The difference between a brand and a brand

Have you ever been in this situation? When a friend or acquaintance has started a new business – for example, a clothing store – and after the legal registration of its trademark, he comes to you to tell you about the establishment of his brand.

A common mistake that is almost established is using the word brand instead of a brand name. While these two are fundamentally different from each other and the brand is something more and beyond a business name and logo.

In this article, we are going to talk about the definitions of name and trademark, brand, and branding, and finally, when can we claim that our brand has become a brand?

Stay with us until the end of this article.

What is the brand name??

Before defining the brand, you need to know the meaning of the brand name and logo or trademark.

Trademark includes words and phrases that actually represent goods, products and services, and it can be said that one of the factors that makes a difference between a product or company and other competitors is the brand name.

For a more precise definition of the brand name, we can refer to the law of patents, industrial designs and trademarks. According to the definition of this law; A brand name means a name or title that represents and identifies a natural or legal person.

What does a logo or trademark mean?

A logo is actually a graphic symbol whose presence gives identity to a company, a commercial product, and anything else. Again, for a better understanding and a more precise definition of a trademark, we can refer to its legal definition. According to this law, a trademark is any visible sign that can distinguish the goods or services of natural or legal persons.

The presence of a logo or a specific trademark for a company is one of the ways to differentiate between different brands, which daily may have a large number of these graphic elements trying to attract us as an audience.

A logo is a combination of typography, design, symbol and colors. It is better to say that the logo is a graphic element that creates part of the visual identity of a brand.

Now that you are familiar with the concept of brand name and trademark, in the next section we will go to the definition of brand and its difference from brand name.

What is a brand?

To learn about the concept of brand, we go to the father of modern marketing, Philip Kotler. According to his definition, “a brand is a name, phrase, term, sign, sign, symbol, design, or a combination of them, whose purpose is to introduce a product or service offered by a seller or a group of sellers, thereby distinguishing them from the products of companies. They create a distinct competitor.”

A brand can be defined as: the idea or image that people have in their mind when they think of a particular product, service or activity of a company. The formation of a brand is not limited to one or more physical features, and the feelings that consumers and customers of that brand have towards the company or product are also important. The combination of physical and emotional cues of a brand is created when it is synchronized with a brand name, logo, visual identity and communication message.

You must have seen that there are several models of the same product in the market and different companies offer it to the market; This is where the transformation of a brand into a brand preserves the originality or so-called uniqueness of that product; Just like Coca-Cola and Pepsi brands.

Brand is actually the identity and story of a company that differentiates it from other competitors who have similar services and products.

Before going to examine the difference between a brand and a brand name and turning a brand name into a brand, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the concept of branding.

branding

Branding is the process of giving meaning to a specific organization, company, product or service, which is done by building and shaping a brand in the minds of consumers.

The purpose of branding is to create a space in the mind of the target audience and to remain in their mind. Something that requires its own time and strategies.

Here it is good to mention 2 quotes from well-known people in the business world about the concept of brand:

Jeff Bezos, the founder of the Amazon shopping site:

A brand is to a company, just like a reputation is to a person. You earn fame by trying to do hard things.

Seth Godin, entrepreneur, author and speaker:

A brand is a collection of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that together justify a consumer's decision to choose a product or service and prefer it over another.

When can we claim that our brand has become a brand?

Now that you are familiar with the concepts of brand name, logo, brand and branding, it is a good time to talk about the main difference between a brand and a brand name. According to the definitions, when can we claim to own a brand?

As we mentioned in the introduction, the brand goes beyond a brand name and its purpose is to find a place in the minds of the target audience. A position that does not happen overnight, but through a long process. So to speak, branding is not a momentary or even temporary process achieved in a few months; Rather, it is a permanent and more importantly full-time process.

A common mistake that is sometimes made by people who have recently registered a brand name is to use the word brand next to their brand name; While the brand is more than a registered trademark.

In the discussion of branding, an important point is that the brand is not just a message and cannot make room in the mind of the target audience with the influx of all kinds of advertisements. Brand is a mental image and identity that is formed in the mind of the audience according to your decisions, choices, activities, products and developments. It is in the minds of your customers that the brand becomes meaningful.

As a result, it can be said that a brand evokes something more than a brand name, and due to the branding discussion and the way it is registered in the minds of the target audience, upon hearing the name of a brand, concepts and words related to it come to mind; For example, when we hear the name Gucci, words like luxury, luxury and style are formed in our mind.

At the end of this article…

Brands are words, images, characteristics and identities lasting in the minds of their audience. To follow the path of branding, trademark registration can be the first step. As we mentioned in the article, the path is full-time and long.

In this article, we tried to define the difference between brand name and brand for you by giving definitions such as brand, branding, name and trademark.

At the end of this article, we will be happy to know your opinion about your favorite brand. What has fascinated you about this brand so far?