that they are used consistently across all channels of communication.

Brand Guidelines

Brand guidelines are a set of rules that define how a brand should be used. Brand guidelines can be internal or external. Internal brand guidelines are typically created by an organization’s marketing department to ensure consistency in all communications and avoid legal problems. These guidelines include the logo, fonts, colors, and other design elements associated with the brand.

External brand guidelines help members of an organization understand how their work contributes to the overall success of their organization. This includes creating messaging that helps people clearly understand what your organization does, what value it delivers, who you serve, and why you exist as well as ensuring consistency across multiple touchpoints including websites, brochures, and ads.

H

Brand Harmonization

Brand Harmonization is the process of bringing all elements of a brand together in a consistent way. It’s about making sure that all elements of a brand are consistent and work in harmony with each other.

Brand Health

Brand health is the degree to which a brand meets its goals. Brand health can be measured by measuring the brand’s performance against its goals, and it’s an important tool for marketers who want to know how well their brand is performing.

The term “brand health” has been used since the late 1990s and was popularised by Michael J. Silverstein and Neil Fiske’s book “Trading Up”, The New American Luxury (1998). It refers to the emotional connection between consumers and brands in terms of loyalty, trustworthiness, and awareness about products or services.

Brand Heritage

Brand heritage is the history of your company or any kind of brand. It looks at the origin of a brand and its roots. The term can also be used to describe a company’s involvement in philanthropic causes or charitable fundraising efforts.

Brand Hierarchy

A brand hierarchy is a list of the brands that fall under a parent brand. It allows you to clearly define and communicate how your individual brands relate to one another, which is important for both marketing purposes and legal reasons.

A brand hierarchy can be used in many ways: as a way of communicating with customers about your company’s structure, as an organizational tool for employees, or as part of creating visual design standards that align all of your products and services.

The most common type of brand hierarchy is called “vertical,” which means that each level in the hierarchy has its own unique name (as opposed to horizontal). For example, if you own both a paper company and an office supply store under one umbrella corporation called “Acme,” then those two sub-brands would be considered part of Acme’s vertical family tree or “vertical brand hierarchy.”

I

Brand Identity

Brand identity is the sum of all of these things. The brand identity is what you’re communicating when you say, “We sell X at our shop. Come by and see us!” It’s what gives consumers an idea of who you are, how your company behaves, and what it stands for.

A brand identity isn’t just a logo or color palette: it’s everything from product design to customer service scripts to warehouse signage to charitable giving programs. It includes every element that conveys your business’ personality—whether that’s friendly and fun or serious and professional—and establishes trust in those who come into contact with it (both current customers as well as potential ones).

Brand Image

Brand Image is the perception of a brand. It is the impression that consumers have about a brand and the emotional response to it. This can be influenced by imagery, advertising or even just word-of-mouth. Brand image is made up of all of the attributes that consumers associate with a product or service, including its heritage and history, its quality, price point and more.

J

Brand Journey

Brand journey is a visual representation of the customer’s experience with a brand. It helps to identify gaps in the customer experience and provides opportunities for strategic actions. It is created by mapping out the emotional journey of your customers from first contact with your brand (awareness) until they buy from you or leave for another provider (brand abandonment).

Brand Judgement

Brand judgement is the process of assessing the brand and making a decision about its value. It is a subjective process, and it is an ongoing process. This can be done (and should be done) on an incremental basis, as you collect more data from sources such as focus groups, market research and customer feedback.

Brand judgement is an important part of brand management because it allows you to build up your knowledge of the market and make decisions about how best to manage your brands.

K

Brand Key

Your brand key is the most important thing you can do to ensure your brand’s success. It’s a statement of the reason for your brand, and how you plan to deliver on that reason. The most effective way to express what your brand stands for is through a statement that answers these two questions:

• What does this company/product/service do?
• How does it make its customers feel?

Brand Kit

A brand kit is a collection of assets that you can use to build your brand. A brand kit can include:

• Logo(s)
• Colour palettes
• Tagline, motto, or slogan (or all three!)
• Typography guidelines (fonts and sizes)
• Branding guidelines, including a style guide or design system

Brand Knowledge

Brand knowledge is about understanding the brand, its history, and its personality. It’s knowing what you stand for and what you believe in. It’s not just knowing how to use a social media platform. Brand knowledge is also about knowing your audience and who they are. It’s not just having an online presence or being on the first page of Google search results.

When we talk about brand knowledge we’re talking about a deep understanding of how all these things come together to build an identity that matters—a coherent story that resonates with people where they live their lives every day: online, offline, on-screen or off-screen—and across multi-channel customer experiences like retail stores, e-commerce sites, social media channels…you name it!

L

Brand Ladder

The Brand Ladder is a framework for understanding the relationship between the brand and the consumer. The top of the ladder represents your most loyal customers, while the bottom represents people who have never heard of you. You want to move customers up your ladder, but it’s not always easy, as different segments of consumers respond differently to promotions and marketing campaigns. When they do respond positively, however, they can move up multiple rungs at once!

Brand Landscape

A brand landscape is the set of all brands that compete for customers in a market segment. The landscape changes over time as new brands enter the market and existing one’s exit, or simply fade away due to lack of relevance. It’s important to keep track of these changes because they can influence your brand strategy.

Brand License

A brand license is a legal document that allows a company to use the rights to a trademark, logo, and other brand assets. Brand licenses are generally used when a company wants to sell products or services under another’s brand name. There are several types of agreements that may be considered licenses, including:

• Trademark Licenses: These agreements give others permission to use your trademarks in their advertising or marketing campaigns for specific periods of time and geographic locations;
• Product Licenses: These allow companies to manufacture, distribute and sell products bearing your intellectual property;
• Advertiser Sponsorship Programs: This form of licensing gives companies an avenue for supporting you in exchange for using your intellectual property on various materials.

Brand Lift

Brand lift is the change in brand attitudes and purchase intentions that can be attributed to a marketing campaign. It’s measured by comparing the difference between responses before and after the campaign, with an adjustment for random variation. This is also known as brand gain.

Brand Loyalty

Brand loyalty is a measure of customer satisfaction and repeat purchases. It’s important to understand the definition of brand loyalty because it helps you define how your customers feel about your product or service and whether they’ll continue to buy from you in the future. Brand loyalty can be influenced by a number of factors including quality, price, and service. The more satisfied customers are with your product or service, the higher their likelihood of repurchasing from you when they need similar products or services again in the future.

Brand loyalty is the commitment of customers to a particular brand. A loyal customer is one who makes repeat purchases and does not consider other brands when making a purchase decision. Brand loyalty can be measured through surveys or by looking at repeat purchase behavior. A study conducted by Accenture in 2012 revealed that 46 percent of consumers were likely to switch brands if they found better quality or value from another company, with only 27 percent being completely loyal to their current brand.

M

Brand Management

Brand management is a broad term that encompasses many different activities. Brand management is the process of managing brands and can include activities such as brand strategy, design and development, marketing communications (including advertising), promotion, public relations, field marketing and sales support. The goal of brand management is to create a profitable relationship between a company’s products or services and its customers (or intermediaries).

Brand Map

A brand map is a visual representation of the brand’s elements, strategy, and positioning. It can be used to communicate the brand’s meaning to employees, customers, and other stakeholders. A brand map includes all of the key components that make up your company’s promise to its audience. This includes:

• Brand attributes (elements)
• Brand mission statement or purpose statement (strategy)
• Visual identity system (positioning)

Brand Meaning

Brand meaning is the emotional connection between a brand and a customer. Brand meaning is what makes a brand unique and memorable—and relevant to customers in the marketplace.

Brand meaning drives the development of product features, benefits, and design features that help differentiate your company from others. It can be discovered through a deep understanding of what your target customer values most, as well as their pain points or areas they want to be improved (both emotionally and functionally).

Brand Message

A brand message is a statement that describes your brand’s reason for being. It is the heart, core, and essence of your brand—what makes you unique. A brand message is sometimes referred to as a “clear idea” or “core value” because it helps you cut through the clutter by giving people something concrete to identify with.

It’s the purpose of your brand, and it’s what you want to say about your product/service. It makes your product/service unique because it’s so different from other companies in its industry, while also setting itself apart from competitors by highlighting what they do differently.

Brand messages can be communicated through a variety of channels: advertising copy (TV commercials), social media posts (Instagram stories), blog posts, or infographics about specific products or services offered. They often include key takeaways for potential customers including information about pricing plans and value propositions that explain why consumers should choose them over competitors offering similar services/products at higher costs

Brand Metrics

Brand metrics are the key performance indicators (KPIs) used to measure how well a brand is performing. They can include sales, revenue, market share, customer satisfaction and brand equity.

Brand metrics can be used to measure the success of your brand strategy. For example: if you have a new product launch or advertising campaign planned for next month then it’s important that your team knows what impact this will have on sales and profits so they can make informed decisions about budgeting resources accordingly.

Brand Mission

Brand mission is a description of what the brand is trying to achieve and what it stands for. It describes the brand’s values, goals, and target audience.

The brand mission statement helps define your brand by establishing its purpose and identity in three parts: ‘what,’ ‘for whom,’ and ‘why.’ To create an effective mission statement, you must answer these questions: What do we want our customers to feel when they interact with us? For whom are we creating this experience (or product/service)? Why does it matter?

N

Brand Name

When choosing a brand name, it is important to consider several factors. The name should be short and memorable, easy to pronounce and spell, unique and consistent with the company’s values and objectives. It is also important that the name does not infringe on any other trademarks or copyrights. For example, if you plan on using “Apple” as your company name but there is already another company called Apple Inc., you will have difficulty registering your trademark because of this overlap in branding.

Brand Narrative

Brand narrative is the story that you tell about your brand. It helps you to understand the brand and its values, and it helps you to understand what makes your brand different from others. A good narrative should be simple enough for anyone in the company to understand, but also detailed enough to allow for creativity in how it’s told.

Brand Niche

A brand niche is a subset of the market that is defined by a specific need or desire. The need can be demographic (age, gender, location), psychographic (lifestyle and personality characteristics), or functional (the role that product plays in their lives). Niche marketing allows you to target a specific group of consumers without losing sight of your overall brand message.

You’ve heard the phrase “niche market,” and you know that it has something to do with marketing. But what exactly is a brand niche? A brand niche is a specific segment of the market that your brand aims to serve. This may sound like an obvious thing for a company to have—but many brands don’t actually have a clearly defined niche, or they haven’t taken steps towards identifying their specific target audience(s).

Why should you care about defining your brand’s target audience? Having an idea of who you’re talking to helps guide everything from product development and messaging to pricing strategy and sales tactics. It also makes it easier for you to reach out and make connections with potential customers on social media platforms (like LinkedIn) throughout the customer journey!

Brand Notoriety

The brand’s notoriety is the degree to which a brand is known in the market. This can be measured by both general awareness and attitude.

• General Awareness: The percentage of people who have heard of the product or service within your target market
• Attitude: How positive or negative the customer feels about your product/service

O

Brand Objectives

Brand objectives are the goals you want to achieve with your brand. They should be measurable and achievable, aligned with business goals and other organizational priorities, and supported by a plan for implementation (see next section). A good example of brand objectives would be: Increase sales by 10%, increase customer retention by 5%, and increase brand awareness by 10%.

Brand Omnipresence

Brand omnipresence is the ability of your brand to be present everywhere. It’s a word used in marketing and advertising to describe how well a brand can be found and recognized by consumers. This concept can be broken down into four key components: brand awareness, brand exposure, brand experience, and then finally brand engagement.

Brand Outreach

Brand Outreach is a marketing strategy that focuses on connecting with the right audience in order to build trust and establish a relationship.

Brand Outreach vs Brand Awareness:

This can be confusing, but it’s important to understand how these two terms differ. In marketing, brand awareness is the level of awareness or recognition that consumers have for your company or product. Brand outreach refers specifically to communicating with your target audience and creating an emotional connection by sharing stories, ideas, and information—anything that will help you stand out from competitors’ offerings.

P

Brand Personality

A brand’s personality is how it behaves and interacts with its audience. To define a brand’s personality, you must first understand what makes people behave the way they do in real life. Personality is often defined as our essence—the sum of all our thoughts, feelings, actions, and behaviors. If we were to boil down your entire being into one word or phrase, this would be your true “brand personality.”

What is unique about your product or service? How does it stand out from the competition? What makes it special or different? You should think about this before moving on to other aspects of your business plan so that everything else builds upon what makes your company unique. * What type of person fits best with this product/service? In other words: who is going to buy this thing from me? Or more accurately: who do I want to buy my stuff? Think about who would benefit most from using my product/service and then let them know how great it will be for them if they buy something from me!

Brand Pillars

Brand pillars are the foundation of a brand. The pillars should be based on the brand’s purpose and values, and they should be consistent across all touchpoints. For example, if you’re a luxury hotel chain with a commitment to customer care, your brand pillars might be:

• Distinctive service – Every interaction with our guests is special because we treat them as individuals
• Passion for details – We take pride in every aspect of our product or service, from the way it’s presented to how clean it is
• Empathy for others – We always remember that our customers have unique needs and preferences

Brand Positioning

Brand positioning is a critical part of your brand strategy. It helps you clearly define your brand in relation to the competition, and it’s the foundation for all other brand activities. Brand positioning should be consistent across all channels, so make sure you have a clear message before you begin developing any campaign materials.

Brand Preference

How do you prefer to describe your brand? Do you have a firm idea of what your brand is and how it will meet the needs of others, or are you unsure about what your brand stands for and where it’s going in the future? When brands are not clear about their purpose and place in the world, they tend to lose their way. The best way to avoid this fate is by being intentional with your brand strategy: defining who you want to reach with what kind of messaging (and where), deciding on which channels will best communicate those messages (and why), creating content that aligns with those goals (and how often).

Q

Brand Quality

Brand quality is the overall impression of a product or service. It is intangible, but it is an important part of brand equity: the sum total of all things that make up your brand (including quality).

Quality matters more than price when it comes to branding. If you have a high-quality product or service, then people will be willing to buy from you even if they could find it cheaper elsewhere. They might also pay more for it because they’re getting something better than what they would get elsewhere. The opposite is true for low-quality products and services—people will go elsewhere if there’s no difference in price.

Think about how Coca-Cola puts its name on everything from sodas and energy drinks to milk and water bottles—all different types of beverages with varying prices—but still manages not only to maintain its image as THE soda company but also charge more than competitors (who often don’t use their own brand names).

R

Brand Recall

Brand Recall is the ability of the consumer to recall a brand name when asked. This is important because it provides a measure of brand awareness and it is one of the best ways we have for measuring how well you are doing in terms of building your brand.

Brand recall can be measured through surveys where respondents will be asked to list all the brands which they can remember from seeing on television or in print ads during the last 30 days. Brand recall is also a key metric used by companies to determine how effective their advertising campaigns are and whether they should continue running them or not.

Brand Recognition

Brand recognition is the ability of a brand to be recognized by its customers. It’s one of the most important aspects of branding and can be measured through surveys, focus groups, and customer satisfaction.

Brand recognition is key to brand loyalty; in order for people to feel connected with (and loyal to) a product or service, they need some familiarity with it. They need to know what their experience will be like upon first use and subsequent uses. They also need an understanding that other users have had positive experiences—if you don’t recognize the logo or name on someone else’s shirt when you see them wear it publicly, then chances are good that in your mind that company/product doesn’t exist at all.

Brand Relevance

Brand relevance is the extent to which a brand’s products and services are aligned with the needs of its target audience. It is a key aspect of brand strategy, and its importance has grown over time as consumers have become more discerning about where they spend their money. For example, they might choose to buy certain brands because they’re more attuned to social issues or environmental concerns.

A strong sense of brand relevance can be highly profitable for businesses, as it attracts loyal customers who are willing to pay higher prices for goods and services that align with their values. In fact, according to research from marketing agency PwC published in 2017, most global consumers would be willing to pay extra if this would help support a company’s efforts toward improving society or protecting the environment (Emerging Trends).

Brand Retail

Brand Retail refers to the sale of products directly to consumers at their point of purchase (in-store). Because this type of business model does not allow for repeat orders or frequent visits (as does brand direct), it’s usually less profitable than other business models. However, if you have a strong customer base who frequently come back for more products and want them readily available without having to wait long periods between purchases then this may still be worth considering!

Brand Risk

Brand risk is the potential for a brand to lose its reputation, which is a threat to the brand’s identity. Brand risk can be caused by many factors, including negative media coverage, poor product quality, or poor customer service.

If you’re managing a company’s brand—whether it’s your own or someone else’s—you’ll want to understand what causes brand risk so that you can minimize it and avoid negative consequences like damaged reputations and lost customers.

S

Brand Salience

Brand Salience is the brand’s ability to be noticed and remembered. It is a function of Brand Recognition and Brand Recall, both of which are also components of Consumer Brand Equity.

Brand Salience is important because it relates to Brand Awareness, which in turn leads to other consumer behaviors such as Purchase Consideration and Purchase Intentions.

Brand Standards

Brand standards are a set of rules, guidelines and procedures that govern how the company’s brand is used. They are used to ensure consistency in all communications, from marketing collateral to internal documentation and signage.

Brand standards can be formal or informal – they might be represented as an actual document or they could simply be ‘the way we do things around here’. Regardless of their formality, all brand standards need to be approved by the brand owner(s) before being implemented across your organisation.

Brand Strategy

Brand strategy is a plan that sets out the direction for your brand. It is the foundation for all your brand activity and helps you to achieve your vision. A brand strategy document describes what you do, who does it, how well it’s done, and where it can be improved. It should be used to guide the development of your brand’s positioning (what a customer thinks about us), along with key messages that communicate our values and identity to customers (what we say about ourselves).

A successful branding process starts with developing an actionable strategy that can be used by everyone across an organization: from marketing teams to employees on the shop floor – everyone needs to understand what their role is in building strong brands!

T

Brand Tagline

A brand tagline is a short, memorable phrase that describes the brand. It should be easy to remember and say out loud. A good tagline summarizes the promise of your brand in one clear message. It’s important that your brand tagline be memorable and distinctive so that it’s easily associated with your business.

Brand Tribe

Brand tribe is a group of people who have a common preference for a brand. The term “brand tribe” was coined by Seth Godin, author and marketing expert, in his book Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us (2008). It refers to the community that surrounds a specific brand. In other words, it’s a group of people who share an interest in or affinity for something and therefore tend to behave similarly when interacting with that thing.

Brand Trust

Brand trust is the most important asset in your brand and the foundation of a strong company. Brand trust is earned, not bought. When you establish a sense of trust with your customers, they know that you’re looking out for their best interests and that they can count on you to act in their best interests too. Trust isn’t something that can be achieved overnight; it’s something that grows over time as you demonstrate consistent reliability, authenticity, and honesty in everything from product quality to customer service interactions to public messaging campaigns.

Trustworthiness breeds loyalty – even when there are cheaper options available elsewhere!

Without trust between two parties or an organization and its customers/members/clients/etc., nothing will work in either direction: no one wants to buy from someone who doesn’t seem like they’re trustworthy; conversely, no one wants anything from someone who doesn’t seem like they deserve any sort of respect or care from others around them (even if it’s just buying a cupcake).

This principle applies both internally within companies too: if employees don’t feel like management trusts them enough then those same workers won’t feel inclined towards trusting management either! In other words…trust begets more trust!

U

Brand Uplift

Brand Uplift is the process of improving the value of a brand. It can be achieved by increasing its reputation, image and equity. B2B brands that want to be seen as leaders in their field need to look at how they can increase their brand uplift so they are seen as leaders in their field.

Brand Utility

Brand utility is the delivery of value-added services that are seamlessly integrated into a brand’s experience and delivered to customers. Brand utility is a product or service that is useful to the consumer. For example, a shampoo that leaves your hair shiny and full of volume—and doesn’t make your scalp itch—is a brand utility. It makes you feel good about yourself when you use it and is thus an emotion-based reason for buying the product over others in its category.

Additionally, if consumers are satisfied with how they feel after using a brand utility (e.g., they like their shiny hair), they will likely continue purchasing it again in the future as well as recommend it to friends or family members who might benefit from using it too!

Brand URL

A brand URL is a unique identifier for a website. It is used to identify the domain name of a specific website and can be shared with others through email, text messages, or in any other way someone may choose to communicate it.

A brand URL is often referred as an ‘address’ on the internet and serves as the equivalent of mailing address on paper mail; both are used to find information about something or someone. For example: if you were looking up information on Coca Cola Company’s website using a search engine such as Google or Bing, you would type “www.cocacola.com” into your browser’s address bar and press enter—this would take you directly where you wanted go!

V

Brand Value

Brand value is a function of the brand’s ability to generate cash flows. Brand equity represents the added value that a brand brings to its owner, whether through higher revenues, lower costs or increased profits from existing products and services. The brand’s performance is measured by how well it performs against both internal goals (such as profitability) and external benchmarks (such as market share).

Therefore, in order for a company to understand its true value they must measure both their financial performance as well as their ability to create brand equity by way of customer loyalty and engagement.

Brand Voice

Brand voice is the tone of your brand. The best way to think about it is to consider how you would speak if you were your own brand. The voice should be consistent across all your marketing collateral and in line with what you are trying to communicate as a business or product or service. You want it unique, authentic, and friendly – warm and inviting!

W

Brand Website

A brand website is the hub of your company. It’s where people will go to learn more about you and your products.

Tell your story on the brand website: what do you do? Why do you do it? How can others benefit from buying it or using it? Use words that resonate with your target audience, and use language they would understand. For example, if you were selling a product for a dog owner, use words like “pawfect” or “fur-ever friends.” Or if you were selling an app that helps people sleep better at night by helping them meditate, use words like “calm down” or “inner peace.”

Keep in mind who will visit the brand website: are they potential customers looking to buy something from your store? Or are they suppliers looking for more information about how their products will fit into yours? Either way, make sure visitors get what they need!

A brand website is a website that identifies a brand. It’s designed to be the home of the brand and is a place to get information about the brand and its products or services. It’s also a place where you can interact with the brand by commenting, asking questions, etc.

Brand Wheel

The brand wheel is a tool that can help you define your brand. The brand wheel helps you to understand your brand’s purpose, values and goals as well as who your audience is and how to reach them. It also allows you to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your business.

Brand Wholesale

Brand Wholesale is the sale of products to other retailers, wholesalers and/or distributors. Brand wholesale differs from brand retail in that it does not include the sales of your product directly to consumers. Because you are dealing with other businesses rather than individuals, there are different requirements for packaging and labeling as well as additional legal considerations that must be met before selling your merchandise wholesale.

X

Brand X-Ray

A brand x-ray is a process that helps you to understand your brand, company, and product. The brand x-ray helps you to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your company, product, or service. A brand x-ray can be used in any stage of a business’ life cycle from when it first starts up to when it has become an established business with a loyal customer base. As part of creating this document, you need to answer all of the questions below:

• What does my organization do? (What is our mission?)
• Who are we?
• Why does our organization exist?

Y

Brand You

Your brand is your personal brand. It’s how you’re perceived, how you want to be perceived and what you stand for. It’s your reputation, image, personality and values. Your brand is not just a logo or slogan—it’s your entire image as an individual or business. A good way of thinking about this is by looking at other people’s brands: if Beyoncé released a new album called “I’m Sorry,” it would totally change her public perception because she has such a strong personal brand that it would affect everyone else who listens to her music (even if they hate it).

What is Personal Branding?

Personal branding is the act of creating a unique identity for yourself that can help you stand out from competitors and attract new business opportunities. It’s a strategy that requires you to think about how your brand looks, feels, and behaves online. It’s also an essential part of any marketing plan because it allows you to control the narrative around who you are as an entrepreneur or freelancer.

Brand Yourself

Brand yourself. It’s a phrase that’s thrown around a lot these days, but what does it mean? Your brand is your identity as a designer and an individual. It’s how people perceive you, and how they connect with your content.

Creating a brand involves defining what makes you unique while still being relatable to others in your field of work. A strong personal brand can help you stand out from the crowd, get more recognition for your work, and increase sales by making people interested enough in what you do to want to buy something from you.

As part of this process, there are several steps that will help build up both personal qualities (such as confidence) as well as professional ones (like productivity).

Brand Yield

Brand yield is the net present value of all future cash flows from a brand. Yield can be calculated by dividing the annual operating income by the market capitalization to arrive at a percentage. A high yield indicates that investors are willing to pay more for your company because they’re confident in its ability to generate future cash flows, and thus returns on their investment.

Z

Brand Zeitgeist

The zeitgeist of a brand is the spirit of the times. It’s what people are talking about and thinking about at the moment, it’s a reflection of what’s going on in society as a whole.

A brand zeitgeist is comprised of three main elements: current events, social trends and cultural movements, and consumer behavior.

The market sentiment that is driving your brand can give you insight into how consumers feel about themselves and their place in society—and how this influences their buying decisions.

Brand Zone

Brand zone is the range of activities in which a brand can be used without losing its identity. The tone and style of language used when communicating about your brand should be consistent with the ideas you want to convey to consumers, such as: tastefulness, professionalism, fun and energy.

Final Thoughts about this Glossary of Branding

Thanks for checking out our glossary of branding terms. You now know that a brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design that distinguishes an organization or product from its rivals in the eyes of the customer. Branding is the process of building a brand that is memorable and meaningful to your target market. It involves creating and communicating an identity for your company that separates you from others in your industry.

And that’s it! Now you have a complete understanding of the in-depth, comprehensive world of brand terminology thanks to our comprehensive. You can start using these terms, which will impress your fellow marketers and help them understand all the hard work that goes into a successful brand.

In the end, it’s important to remember that brands are often more than just a logo or slogan. They represent a promise of quality and value in the marketplace. When you think about it this way, you can see why companies invest so much money into creating brand awareness and protecting their intellectual property from competitors who want to use similar names or logos.

We know this has been a lot to take in, but we’re here for you if you need any advice on how to build your brand. If anything, this should be an introduction. Now go forth and create something great!