
Many business owners often confuse marketing with building a brand. They invest significant amounts of money in various marketing strategies to increase product awareness, including:
Digital Marketing
Traditional Advertising
Content Marketing
Referrals and whatnot.
However, simply increasing product visibility and availability through extensive marketing efforts does not equate to building a brand. Even if your product is widely used, featured in numerous outlets, and promoted with billboards across the city, it doesn't mean you've successfully built a brand.
Building a brand involves much more than just making your product known to the masses. It's about:
Creating a unique identity
Establishing emotional connections with consumers
Cultivating a reputation that resonates with your target audience
So, if you believe that saturating the market with your product and garnering widespread recognition is enough to build a brand, you're mistaken. Branding requires strategic efforts to:
Shape perceptions
Foster loyalty
Differentiate your business in the minds of consumers.

Let's explore how branding works.
Branding isn't simply about creating a positive perception of your product in the consumer's mind; it's much more than that.
Did you know that branding operates on both our rational minds and a deeper level—our intuitive, pre-conscious reasoning, and emotions? By influencing our thoughts and feelings, branding ultimately shapes our behavior.
There are three major aspects of branding that influence our thoughts and behavior. These are crucial considerations in creating a successful brand.
1. Positive perceptions (influence the rational mind)
This is something most companies already know and successfully achieve through various promotional campaigns.
Indeed, it's common sense that creating a positive buzz around your product is essential to ensure it is considered by consumers. When customers perceive a product positively, they are more likely to include it in their consideration set when making purchasing decisions.
Positive perceptions play a vital role in shaping consumers' rational judgments about a product. Through effective marketing and promotional efforts, companies strive to create a favorable image of their products in the minds of consumers. This positive perception influences consumers' perceptions of quality, reliability, and value, which are crucial factors in their decision-making process.
Moreover, in today's competitive marketplace, where consumers are bombarded with countless options, creating a positive buzz around your product is essential to stand out from the crowd. By generating excitement, interest, and anticipation, companies can ensure that their products are top-of-mind when consumers are considering their purchase options.
Ultimately, positive perceptions not only contribute to increasing brand awareness and attracting potential customers but also play a significant role in driving consumer preference and loyalty over the long term. Therefore, investing in strategies to cultivate positive perceptions of your product is a fundamental aspect of brand building and marketing success.
What a Great Ad campaign.

2. Recall (Influence both rational thoughts and intuitive mind)
Consider what comes to mind when you read phrases like these:
- "I'm lovin' it" – McDonald's
Now, read these
1. Happiness
2. Just do it
3. Clear Hai!
If your immediate thoughts are Coca-Cola, Nike, and Sprite, then you're on the right track. Similarly, there are several other ways to evoke recall, such as logos, brand colors, catchy jingles, or celebrity endorsements.
3. Attributes Association (Influence the intuitive, pre-conscious reasoning)
This is perhaps the most critical aspect that works in favor of brands, even in the absence of physical evidence. It enables a brand to be considered even when the customer isn't actively seeking it out.
Consider this example: A customer wants to buy some daily-use products online.
They have several options:
including Amazon/Flipkart grocery
Blink it
Instamart and
Big Basket.
These options form the consideration set. What's common among these brands is the attribute called e-commerce and availability of daily-use products.
However, the customer's choice ultimately depends on additional attributes.
Let's assume the customer needs the products as soon as possible. In this case, the options narrow down to Blink it, Instamart, and Big Basket.
But if the requirement is for last-minute purchases, Blink it stands out due to its association with quick delivery.
Similarly, brands like FedEx are associated with overnight delivery. On the other hand, if cost-effectiveness is a priority, FedEx may not be considered.
Look at this Print Ad of Nike, simply associate the word with the brand "GREATNESS".

Likewise, brands like
Mercedes are associated with:
luxury
Prestige
high value
Harley Davidson
Boldness
rebellion
ruggedness.
While focusing on product quality and differentiation is essential, creating these brand attributes is equally necessary for building a brand that speaks for itself. It's about crafting an imaginary personality for your product or service, complete with distinct characteristics.
Brands transcend mere recall or perceived value; they evoke feelings and expectations without physical interaction. They embody consistency, trustworthiness, credibility, and relevance.
In essence, building a brand involves creating a tangible identity that resonates with consumers on a deeper level. It's about establishing an emotional connection that goes beyond product features and functionalities.
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