What is a brand?

Several businesses and organizations use branding as a marketing strategy to differentiate their products, services and the business itself from the competition. Although there are several tangible aspects of a brand such as the brand name or logo, a brand is not necessarily something that can be seen or touched. A brand is the perception of a particular business, organization or product held by the customer. This perception is influenced through an organization’s positioning of its products or services in the marketplace.

The brand is often developed by an organization to create a specific image in the minds of customers. The image or positioning may signify a certain level of quality or other specific identifying characteristics of the product or service. For example, an organization may try to emphasize attributes such as premium, high-quality, convenient or unique. The brand (consumer perception) is then connected to the business, product or service through a brand name and/or logo. Organizations often trademark brand names and logos to prevent other organizations from using their brand identifiers.

The basic definition of a brand helps in understanding the importance and usefulness of branding as a marketing strategy to differentiate from the competition.